# To you, Tolkien is....



## Beorn (Sep 14, 2003)

Think of a word to describe J. R. R. Tolkien. To me, Tolkien is an innovator. He created a world, with history and a future, with good and evil, with love and with war. He started the Fantasy writing movement. Hundreds of writers, and dozens of famous authors based their works on Tolkien's ideas. There are even books to help understand his world. His letters are published. He has *movies* being made of his works.

What is Tolkien, to you?


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## Turin (Sep 14, 2003)

He's a genious! He put so much detail in all his writings that you could have been reading his books for years and still find out new things every day.


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## Celebthôl (Sep 15, 2003)

He is a minature God


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## Kelonus (Sep 15, 2003)

Tolkien is unique. He's the man.


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## Random orc (Sep 16, 2003)

A genius. the best writer in the world.


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## HLGStrider (Sep 20, 2003)

A role model. . .
I find that I resemble some of his quirks. . .but only the bad ones. I think I take critisism about as well as he did. . .not all that well if you read his biographies.


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## Aglarthalion (Sep 20, 2003)

To me, Tolkien was a storyteller. He was also an inventor and a genius, all of the finest degree. His work has been the source of enjoyment, deliberation and inspiration to millions. He was a truly special man, and we are extremely fortunate to have had him exist in our time.


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## HLGStrider (Sep 20, 2003)

CHEATER! You were supposed to use one word.

I used two, I suppose. . .


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## Aglarthalion (Sep 20, 2003)

Okay, I changed it now.


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## David Pence (Sep 21, 2003)

Tolkien once remarked that he would like to be remembered simply as a storyteller, so my pick would be that -- Storyteller.


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## Lhunithiliel (Sep 22, 2003)

This is what he is to me:reading Tolkien


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## BlackCaptain (Sep 23, 2003)

Tolkien to me is perfection in the field of science fiction. literally perfection


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## klugiglugus (Sep 25, 2003)

I hate to have to be the pseudo intellectualist here but Tolkien was non of these things, Tolkien was a product of a mono-cultured British society, a mono-cultured Europe, but most of all he was a product of good! The definition of good being that you protect your own people above all others, you fight hard, you struggle, you admire and create a great love for your people and in doing these things you almost acquire a divinity, a humble divinity.

In a very Tacticus type of way we have lost these types of men in our culture because we no longer have the type of elements to produce them and in their place we have put things very foreign to Europe.

To expand upon these things and make some things more clear I think we must first debate what Tolkien did in a more romantic sense.


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## Zale (Sep 25, 2003)

I hate to correct you all but Tolkien was a linguist. That was what his (paid) job was: a Professor of Linguistics at Oxford; and the languages came first, then ME.


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## Eledhwen (Oct 11, 2003)

> _Originally posted by klugiglugus _
> *I hate to have to be the pseudo intellectualist here but Tolkien was non of these things, Tolkien was a product of a mono-cultured British society, a mono-cultured Europe, but most of all he was a product of good! The definition of good being that you protect your own people above all others, you fight hard, you struggle, you admire and create a great love for your people and in doing these things you almost acquire a divinity, a humble divinity.*


 Firstly, Britain has never been monocultured; the English northerners and southerners of this land never really understood one another (sometimes literally!) even though they shared the same colour skin; and that's before we mention Scotland and Wales. Tolkien was a west-midlander, and displayed cultural prejudice when he gave The Hobbit's Trolls cockney accents as much as in any portrayal of M.E. enemy armies. Yes, Tolkien loved England - the England that was fast disappearing as he grew up. His knowledge of other mythologies made him realise the paucity of our own, largely Christianised mythologies, and set about writing a believable mythology for England. I believe his mythology to be inspired, and he himself acknowledged that he did not write it 'alone'.

It is impossible to give a single word definition of a man who has enriched us with such a mythology and at the same time ruined us for any other works which claim to be comparable and never are. 

His own name has become synonymous with his entire created world. It is ..... He is ..... Tolkien!


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## Morgan LeFay (Jan 17, 2004)

Genius.I am a writer myself and I couldn't make anything, that would be a one-hundredth of what that man's made.


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## Rhiannon (Jan 19, 2004)

What Tolkien was _not_ was a good novelist. He was a brilliant _storyteller_, and a good linguist, and a rather grumpy man, and an intellectual, and probably at heart a Romantic, but (like many great writers), he was a terrible novelist. 

It gives me hope, it does.


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## Inderjit S (Jan 20, 2004)

The greatest author ever, author of the greatest book ever, and inventor of the greatest fantasy worlds ever. A great man.


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## Starbrow (Jan 21, 2004)

INFLUENTIAL

Not only did he write the greatest novel ever; but a whole genre of literature developed from his fantasy.


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## Ireth Telrúnya (Jan 22, 2004)

Tolkien is a relatively new discovery to me, though I'd have had enough time to read his works in the past...shame on me I dropped reading "Hobbit" back then. I needed to see the world of those movies before I could see his genius.
I have even some studies of English Philology behind me and then met one teacher who probably was buried in the world of Tolkien, since she talked about him in the lectures. (sorry, despite my english studies, my grammar is sometimes not so good...)

Right now I think Tolkien's creation is best among the scifi and fantasy literary that I know. Maybe he indeed was the one who created fantasy fiction. 

Frank Herbert and his "Dune" comes to mind. He also created a remarkable world of his own. Though he was not a philologist and didn't have any interest to create folklore and languages. He was more interested in religions and spirituality.

I've read somewhere that Tolkien was a friend of C.S. Lewis, a well-known Christian fantasy fiction and scifi writer. And some say Tolkien was a Christian. Well, that term can be so fuzzy edged and mean many things depending on one's devotion.

Anyway, I think Tolkien was a genius as a linguist and a philologist and his imagination knew no boundaries!


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## Elwen of Gondor (Jan 22, 2004)

TOUCHING

I'd have to go with this word because Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings has touched me in ways other books never could. I've noticed Frank Herbert's Dune mentioned here...that book dazzled me until I picked up The Lord of the Rings. After that I felt like nothing could compare. Lord of the Rings struck an immensely profound chord in me. I don't know how to explain it. The book resonated on so many levels with me and it left me changed in thought, spirit, and word. Lord of the Rings is at its core a touching story of friendship, love, heroism, goodness, and humble greatness. It is the story to end all stories. An amazing amalgam of fantasy, language, action, profound themes, and just good ol' storytelling. 

Tolkien has ruined me for other stories...but I can't say I'm complaining 

~Elwen~


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## Helcaraxë (Jan 24, 2004)

He's a cartographer. He makes maps of things we could never have dreamed of. Not physical maps, of course.

~Helcaraxë


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## pipin (Mar 2, 2004)

*tolkien is god*

he rocks he is the best writer inthe world


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## HLGStrider (Mar 2, 2004)

When I saw the title of your post pipin, the first thing that came to mind was "Tolkien is Catholic. . ." then came that "I am God" scene from Ground Hogs Day. . .hehe.


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## greypilgrim (Jun 17, 2004)

*All of the above, and...*

my word for tolkien is....INSANE...literally.

There just is no other way to describe a man's mind that can paper it like he did.


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## joxy (Jun 21, 2004)

Beorn said:


> He started the Fantasy writing movement.


Apart from a few guys in Greece 2500 years ago, and a whole lot of people ever since....


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## Beorn (Jun 21, 2004)

joxy said:


> Apart from a few guys in Greece 2500 years ago, and a whole lot of people ever since....





Beorn said:


> movement.


Fantasy always a genre. It didn't become a major genre until The Lord of the Rings, hence 'movement.'


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## Arvedui (Jun 22, 2004)

To me, Tolkien is great.
If it was allowed to use more than one word, I'd say a lot more. Great is sort of not enough.
I am always awestruck by the complexity in the works, the focus on the most minute details (although I still wonder who King Bladorthin was). And you can't get a clear picture on how much work he put into his books by just reading _The Hobbit, Lord of the Rings and The Silmarillion._ It is when you have read through _Unfinished Tales, Letters, and the HoME-_series it really strikes you what an effort those three first-mentioned books really were.


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## glirhuin (Jun 22, 2004)

for me tolkien is the best writer in the world, a genious, the most imaginary person in the world.
I think eru gave him a lot of his power¨.


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## rs691919 (Jun 27, 2004)

I like the Webmaster's chosen word: storyteller. Tolkien was a masterful storyteller. But it doesn't do him justice because it is not just the way he tells the story, but the story that he tells. 

And ultimately that story is about hope, and that is what Tolkien is to me. Especially to someone like myself who is not religious, who is an irretrievable cynic and pessimist, he represents the hope that there _is_ something better just down the road as long as despair is placed in a forgotten corner; that even while the city burns and the Enemy is at the Gate, the rooster may crow and the horns may echo in the mountainside. 

I think the following passage really sums up the man and his writing:



> *There, peeping among the cloud-wrack above a dark tor high up in the mountains, Sam saw a white star twinkle for a while. The beauty of it smote his heart, as he looked up out of the forsaken land, and hope returned to him. For like a shaft, clear and cold, the thought pierced him that in the end the Shadow was only a small and passing thing: there was light and high beauty for ever beyond its reach.*


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## Heathertoes (Jun 28, 2004)

...not Peter Jackson. There is no higher praise.


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## greypilgrim (Jun 28, 2004)

Beorn said:


> Fantasy always a genre. It didn't become a major genre until The Lord of the Rings, hence 'movement.'


I agree. He is the Godfather of all things fantasy these days. When he wrote the Hobbit/LoTR/Sil it was like the earth shifted in the realm of fantasy writing. Couldn't have said it better myself.


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## Eternity (Jun 29, 2004)

To me Tolkien is the best writer I know. And some kind of genius.  I like the word "storyteller" too. That´s what he is.


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## Morgoth (Jul 7, 2004)

Inspirational


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## Elbereth (Jul 7, 2004)

He is a creative mind who changed how we see fantasy. And not to mention he is a talented author


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## Amarië (Jul 28, 2004)

IDOL

I wish I had the imagination or time to create something half as magnificent as he did.

~A~


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## Kristaline (Jul 29, 2004)

Inspiration.

When I first was introduced to Tolkien via a teacher who read the Hobbit and The Fellowship of the Ring, I was facinated by a series of books written in a whole new world. I grew up in the middle of nowhere and I had no idea of the great things people could think. It is responsible for my love of this genre of books and writing.


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## Firawyn (Aug 1, 2004)

Tolkien is(well technically _was_)...let's see...*honorable*.

That is a good description, I think.


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## baragund (Aug 2, 2004)

*GENIUS*

Anybody who can create an entire universe/mythology out of his imagination in that much detail, where things fit together as well as they did, has GOT to be touched by genius.


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## spirit (Aug 20, 2004)

*Expert story-teller* and a *genius*


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## Persephone (Aug 22, 2004)

*A Genius.*

*A linguist.*

*A Great story-teller.*


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## Ronaldinho (Aug 25, 2004)

a ruddy brilliant bloke!


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## Lhunithiliel (Aug 26, 2004)

It is said (_Verlyn Flieger - "Splintered Light"_) about one of the members of the Inklings - Owen Barfield, to be a:

_"speculative thinker and philosopher whose interest lies chiefly in the relationship between language, myth and cultural reality"_ 

I think that Tolkien is all that but I would also add "_history_" to the above enlisted aspects.

This is what Tolkien is to me - a great mind, a scientist and a _*"speculative thinker"*_ who searches the "roots" of the words - firmly convinced that there at those "roots" he will find a reality that once upon a time had given birth to the words themselves - a reality in which lived certain people with certain culture and certain view of life!


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## Walter (Aug 26, 2004)

I think it takes a little more than reading the introduction of Prof. Flieger's _Splintered Light_ – an overall very good book, btw. - to understand the difference between Owen Barfield and J.R.R. Tolkien. And since Barfield evidently - as can be gathered from his books e.g. _Poetic Diction_, _History in English Words_ or _Saving the Appearances_ - had a profound knowledge and understanding of history, I don't think that 'history' – or their amount of knowledge thereof - is what characterizes the distinction between Barfield and Tolkien. Aside from their different profession they also seemed to have rather different approaches to philology, philosophy, history and myth.

Tolkien's essay _Sigelwara Land_ (published in _Medium Aevum_ 1932 & 1934) is not only an interesting excurse – and able to show whence the idea for Tolkien's Balrogs may have come from: the "jewel-sun roasted" _Sigelhearwan_ who could be seen as the sons of Muspell, the fire-giant of the South from northern tradition – it also gives an idea about the limitations of all scientific examination of the origins of words and thus language: language - in its earliest forms - predates writing most probably for several tens of thousands of years and hence we have no documents or anything that gives us direct access to early stages of language and thought. And this - for Tolkien - lead to speculative thinking, fantasy e.g. in form of "Fairy-stories" or "secret vices" in form of invented languages.

This also is what – IMHO – makes for the major difference between Barfield and Tolkien: the latter, in attempting to overcome the scientific limitations, became a "sub-creator", and his "sub-creation" as presented throughout his legendarium is an extraordinarily beautiful one…



> The heart of man is not compound of lies,
> but draws some wisdom from the only Wise,
> and still recalls him. Though now long estranged,
> man is not wholly lost nor wholly changed.
> ...


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## Lhunithiliel (Aug 26, 2004)

Walter said:


> I think it takes a little more than reading the introduction of Prof. Flieger's _Splintered Light_ – an overall very good book, btw. - to understand the difference between Owen Barfield and J.R.R. Tolkien.


I takes that, indeed.
Yet, while reading, one can still come across a combination of words expressing in a very appropriate way what's on the mind; words that one sees and thinks "Ah! I could not say it better!".
It's not about similarities or/and differences Tolkien has as a scientist and/or as a writer, when compared to other scientists and/or writers, I think, but about the way one feels about him and his works. What's on the mind on this subject can be expressed in simple words, true. But one can also quote someone else's words, too, those of someone who has succeeded in finding the very right combination of words that in fact expresses exactly what you think. And even if the found combination of words refers to sth. or someone else, if you feel them right and appropriate for expressing your own thoughts, then why not use them.


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## ingolmo (Jul 16, 2005)

To me, Tolkien is the writer who created the saga in which I dwell during meals, and science and maths periods. He's the writer of possibly one of the greatest, informative, detailed, poetically beautiful, non-religious piece of literature. To me, he is one of the best writers of the world, who has created the masterpiece of Ea.


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## Jesse (Jul 20, 2005)

To me, Tolkien is an inspiration. He inspires me to write my novel and make unique and original. To me, Tolkien is a genius!


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## Ingwë (Sep 12, 2005)

To me Tolkien is the best author. he has created a new world. Many readers live in that world, sometimes they escape from the real world and 'went' to Tolkien's though sometimes it is tragic. But that world is special. It has specific influence on each reader. It is powerful and interesting. It has many things to me found and that's why there are too many people who want to find them.


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## Elvenstar (Jul 28, 2006)

Professor Tolkien is a great figure in my life.
He opened the World for me, that was hidden for a while, but in which I was born and had lived until I came to the Earth.
Many people have an opinion that everything written in the Fantasy genre is a tale, the product of the author’s illusions.
If yes – I can advice – try to UNDERSTAND that this “unreal” world is totally real.
Many people live in one dimension and use the brain as a supreme way of thinking. But, if to open soul and feelings and suddenly FIGURE OUT that there is something else that is hidden from the eyes, which see just those things that we COMMAND them to see. But they (eyes) don’t see those things that we implanted “This is unreal, this is fantasy, so – not true.”
Who said that?
Here are creatures-guides, sent from other worlds for opening these worlds to us and showing that the Universe is unlimited and any “illusion” is reality.
In my life the first person-guide like this is the Professor from Oxford.
Let other think that he died, but he still lives among us – I know that. Souls such as this one just DON’T KNOW HOW TO DIE!
I just want to say to him THANK YOU MISTER TOLKIEN for everything because of what I can remember, where I came from. Now I know my race and my goals. Thank you for Arda, which exists in reality! And for all those wonderful friends, which Tolkienism connected me with!…


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## Persephone (Jul 28, 2006)

...Is probably the biggest influence and inspiration in my writing career.


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## Varokhâr (Jul 28, 2006)

The author of _the_ greatest story ever told


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## childoferu (Jul 22, 2009)

the author of my most beloved piece of fiction


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## ltnjmy (Jul 22, 2009)

To me, Professor Tolkien was a genius - - the creator of my special fantasy world which kept me company during my lonely childhood (not the fault of my good mother - lonely because I was a geek/nerd back then)...


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## Prince of Cats (Jul 22, 2009)

Feanor, before the influence of Melkor  The Hobbit, The Silmarillion and the Lord of the Rings are true Silmarils that have captured the very essence of myth and fantasy and cannot be remade again


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## Sulimo (Feb 29, 2012)

The foundation of modern fantasy, and the master craftsman of his world.


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## st0rmb0rn (Jul 14, 2018)

A bad-ass grandpa, and a wonderful stoner (I know he didn't get stoned but the Hobbits do) Also a fellow christian who enjoys fantasy.


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## Ithilethiel (Aug 5, 2018)

I agree with what many others have said before me. He is a genius, the master storyteller, linguist, the man and his works are undeniably influential. He is all that and more. He is so superior it is near impossible for me to boil down Professor Tolkien to one word, even if I hyphenate. But if I must choose then for me Tolkien is a *mentor*.

His writings encourage me to dream of a world filled with elves, dwarves, hobbits, orcs, holy men, good and brave men and women, and vile, evil megalomaniacs. There are visions of fantastical places of beauty and grandeur as well as fiendish and dangerous forests, strongholds, towers and fortresses. 

He has challenged millions to walk with him into his world, experience its lands, its peoples, its languages and its glorious history. There are many who know the history of ME better than the history of their own homelands. What an influencer is Tolkien! He challenges and inspires me to bravery, to engage my own creative talents be it in writing, drawing, painting, poetry, music. He inspires all of us. He is an impacter, a change agent. Roll that all into one word, the word for me is *mentor*.


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## Barliman (Aug 6, 2018)

OCD

And I have immense appreciation for the effect it had on his fabulous story telling.

Even though there are some things that are difficult to explain, he was very careful choosing words, with time lines, consistency and linking disparate scenes.
For instance, a cock crowing when the Nazgul are up to no good, Crickhollow, Bree, the Gates of Minis Tirith.
There are other instances of things like that.

That's one of the things that so gripped me about the movies, Tolkien's attention to detail (which contributed greatly to the tale) that was thrown out the window. Kind of like TV shows where the character drives from one side of LA to the other in 30 min at rush hour.

He was also Beren


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