The Lord of the RingsFrom Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jump to: navigation, searchThis article is about the novel. For the film series, see The Lord of the Rings (film series). For other uses, see The Lord of the Rings (disambiguation).The Lord of the RingsTolkien's unused cover designs for the three volumes which would later be used for the 50th anniversary editions of the books

Volumes:The Fellowship of the RingThe Two TowersThe Return of the King

AuthorJ. R. R. Tolkien

CountryEngland, United Kingdom

LanguageEnglish

GenreHigh fantasyAdventure

PublisherGeorge Allen & Unwin

Published29 July 1954, 11 November 1954 & 20 October 1955

Media typePrint (hardback & paperback)

Preceded byThe Hobbit

The Lord of the Rings is an epic high fantasy novel written by English philologist and University of Oxford professor J. R. R. Tolkien. The story began as a sequel to Tolkien's 1937 children's fantasy novel The Hobbit, but eventually developed into a much larger work. It was written in stages between 1937 and 1949, much of it during World War II.[1] It is the second best-selling novel ever written, with over 150 million copies sold.[2]The title of the novel refers to the story's main antagonist, the Dark Lord Sauron,[note 1] who had in an earlier age created the One Ring to rule the other Rings of Power as the ultimate weapon in his campaign to conquer and rule all of Middle-earth. From quiet beginnings in the Shire, a Hobbit land not unlike the English countryside, the story ranges across north-west Middle-earth, following the course of the War of the Ring through the eyes of its characters, the hobbits Frodo Baggins, Samwise "Sam" Gamgee, Meriadoc "Merry" Brandybuck and Peregrin "Pippin" Took, but also the hobbits' chief allies and travelling companions: the Men Aragorn, a Ranger of the North and Boromir, a Captain of Gondor; Gimli, a Dwarf warrior; Legolas, an Elven prince; and Gandalf, a Wizard.The work was initially intended by Tolkien to be one volume of a two-volume set, the other to be The Silmarillion, but this idea was dismissed by his publisher.[4][5] For economic reasons The Lord of the Rings was published in three volumes over the course of a year from 29 July 1954 to 20 October 1955, thus creating the now familiar Lord of the Rings trilogy.[4][6] The three volumes were entitled The Fellowship of the Ring, The Two Towers, and The Return of the King. Structurally, the novel is divided internally into six books, two per volume, with several appendices of background material included at the end of the third volume. Some editions combine the entire work into a single volume. The Lord of the Rings has since been reprinted numerous times and translated into many languages.Tolkien's work has been the subject of extensive analysis of its themes and origins. Although a major work in itself, the story was only the last movement of a larger epic Tolkien had worked on since 1917, in a process he described as mythopoeia.[7][not in citation given (See discussion.)] Influences on this earlier work, and on the story of The Lord of the Rings, include philology, mythology, religion and the author's distaste for the effects of industrialization, as well as earlier fantasy works and Tolkien's experiences in World War I.[1] The Lord of the Rings in its turn is considered to have had a great effect on modern fantasy; the impact of Tolkien's works is such that the use of the words "Tolkienian" and "Tolkienesque" have been recorded in the Oxford English Dictionary.[8]The enduring popularity of The Lord of the Rings has led to numerous references in popular culture, the founding of many societies by fans of Tolkien's works,[9] and the publication of many books about Tolkien and his works. The Lord of the Rings has inspired, and continues to inspire, artwork, music, films and television, video games, and subsequent literature. Award-winning adaptations of The Lord of the Rings have been made for radio, theatre, and film.[10]Contents [hide] 1 Plot summary 2 Main characters 3 Concept and creation 3.1 Background 3.2 Writing 3.3 Influences 4 Publication history 4.1 Editions and revisions 4.2 Posthumous publication of drafts 4.3 Translations 5 Reception 6 Themes 7 Adaptations 8 Legacy 8.1 Influences on the fantasy genre 8.2 Music 8.3 Impact on popular culture 9 See also 10 Notes 11 References 12 Further reading 13 External links

Plot summary[edit]See also: The Fellowship of the Ring, The Two Towers,and The Return of the King plot summariesLong before the events of the novel, the Dark Lord Sauron forges the One Ring to rule the other Rings of Power and corrupt those who wear them: the leaders of Men, Elves and Dwarves. He is vanquished in battle by an alliance of Elves and Men. Isildur cuts the One Ring from Sauron's finger, claiming it as an heirloom for his line, and Sauron loses his physical form. When Isildur is later ambushed and killed by Orcs, the Ring is lost in the River Anduin at Gladden Fields.Over two thousand years later, the Ring is found by one of the river-folk called Dagol. His friend[11] Smagol immediately falls under the Ring's influence and strangles Dagol to acquire it. Smagol is banished and hides under the Misty Mountains, where the Ring extends his lifespan and transforms him over the course of hundreds of years into a twisted, corrupted creature called Gollum. He loses the Ring, his "precious", and, as recounted in The Hobbit, Bilbo Baggins finds it. Meanwhile, Sauron re-assumes physical form and takes back his old realm of Mordor. Gollum sets out in search of the Ring, but is captured by Sauron, who learns from him that "Baggins" in the Shire now has it. Gollum is set loose, and Sauron, who needs the Ring to regain his full power, sends forth his powerful servants, the Nazgl, to seize it.The story begins in the Shire, where the Hobbit Frodo Baggins inherits the Ring from Bilbo, his cousin[note 2] and guardian. Neither is aware of its origin and nature, but Gandalf the Grey, a wizard and old friend of Bilbo, suspects the Ring's identity. When he becomes certain, he strongly advises Frodo to take it away from the Shire. Frodo leaves, accompanied by his gardener and friend, Samwise ("Sam") Gamgee, and two cousins, Meriadoc ("Merry") Brandybuck and Peregrin ("Pippin") Took. They nearly encounter the Nazgl while still in the Shire, but shake off pursuit by cutting through the Old Forest, where they are aided by the enigmatic Tom Bombadil, who alone is unaffected by the Ring's corrupting influence. After leaving the forest, they stop in the town of Bree where they meet Strider, who is later revealed to be Aragorn, Isildur's heir. He persuades them to take him on as guide and protector. They flee from Bree after narrowly escaping another assault, but the Nazgl follow and attack them on the hill of Weathertop, wounding Frodo with a Morgul blade. Aragorn leads the hobbits toward the Elven refuge of Rivendell, while Frodo gradually succumbs to the wound. The Ringwraiths nearly overtake Frodo at the Ford of Bruinen, but flood waters summoned by Elrond, master of Rivendell, rise up and overwhelm them.Frodo recovers in Rivendell under the care of Elrond. The Council of Elrond reveals much significant history about Sauron and the Ring, as well as the news that Sauron has corrupted Gandalf's fellow wizard, Saruman. The Council decides that the Ring must be destroyed, but that can only be done by returning it to the flames of Mount Doom in Mordor, where it was forged. Frodo volunteers to take on this daunting task, and a "Fellowship of the Ring" is formed to aid him: Sam, Merry, Pippin, Aragorn, Gandalf, Gimli the Dwarf, Legolas the Elf, and the Man Boromir, son of the Ruling Steward Denethor of the realm of Gondor.After a failed attempt to cross the Misty Mountains via the pass below Caradhras, the company are forced to try a more perilous path through the Mines of Moria, where they are attacked by the Watcher in the Water before the gate. Inside, they discover the fate of Balin and his colony of Dwarves. After repulsing an attack, they are pursued by orcs and an ancient and powerful demonic creature called a Balrog. Gandalf confronts the Balrog, but in their struggle, both fall into a deep chasm. The others escape and take refuge in the Elven forest of Lothlrien, where they are counselled by Galadriel and Celeborn.With boats and gifts from Galadriel, the company travel down the River Anduin to the hill of Amon Hen. Boromir succumbs to the lure of the Ring and attempts to take it from Frodo. Frodo escapes and determines to continue the quest alone, though Sam guesses his intent and comes along. Meanwhile, orcs sent by Saruman and Sauron kill Boromir and kidnap Merry and Pippin.After agonizing over which pair of hobbits to follow, Aragorn, Gimli and Legolas pursue the orcs bearing Merry and Pippin to Saruman. In the kingdom of Rohan, the orcs are slain by a company of the Rohirrim. Merry and Pippin escape into Fangorn Forest, where they are befriended by Treebeard, the oldest of the tree-like Ents. Aragorn, Gimli and Legolas track the hobbits to Fangorn, and encounter Gandalf, resurrected as the significantly more powerful "Gandalf the White" after his mutually fatal duel with the Balrog. Gandalf assures them that Merry and Pippin are safe. They then ride to Edoras, the capital of Rohan, where they free Thoden, King of Rohan, from the influence of Saruman's henchman Grma Wormtongue. Thoden musters his fighting strength and rides to the ancient fortress of Helm's Deep, but en route Gandalf leaves to seek help from Treebeard.Meanwhile, the Ents, roused from their customarily peaceful ways by Merry and Pippin, attack Isengard, Saruman's stronghold, and trap the wizard in the tower of Orthanc. Gandalf convinces Treebeard to send an army of Huorns to Thoden's aid. Gandalf and Rohirrim reinforcements arrive at Helm's Deep just in time to defeat and scatter Saruman's army. The Huorns dispose of the fleeing orcs. Gandalf then parleys with Saruman at Orthanc. When Saruman rejects his offer of redemption, Gandalf strips him of his rank and most of his powers. Pippin looks into a palantr, a seeing-stone that Saruman had used to communicate with Sauron and through which he was enslaved. Gandalf rides for Minas Tirith, chief city of Gondor, taking Pippin with him.Frodo and Sam capture Gollum, who had been following them from Moria, and force him to guide them to Mordor. Finding Mordor's Black Gate too well guarded to attempt, they travel instead to a secret passage Gollum knows. Torn between his loyalty to Frodo and his desire for the Ring, Gollum eventually betrays Frodo by leading him to the great spider Shelob in the tunnels of Cirith Ungol. Frodo is felled by Shelob's bite, but Sam fights her off. Sam takes the Ring and leaves Frodo, believing him to be dead. When orcs find Frodo, Sam overhears them say that Frodo is only unconscious, and chases after them.Sauron unleashes a heavy assault upon Gondor. Gandalf arrives at Minas Tirith to alert Denethor of the impending attack. The city is besieged, and Denethor, deceived by Sauron, gives up hope and commits suicide, nearly taking his remaining son Faramir with him. With time running out, Aragorn feels he has no choice but to take the Paths of the Dead, accompanied by Legolas, Gimli and the Dnedain Rangers from the North. There Aragorn raises an undead army of oath-breakers bound by an ancient curse. The ghostly army help them to defeat the Corsairs of Umbar invading southern Gondor. Commandeering the ships of the Corsairs, Aragorn leads reinforcements up the Anduin to relieve the siege of Minas Tirith, and the forces of Gondor and Rohan defeat Sauron's army in the Battle of the Pelennor Fields.Meanwhile, Sam rescues Frodo from the tower of Cirith Ungol, and they set out across Mordor. In order to distract Sauron from his true danger, Aragorn leads the armies of Gondor and Rohan in a march on the Black Gate of Mordor. His vastly outnumbered troops fight desperately against Sauron's forces. Reaching the edge of the Cracks of Doom, Frodo is unable to resist the Ring any longer, and claims it for himself. Gollum suddenly reappears, struggles with Frodo and bites off his finger, Ring and all. Celebrating wildly, Gollum falls into the fire, taking the Ring with him. With the destruction of the One Ring, Sauron is permanently shorn of his power, the Nazgl perish, and his armies are thrown into such disarray that Aragorn's forces emerge victorious.With the end of the War of the Ring, Aragorn is crowned Elessar, King of Arnor and Gondor, and marries his long-time love, Arwen, daughter of Elrond. Saruman escapes from Isengard and enslaves the Shire through Lotho Sackville-Baggins. The four hobbits, upon returning home, raise a rebellion and overthrow him. Grma turns on Saruman and kills him, and is slain in turn by hobbit archers. The War of the Ring thus comes to its true end on Frodo's very doorstep. Merry and Pippin are acclaimed heroes, while Sam marries Rosie Cotton and uses his gifts from Galadriel to help heal the Shire. Frodo, however, remains wounded in body and spirit after having borne the weight of the One Ring so long.Several years later, accompanied by Bilbo and Gandalf, he sails from the Grey Havens west over the Sea to the Undying Lands to find peace. After Rosie's death, Sam gives his daughter the Red Book of Westmarch, containing the account of Bilbo's adventures and the War of the Ring as witnessed by the hobbits. Sam is then said to have crossed west over the Sea himself, the last of the Ring-bearers.Main characters[edit]Protagonists: Frodo Baggins, bearer of the One Ring, given to him by Bilbo Baggins. Samwise Gamgee, gardener and friend of the Bagginses Meriadoc Brandybuck (Merry), Frodo's cousin Peregrin Took (Pip or Pippin), Frodo's cousin Gandalf, a wizard. He is a Maia, an angelic being sent by the god-like Valar to fight Sauron. He bears the Ring of Fire, one of the three Elven rings, given to him by Crdan of the Grey Havens. Aragorn, descendant of Isildur and rightful heir to the thrones of Arnor and Gondor Legolas Greenleaf, an Elf prince and son of King Thranduil of Mirkwood Gimli, son of Glin Denethor, ruling Steward of Gondor and Lord of Minas Tirith. Boromir, the eldest son of Denethor Faramir, younger brother of Boromir Galadriel, Elf co-ruler of Lothlrien, and grandmother of Arwen Undmiel (Arwen Evenstar). Keeper of one of the three Elven rings. Celeborn, Elf co-ruler of Lothlrien, husband of Galadriel, and grandfather of Arwen Undmiel Elrond, Half-elven Lord of Rivendell and father of Arwen Undmiel. Keeper of another of the Elven rings. Arwen, daughter of Elrond, love interest of Aragorn Bilbo Baggins, Frodo's adoptive uncle Thoden, King of Rohan omer, the 3rd Marshal of the Mark and Thoden's nephew. Later King of Rohan after Thoden's death. owyn, sister of omer, who disguises herself as a male warrior named Dernhelm to fight beside Thoden. Treebeard, oldest of the EntsAntagonists: Sauron, the Dark Lord and titular Lord of the Rings, a fallen Maia who helped the Elves forge the Rings of Power long ago. Lieutenant of Morgoth in the First Age. The Nazgl or Ringwraiths, men enslaved by Sauron when they accepted his treacherous gifts of Rings of Power. The Witch-king of Angmar, the Lord of the Nazgl, and Sauron's most powerful servant, who commands Sauron's army. Saruman, a wizard who seeks the One Ring for himself. Corrupted by Sauron through the palantr. Like Gandalf, he is a Maia. Grma Wormtongue, a secret servant of Saruman and traitor to Rohan, who poisons Thoden's perceptions with well placed "advice". Gollum, a river hobbit originally named Smagol. Various Orcs, soldiers of Mordor or Isengard. Those who play significant roles in the story include Uglk, captain of the Uruk-hai of Isengard, Grishnkh, orc of Mordor and Uglk's antagonist, Shagrat of Cirith Ungol, and Gorbag of Minas Morgul. Shelob, a giant spider who dwells in the passes above Minas Morgul. The Balrog, a fire-demon dwelling beneath the Mines of Moria awakened by the digging and mining of Dwarves. The Haradrim, Men residing south of Gondor. Allies of Sauron. The Easterlings, Men of the East of Middle-earth who follow Sauron. The Corsairs of Umbar, enemies of Gondor.Concept and creation[edit]Background[edit]The Lord of the Rings started as a sequel to J. R. R. Tolkien's earlier work The Hobbit, published in 1937.[12] The popularity of The Hobbit had led George Allen & Unwin, the publishers, to request a sequel. Tolkien warned them that he wrote quite slowly, and responded with several stories he had already developed. Having rejected his contemporary drafts for The Silmarillion, putting on hold Roverandom, and accepting Farmer Giles of Ham, Allen & Unwin thought more stories about hobbits would be popular.[13] So at the age of 45, Tolkien began writing the story that would become The Lord of the Rings. The story would not be finished until 12 years later, in 1949, and would not be fully published until 1955, when Tolkien was 63 years old.Writing[edit]Persuaded by his publishers, he started "a new Hobbit" in December 1937.[12] After several false starts, the story of the One Ring emerged. The idea for the first chapter ("A Long-Expected Party") arrived fully formed, although the reasons behind Bilbo's disappearance, the significance of the Ring, and the title The Lord of the Rings did not arrive until the spring of 1938.[12] Originally, he planned to write a story in which Bilbo had used up all his treasure and was looking for another adventure to gain more; however, he remembered the Ring and its powers and thought that would be a better focus for the new work.[12] As the story progressed, he also brought in elements from 'The Silmarillion' mythology.[14]Writing was slow, due to Tolkien having a full-time academic position, and needing to earn further money as a university examiner.[15] Tolkien abandoned The Lord of the Rings during most of 1943 and only re-started it in April 1944,[12] as a serial for his son Christopher Tolkien, who was sent chapters as they were written while he was serving in South Africa with the Royal Air Force. Tolkien made another concerted effort in 1946, and showed the manuscript to his publishers in 1947.[12] The story was effectively finished the next year, but Tolkien did not complete the revision of earlier parts of the work until 1949.[12] The original manuscripts, which total 9,250 pages, now reside in the J.R.R. Tolkien Collection at Marquette University.[16]Influences[edit]

Mentioned at the beginning of The Lord of the Rings, the Ivy Bush[17] is the closest public house to Birmingham Oratory which Tolkien attended while living near Edgbaston Reservoir. Perrott's Folly is nearby.Main article: J. R. R. Tolkien's influencesThe Lord of the Rings developed as a personal exploration by Tolkien of his interests in philology, religion (particularly Roman Catholicism[18]), fairy tales, Norse and general Germanic mythology,[19][20] and also Celtic,[21] Slavic,[22][23][24] Persian,[25] Greek,[26] and Finnish mythology.[27] Tolkien acknowledged, and external critics have verified, the influences of George MacDonald and William Morris[28] and the Anglo-Saxon poem Beowulf.[29] The question of a direct influence of Wagner's The Nibelung's Ring on Tolkien's work is debated by critics.Tolkien included neither any explicit religion nor cult in his work. Rather the themes, moral philosophy, and cosmology of the Lord of the Rings reflect his Catholic worldview. In one of his letters Tolkien states, "The Lord of the Rings is of course a fundamentally religious and Catholic work; unconsciously so at first, but consciously in the revision. That is why I have not put in, or have cut out, practically all references to anything like 'religion', to cults or practices, in the imaginary world. For the religious element is absorbed into the story and the symbolism."[18]Some locations and characters were inspired by Tolkien's childhood in Birmingham, where he first lived near Sarehole Mill, and later near Edgbaston Reservoir.[30] There are also hints of the Black Country, which is within easy reach of north west Edgbaston. This shows in such names as "Underhill", and the description of Saruman's industrialisation of Isengard and The Shire. It has also been suggested that The Shire and its surroundings were based on the countryside around Stonyhurst College in Lancashire where Tolkien frequently stayed during the 1940s.[31] The work was influenced by the effects of his military service during World War I, to the point that Frodo has been "diagnosed" as suffering from Posttraumatic Stress Disorder, or "shell-shock," which was first diagnosed at the Battle of the Somme, at which Tolkien served.[32]Publication history[edit]A dispute with his publisher, George Allen & Unwin, led to the book being offered to Collins in 1950. Tolkien intended The Silmarillion (itself largely unrevised at this point) to be published along with The Lord of the Rings, but A&U were unwilling to do this. After Milton Waldman, his contact at Collins, expressed the belief that The Lord of the Rings itself "urgently wanted cutting", Tolkien eventually demanded that they publish the book in 1952.[33] Collins did not; and so Tolkien wrote to Allen and Unwin, saying, "I would gladly consider the publication of any part of the stuff."[12]For publication, the book was divided into three volumes: The Fellowship of the Ring (Books I, The Ring Sets Out, and II, The Ring Goes South), The Two Towers (Books III, The Treason of Isengard, and IV, The Ring Goes East), and The Return of the King (Books V, The War of the Ring, and VI, The End of the Third Age, plus six appendices). This was due largely to post-war paper shortages, as well as being a way to keep down the price of the book. Delays in producing appendices, maps and especially indices led to the volumes being published later than originally hoped on 21 July 1954, on 11 November 1954 and on 20 October 1955 respectively in the United Kingdom, and slightly later in the United States. The Return of the King was especially delayed. Tolkien, moreover, did not especially like the title The Return of the King, believing it gave away too much of the storyline. He had originally suggested The War of the Ring, which was dismissed by his publishers.[34]The books were published under a profit-sharing arrangement, whereby Tolkien would not receive an advance or royalties until the books had broken even, after which he would take a large share of the profits.[35] It has ultimately become the third best-selling novel ever written, with over 150 million copies sold.[2] Only A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens and The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupry have sold more copies worldwide (over 200 million each) while the fourth best-selling novel is Tolkien's The Hobbit.[36][37][38]Editions and revisions[edit]In the early 1960s Donald A. Wollheim, science fiction editor of the paperback publisher Ace Books, claimed that The Lord of the Rings was not protected in the United States under American copyright law because Houghton Mifflin, the U.S. hardcover publisher, had neglected to copyright the work in the United States.[39][40] Ace Books then proceeded to publish an edition, unauthorized by Tolkien and without paying royalties to him. Tolkien took issue with this and quickly notified his fans of this objection.[41] Grass-roots pressure from these fans became so great that Ace Books withdrew their edition and made a nominal payment to Tolkien.[42][43] Authorized editions followed from Ballantine Books and Houghton Mifflin to tremendous commercial success. By the mid-1960s the novel had become a cultural phenomenon. Tolkien undertook various textual revisions to produce a version of the book that would be published with his consent and establish an unquestioned US copyright. This text became the Second Edition of The Lord of the Rings, published in 1965.[42] Houghton Mifflin editions after 1994 consolidate variant revisions by Tolkien, and corrections supervised by Christopher Tolkien, which resulted, after some initial glitches, in a computer-based unified text.[44]Posthumous publication of drafts[edit]From 1988 to 1992 Christopher Tolkien published the surviving drafts of The Lord of The Rings, chronicling and illuminating with commentary the stages of the text's development, in volumes 69 of his History of Middle-earth series. The four volumes carry the titles The Return of the Shadow, The Treason of Isengard, The War of the Ring, and Sauron Defeated.Translations[edit]Main article: Translations of The Lord of the RingsThe novel has been translated, with various degrees of success, into at least 38 other languages.[45] Tolkien, an expert in philology, examined many of these translations, and made comments on each that reflect both the translation process and his work. As he was unhappy with some choices made by early translators, such as the Swedish translation by ke Ohlmarks,[46] Tolkien wrote a "Guide to the Names in The Lord of the Rings" (1967). Because The Lord of the Rings purports to be a translation of the fictitious Red Book of Westmarch, with the English language representing the Westron of the "original", Tolkien suggested that translators attempt to capture the interplay between English and the invented nomenclature of the English work, and gave several examples along with general guidance.Reception[edit]Main article: Reception of J. R. R. TolkienWhile early reviews for The Lord of the Rings have been mixed, reviews in various media have been, on the whole, highly positive and acknowledge Tolkien's literary achievement as a significant one. On its initial review the Sunday Telegraph felt it was "among the greatest works of imaginative fiction of the twentieth century."[47] The Sunday Times seemed to echo these sentiments when in its review it was stated that "the English-speaking world is divided into those who have read The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit and those who are going to read them."[47] The New York Herald Tribune also seemed to have an idea of how popular the books would become, writing in its review that they were "destined to outlast our time."[48] W. H. Auden, an admirer of Tolkien's writings, regarded The Lord of the Rings as a "masterpiece", further stating that in some cases it outdid the achievement of John Milton's Paradise Lost.[49]New York Times reviewer Judith Shulevitz criticized the "pedantry" of Tolkien's literary style, saying that he "formulated a high-minded belief in the importance of his mission as a literary preservationist, which turns out to be death to literature itself."[50] Critic Richard Jenkyns, writing in The New Republic, criticized the work for a lack of psychological depth. Both the characters and the work itself are, according to Jenkyns, "anemic, and lacking in fibre."[51] Even within Tolkien's literary group, The Inklings, reviews were mixed. Hugo Dyson complained loudly at its readings, and Christopher Tolkien records Dyson as "lying on the couch, and lolling and shouting and saying, 'Oh God, not another Elf!'"[52][53] However, another Inkling, C. S. Lewis, had very different feelings, writing, "here are beauties which pierce like swords or burn like cold iron. Here is a book which will break your heart." Despite these reviews and its lack of paperback printing until the 1960s, The Lord of the Rings initially sold well in hardback.[7]In 1957, The Lord of the Rings was awarded the International Fantasy Award. Despite its numerous detractors, the publication of the Ace Books and Ballantine paperbacks helped The Lord of the Rings become immensely popular in the United States in the 1960s. The book has remained so ever since, ranking as one of the most popular works of fiction of the twentieth century, judged by both sales and reader surveys.[54] In the 2003 "Big Read" survey conducted in Britain by the BBC, The Lord of the Rings was found to be the "Nation's best-loved book." In similar 2004 polls both Germany[55] and Australia[56] also found The Lord of the Rings to be their favourite book. In a 1999 poll of Amazon.com customers, The Lord of the Rings was judged to be their favourite "book of the millennium."[57] The Lord of the Rings was awarded the Prometheus Hall of Fame Award in 2009.Ethan Gilsdorf, writing for The Boston Globe, commented that while there are movements within academia to approach The Lord of the Rings as a serious literary work, the 20012003 film trilogy has contributed to a dumbing down of the reception of the novel by the forces of mass-commercialization.[58]Themes[edit]Main article: Themes of The Lord of the RingsAlthough The Lord of the Rings was published in the 1950s, Tolkien insisted that the One Ring was not an allegory for the Atomic Bomb,[59] nor were his works a strict allegory of any kind, but were open to interpretation as the reader saw fit.[60][61]A few critics have found what they consider to be racial elements in the story, generally based upon their views of how Tolkien's imagery depicts good and evil, characters' race (e.g. Elf, Dwarf, Hobbit, Southron, Nmenrean, Orc); and that the character's race is seen as determining their behaviour.[62][63][64] Counter-arguments note that race-focused critiques often omit relevant textual evidence to the contrary,[65][66][67] cite imagery from adaptations rather than the work itself;[68] ignore the absence of evidence of racist attitudes or events in the author's personal life[65][68][69] and claim that the perception of racism is itself a marginal view.[69]Critics have also seen social class rather than race as being the determinant factor for the portrayal of good and evil.[65] Commentators such as science fiction author David Brin have interpreted the work to hold unquestioning devotion to a traditional elitist social structure.[70] In his essay "Epic Pooh", science fiction and fantasy author Michael Moorcock critiques the world-view displayed by the book as deeply conservative, in both the 'paternalism' of the narrative voice and the power-structures in the narrative.[71] Tom Shippey cites the origin of this portrayal of evil as a reflection of the prejudices of European middle-classes during the inter-war years towards the industrial working class.[72]The book has been read as fitting the model of Joseph Campbell's "monomyth".[73]Adaptations[edit]Main article: Adaptations of The Lord of the RingsThe Lord of the Rings has been adapted for film, radio and stage.The book has been adapted for radio four times. In 1955 and 1956, the BBC broadcast The Lord of the Rings, a 12-part radio adaptation of the story. In the 1960s radio station WBAI produced a short radio adaptation. A 1979 dramatization of The Lord of the Rings was broadcast in the United States and subsequently issued on tape and CD. In 1981, the BBC broadcast The Lord of the Rings, a new dramatization in 26 half-hour instalments. This dramatization of The Lord of the Rings has subsequently been made available on both tape and CD both by the BBC and other publishers. For this purpose it is generally edited into 13 one hour episodes.Two film adaptations of the book have been made. The first was J. R. R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings (1978), by animator Ralph Bakshi,[74] the first part of what was originally intended to be a two-part adaptation of the story; it covers The Fellowship of the Ring and part of The Two Towers. A three-issue comic book version of the movie was also published in Europe (but not printed in English), with illustrations by Luis Bermejo. When Bakshi's investors shied away of financing the second film that would complete the story, the remainder of the story was covered in an animated television special by Rankin-Bass. Stylistically, the two segments are very different. The second and far more critically and commercially successful adaptation was Peter Jackson's live action The Lord of the Rings film trilogy, produced by New Line Cinema and released in three instalments as The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001), The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (2002), and The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003). All three parts received nearly universal acclaim and were each nominated for and won multiple Academy Awards, including consecutive Best Picture nominations. The final instalment of this trilogy was the second film to break the one-billion-dollar barrier and won a total of 11 Oscars (something only two other films in history, Ben-Hur and Titanic, have accomplished), including "Best Picture", "Best Director", "Best Adapted Screenplay" and "Best Original Score".The Hunt for Gollum, a fan film based on elements of the appendices to The Lord of the Rings, was released on the internet in May 2009 and has been covered in major media.[75]In 1990, Recorded Books published an audio version of The Lord of the Rings,[76] with British actor Rob Inglis who had previously starred in his own one-man stage productions of The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings reading. A large-scale musical theatre adaptation, The Lord of the Rings was first staged in Toronto, Ontario, Canada in 2006 and opened in London in May 2007.Legacy[edit]Main article: Works inspired by J. R. R. TolkienInfluences on the fantasy genre[edit]The enormous popularity of Tolkien's epic saga greatly expanded the demand for fantasy fiction. Largely thanks to The Lord of the Rings, the genre flowered throughout the 1960s, and enjoys popularity to the present day. The opus has spawned many imitators, such as The Sword of Shannara, which Lin Carter called "the single most cold-blooded, complete rip-off of another book that I have ever read".[77] Dungeons & Dragons, which popularized the role-playing game (RPG) genre in the 1970s, features many races found in The Lord of the Rings, most notably halflings (another term for hobbits), elves, dwarves, half-elves, orcs, and dragons. However, Gary Gygax, lead designer of the game, maintained that he was influenced very little by The Lord of the Rings, stating that he included these elements as a marketing move to draw on the popularity the work enjoyed at the time he was developing the game.[78]Because D&D has influenced many popular role-playing video games, the influence of The Lord of the Rings extends to many of them as well, with titles such as Dragon Warrior,[79][80] , the Ultima series , EverQuest, the Warcraft series, and the Elder Scrolls series of games[81] as well as video games set in Middle-earth itself.Research also suggests that some consumers of fantasy games derive their motivation from trying to create an epic fantasy narrative which is influenced by the Lord of the Rings.[82]Music[edit]In 1965, songwriter Donald Swann, who was best known for his collaboration with Michael Flanders as Flanders & Swann, set six poems from The Lord of the Rings and one from The Adventures of Tom Bombadil ("Errantry") to music. When Swann met with Tolkien to play the songs for his approval, Tolkien suggested for "Namri" (Galadriel's lament) a setting reminiscent of plain chant, which Swann accepted.[83] The songs were published in 1967 as The Road Goes Ever On: A Song Cycle,[84] and a recording of the songs performed by singer William Elvin with Swann on piano was issued that same year by Caedmon Records as Poems and Songs of Middle Earth.[85]In 1988, Dutch composer and trombonist Johan de Meij completed his Symphony No. 1 "The Lord of the Rings", which encompassed 5 movements, titled "Gandalf", "Lothlrien", "Gollum", "Journey in the Dark", and "Hobbits". In 1989 the symphony was awarded the Sudler Composition Award, awarded biennially for best wind band composition. The Danish Tolkien Ensemble have released a number of albums that feature the complete poems and songs of The Lord of the Rings set to music, with some featuring recitation by Christopher Lee.Rock bands of the 1970s were musically and lyrically inspired by the fantasy embracing counter-culture of the time; British 70s rock band Led Zeppelin recorded several songs that contain explicit references to The Lord of the Rings ("Ramble On", "The Battle of Evermore", "Over the Hills and Far Away", and "Misty Mountain Hop"). In 1970, the Swedish musician Bo Hansson released an instrumental concept album based on the book entitled Sagan om ringen (translated as "The Saga of the Ring", which was the title of the Swedish translation of The Lord of the Rings at the time).[86] The album was subsequently released internationally as Music Inspired by Lord of the Rings in 1972.[86] The songs "Rivendell" and "The Necromancer" by the progressive rock band Rush were inspired by Tolkien. And Styx also paid homage to Tolkien on their "Pieces of Eight" album with the song "Lords of the Ring," while Black Sabbath's song, "The Wizard", which appeared on their debut album, was influenced by Tolkien's hero, Gandalf. The heavy metal band Cirith Ungol took their name from a fictional place in Middle-earth of the same name. Progressive rock group Camel paid homage to the text in their lengthy composition "Nimrodel/The Procession/The White Rider", and Progressive rock band Barclay James Harvest was inspired by the character Galadriel to write a song by that name, and used "Bombadil", the name of another character, as a pseudonym under which their 1972 single "Breathless"/"When the City Sleeps" was released; there are other references scattered through the BJH oeuvre.Later, from the 1980s to the present day, many heavy metal acts have been influenced by Tolkien. Blind Guardian has written many songs relating to Middle-earth, including the full concept album Nightfall in Middle Earth. Almost all of Summoning's songs and the entire discography of Battlelore are Tolkien-themed. Gorgoroth and Amon Amarth take their names from an area of Mordor, and Burzum take their name from the Black Speech of Mordor. The Finnish metal band Nightwish and the Norwegian metal band Tristania have also incorporated many Tolkien references into their music. A Swedish metal band, Sabaton, based their song "Shadows" on the nine ring wraiths.[citation needed]Enya wrote an instrumental piece called "Lothlrien" in 1991, and composed two songs for the film The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring"May It Be" (sung in English and Quenya) and "Anron" (sung in Sindarin).Impact on popular culture[edit]The Lord of the Rings has had a profound and wide-ranging impact on popular culture, beginning with its publication in the 1950s, but especially throughout the 1960s and 1970s, during which time young people embraced it as a countercultural saga.[87] "Frodo Lives!" and "Gandalf for President" were two phrases popular amongst United States Tolkien fans during this time.[88]Parodies like the Harvard Lampoon's Bored of the Rings, the VeggieTales episode "Lord of the Beans", the South Park episode "The Return of the Fellowship of the Ring to the Two Towers", the Futurama film "Bender's Game", The Adventures of Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius episode "Lights! Camera! Danger!", The Big Bang Theory episode "The Precious Fragmentation", and the American Dad! episode "The Return of the Bling" are testimony to the work's continual presence in popular culture.In 1969, Tolkien sold the merchandising rights to The Lord of The Rings (and The Hobbit) to United Artists under an agreement stipulating a lump sum payment of 10,000[89] plus a 7.5% royalty after costs,[90] payable to Allen & Unwin and the author.[91] In 1976, three years after the author's death, United Artists sold the rights to Saul Zaentz Company, who now trade as Tolkien Enterprises. Since then all "authorized" merchandise has been signed-off by Tolkien Enterprises, although the intellectual property rights of the specific likenesses of characters and other imagery from various adaptations is generally held by the adaptors.[92] Outside any commercial exploitation from adaptations, from the late 1960s onwards there has been an increasing variety of original licensed merchandise, from posters and calendars created by illustrators such as Pauline Baynes and the Brothers Hildebrandt, to figurines and miniatures to computer, video, tabletop and role-playing games. Recent examples include the Spiel des Jahres award winning (for best use of literature in a game) board game The Lord of the Rings by Reiner Knizia and the Golden Joystick award-winning massively multiplayer online role-playing game, The Lord of the Rings Online: Shadows of Angmar by Turbine, Inc..

THE LORD OF THE RINGSTHE LORD OF THE RINGS

ContextPeter Jackson, the director of The Lord of the Rings trilogy, was born in New Zealand in 1961, on Halloween. When Jackson was eight years old, his parents bought an 8mm camera, and in just a few years he was making short movies with his friends. He often used innovative special effects techniques for his very low-budget films, paving the way for his work with special effects later on in his filmmaking career. He began making his first feature film, the low-budget Bad Taste (1987), when he was twenty-two, and it became a cult classic. Eventually, he made a name for himself as a director of gory horror movies, including Meet the Feebles (1989) and Dead Alive (1992), then branched out a bit with Heavenly Creatures (1994), a film based on a real-life murder perpetrated by two young girls in New Zealand.Jackson had been a longtime fan of J. R. R. Tolkiens The Lord of the Rings, and he first approached Miramax with the idea of making two films based on the novels. Despite the studios initial support of the project, the budget proved too daunting for them, and Jackson brought his idea to New Line Cinema in 1998. Jacksons plan to film the movies in New Zealand and employ his own special effects studios pleased New Line, and they increased the project to three films. In an unprecedented move, they agreed to let Jackson direct all three films at one time. His budget was $270 million, and filming took nearly fourteen months.In 2004, The Return of the King (2003), the third film in The Lord of the Rings trilogy, won the Oscar for Best Picture. The award was hardly a surprise. The first two films in the series, The Fellowship of the Ring and The Two Towers, had both been nominated but lost, and the trilogy seemed to be due an award. Few critics, however, considered the third film better than the first two, and, like its predecessors, the film was praised but not celebrated. However, the fact that The Return of the King concluded the trilogy seemed to make it more worthy of an Oscar than the previous two installments had been. Unlike the films that make up other famous trilogies, such as The Godfather, Star Wars, and Indiana Jones, the films in The Lord of the Rings are not complete in and of themselves. The Fellowship of the Ring might as well have a To Be Continued . . . sign before the credits, and The Two Towers actually has neither a real beginning nor a real end. Even The Return of the King, though it indeed has an ending, starts in media res, and anyone who has not seen the first two films will be a bit lost. The Best Picture award is, in effect, a single award for the entire trilogy, which itself might be more accurately described as one very long movie than as three separate films.The trilogys unity is perhaps its most distinguishing characteristic. Its consistency is largely due to the circumstances of its production. For two years, from 1999 to 2001, Jackson filmed in New Zealand, creating the footage used in all three films. Though the movies were edited and released separately, the fact that the entire trilogys footage was filmed at one time and in one place goes a long way toward explaining the unity of the entire trilogy. The congruity of the trilogy can also be ascribed to the fact that the films closely follow Tolkiens novels. Movies, which are collaborative, tend to be influenced by many different peoplewriters, directors, producers, cinematographers, and actorswhile books tend to represent the vision of one writer. Because the films stay close to the novels, they benefit from the consistency of Tolkiens vision.While critics generally praised the films, few considered them to be anything more than very well-done big-budget extravaganzas, but the films popularity has made them very influential in the filmmaking world. For example, The Lord of the Rings trilogy has influenced the length of motion pictures. Each of the three films is approximately three hours long, and the entire trilogy lasts well over nine hours. For many years the standard Hollywood film length was an hour and a half. The average feature film had already begun to grow before the release of The Lord of the Rings, but the trilogys success partly explains the increasing number of two-and-a-half to three-hour movies, as well as multifilm epics, such as Quentin Tarantinos two-part Kill Bill.The trilogy also helped to reintroduce a forgotten genre: the war epic. For many years, most war films concerned the Vietnam War, and these films invariably approached the war with cynicism and aimed to present a balanced picture that documented the human suffering on both sides. Even war films, such as Glory and Saving Private Ryan, which seem to celebrate the heroism and sacrifice of common soldiers fighting just wars, never hide the fact that war is hell. Even if a war is just, these films suggest, it is still pure hell for the soldiers fighting it. The Lord of the Rings trilogy, however, seems to have helped reintroduce the notion of war as an aspect of coming of age, one way that a man can mature and make his name.Neither Tolkien nor Jackson intended their work to be classified as fantasy, and instead viewed their work as a form of history-making. Many aspects of Jacksons films, however, are indeed fantastical and follow a line of other films that portray worlds far different from the one we know. Movies have always taken place in both recognizable and alternative worlds, and for many years, the dominant genre in this alternate tradition was science fiction. Films like The Terminator portray futures in which cyborgs walk the earth and space travel is common. Science fiction eventually produced cyberpunk, a subgenre that includes such films as The Matrix, in which the virtual world of the computer becomes the new frontier. Fantasy, like science fiction and cyberpunk, portrays worlds that differ radically from both the present and the past, but the alternate world in works of fantasy is not defined by technology. Science fiction and cyberpunk most often concern an imagined future, while fantasy generally concerns an alternative past. Middle-earth, the setting of The Lord of the Rings, resembles a legendary, rather than historical, conception of the Middle Ages, where warriors wear shining armor and ride off to battle on horseback. Moreover, Middle-earth is a world of mystery, populated by elves, dwarves, magicians, and evil spirits, a fantastic land in keeping with the religiosity of the Middle Ages. Science fiction and cyberpunk are rooted in both the modern and the futuristic worlds, and to some extent, The Lord of the Rings signals a return to more conservative Hollywood films, a step back from the technology-centric, socially critical movies that have been the norm for the better part of the past thirty years.Plot OverviewThe Fellowship of the RingThe film begins with a summary of the prehistory of the ring of power. Long ago, twenty rings existed: three for elves, seven for dwarves, nine for men, and one made by the Dark Lord Sauron, in Mordor, which would rule all the others. Sauron poured all his evil and his will to dominate into this ring. An alliance of elves and humans resisted Saurons ring and fought against Mordor. They won the battle and the ring fell to Isildur, the son of the king of Gondor, but just as he was about to destroy the ring in Mount Doom, he changed his mind and held on to it for himself. Later he was killed, and the ring fell to the bottom of the sea. The creature Gollum discovered it and brought it to his cave. Then he lost it to the hobbit Bilbo Baggins.The movie cuts to an image of the hobbits peaceful Shire years later, where the wizard Gandalf has come to celebrate Bilbos 111th birthday. The party is an extravagant occasion with fireworks and revelry, and Bilbo entertains children with tales of his adventures. In the middle of a rambling speech, however, he puts on the ring, which makes him invisible, and runs to his house to pack his things and leave the Shire. Gandalf meets Bilbo back in his house and tells him he must give up the ring. Eventually Bilbo agrees to entrust it to his nephew Frodo. Gandalf senses that the ring is gaining power over Bilbo. We see a flash of Mordor, and hooded horsemen, the ringwraiths, leave its gates. The scene shifts to Gandalf, who rushes to a library to sift through ancient scrolls. As the ringwraiths begin to close in on Bilbos house, Gandalf returns to Frodo and throws the ring into Bilbos hearth. Mysterious letters appear on the rings surface. Only then does Gandalf realize that this ring is actually Saurons ring. Gandalf explains to Frodo that the ring and Sauron are one. He longs to find it, and it longs to find him. Gandalf has learned that Sauron has kidnapped Gollum and that Gollum has revealed that Bilbo has the ring. The ring must leave the Shire or it will endanger all the hobbits. Gandalf cannot take it himself, since as a wizard he will wield too much power with the ring. He determines that Frodo must take it. Gandalf explains that if Frodo puts on the ring, it will draw Saurons agents to it. Suddenly, Gandalf discovers that Frodos friend Sam has been hiding outside and listening to Gandalf and Frodo. At first, Gandalf is furious at Sams eavesdropping, but then he recruits Sam to be Frodos travel partner and protector.Sam and Frodo leave Bilbos house, and in very little time they have ventured further from the Shire than ever before. Merry and Pippin, two mischievous hobbits who are fleeing a farmer from whom theyve stolen, encounter Sam and Bilbo and join their party. The ringwraiths ride by, and the hobbits narrowly escape detection. Frodo is tempted to put on the ring, but Sam stops him. This urge is Frodos first insight into the power and temptation of the ring.The hobbits arrive at the town of Bree and enter the inn known as the Prancing Pony, where they are supposed to meet Gandalf, but the wizard isnt there. The ring accidentally slips onto Frodos finger, alerting the ringwraiths to his whereabouts. A ranger named Strider introduces himself to the group of hobbits and urges them to be more careful. The wraiths arrive at the hotel, but the hobbits, thanks to Strider, are well hidden. Strider explains to them that the wraiths were formerly the nine human kings who had the nine human rings. They are hunting the ring because finding it is the only way they can come back to life.Meanwhile, Gandalf has approached another wizard, Saruman, for counsel. Saruman already knows about the ring and Saurons attempts to regain power. He declares that Mordor cannot be defeated and that the two wizards must join with Sauron. Gandalf protests, and the wizards battle. Saruman wins and imprisons Gandalf atop Sarumans giant tower in Isengard, called Orthanc. At his tower, Saruman is constructing a terrifying army with the intention of waging war on Middle-earth. A butterfly rouses Gandalf and takes a message from him, and a giant eagle comes and saves him.Strider and the hobbits head for Rivendell, home of the elves. They stop at a hill called Weathertop, where Strider hands the hobbits weapons and suggests they make camp for the night. The hobbits foolishly light a fire at their campsite, and the ringwraiths spot them. The ringwraiths stab Frodo, but Strider fights them off and saves Frodos life. Arwen, an elf princess, finds the party and hurries to Rivendell with Frodo, barely evading the wraiths. Frodo is cured and wakes up to discover Gandalf by his side. Bilbo, who has aged significantly, is also at Rivendell, having just completed the book of his adventures, There and Back Again: A Hobbits Tale. Elrond, the king of the elves and Arwens father, tells Gandalf that the ring cannot stay in Rivendell but must go further. Pessimistic about the future of Middle-earth, Elrond claims that the time of the elves is over, the dwarves are too selfish to help, and men are weak. The ring survives because of Isildurs weakness. Moreover, the line of human kings is broken, though the heir of Gondor, who has chosen exile, can reunite them.Shortly after this declaration, we learn that Striders true name is Aragorn and that he is the heir of Gondor. We also learn that Aragorn and Arwen are in love and have been for many years. However, this love requires that Arwen sacrifice her immortality, one of the chief attributes of elves.Elrond convenes a meeting and announces that the races must come together to defeat Mordor. Frodo presents the ring, and Elrond insists that it must be destroyed in the fires of Mount Doom, where it was made. There is some disagreement as to who will undertake this arduous task, and eventually Frodo emerges. Others step forward to accompany Frodo, forming a fellowship of the ring. The fellowship includes the hobbits Frodo, Sam, Merry, and Pippin; one elf, Legolas; one dwarf, Gimli; one wizard, Gandalf; and two humans, Aragorn and Boromir. Boromir is the son of the steward of Gondor, who has ruled the kingdom in the absence of the rightful king.The fellowship sets forth from Rivendell. Saruman causes an avalanche of snow to block the groups attempt to cross the pass of Caradhras, and they decide to enter the realm of the dwarves, the mines of Moria. Inside Moria, the party discovers that all the dwarves have been killed, and soon the fellowship is surrounded by an army of orcs, inhuman creatures that are also brutal, ruthless warriors. The orcs disperse, however, at the approach of a Balrog, a demonic creature from the underworld. The fellowship flees this creature as the mines collapse. Gandalf stays behind to battle the Balrog, which he sends collapsing to the depths of the mines. However, as the Balrog falls, it grabs hold of Gandalfs legs and drags the wizard down with it. The fellowship emerges from the mines saddened by the loss of Gandalf, but Aragorn insists they have no time to mourn and must press on.Coming to a forest, the Sylvan elves, led by Galadriel, the Lady of Woods, meet the fellowship. That evening, the Lady and Frodo speak in private. She asks him to look into a mirror, which is a basin of water, and tell her what he sees. He sees visions of the Shire destroyed, of his companions surrounded by orcs, and of the huge, fiery eye of Sauron. The Lady tells him he has seen visions of what will happen if his mission fails. She warns him that the fellowship is breaking and that one by one the ring will destroy them all. Frodo doubts his ability to accomplish his task on his own, but she says that as the ring-bearer, he is already alone. If he does not accomplish the task, no one will. The Lady encourages Frodo and gives him a parting gift, a star of light that will illuminate his path when all other lights go out. The next day, the fellowship departs in boats down the river. Meanwhile, Saruman has dispatched Uruk-hai, unusually large and powerful creatures whose sole mission is to destroy the world of men, after the party, with the instructions to kill everyone but bring the hobbits back alive.After docking on dry land, Frodo wanders off, and Boromir follows. Frodo is determined to go off alone, but Boromir wants the ring. He is about to attack Frodo for it when Frodo puts on the ring and disappears. This is the longest period of time that Frodo has ever worn the ring, and he has his longest look yet at the fiery eye of Sauron. When Frodo takes the ring off, Aragorn is beside him. Frodo distrusts him, too, but Aragorn passes the test that Boromir failed. He tells Frodo to run off and turns to face the approaching army of Uruk-hai. Boromir also fights valiantly but is badly wounded. The Uruk-hai capture Pippin and Merry. Aragorn wins an epic battle with an Uruk-hai, then rushes to the fallen Boromir, who confesses that he tried to steal the ring from Frodo. Boromir says he has failed the group, but Aragorn tells Boromir he has fought bravely. Boromir swears allegiance to Aragorn, his rightful king, as he dies. Back at the river, Frodo regrets having the ring but remembers Gandalfs words about his destiny. He departs in a boat, but Sam insists on coming along. Though he cant swim, Sam jumps in the water, and Frodo is forced to rescue his flailing friend and pull him aboard. Once safe, Sam reminds Frodo that he made a promise never to leave him. On the waters opposite side, Sam and Frodo climb a mountain and spot Mordor in the distance.The Two TowersThe movie begins with Gandalf falling into the mine with the Balrog. As he falls, he catches his sword, which is dropping beside him, and stabs the Balrog. Then he lands in a body of water. This vision is just a dream of Frodos, however, not reality. Frodo and Sam seem to be going in circles, not making any progress on their way to Mordor. Frodo has a vision of Saurons fiery eyethe ring is beginning to take hold of him. Frodo and Sam smell something swampy, then stumble upon Gollum, a pale, hunched creature who used to be a hobbit. Gollum calls the hobbits thieves and accuses them of stealing his ring from him. After a brief fight, the hobbits subdue Gollum and place a leash around his neck. Sam doesnt trust him, but Frodo pities him. In exchange for Gollums leading them to Mordor, they agree to remove the leash from his neck.Meanwhile, Legolas, Gimli, and Aragorn pursue the Uruk-hai, which carry Pippin and Merry. In the castle of Rohan, owyn and omer, the niece and nephew of King Thoden, tell the elderly, incapacitated king that Sarumans army has severely injured his son the prince; he will soon die. Wormtongue, the kings evil advisor, has omer banished. The Uruk-hai carrying Pippin and Merry are attacked by horsemen of Rohan, led by the banished omer, and Pippin and Merry escape in the confusion. Aragorn, Legolas, and Gimli reach the scene of battle shortly afterward. At first they fear there are no survivors, but then they find footprints leading into the woods, which indicate that the hobbits escaped.In the forest, they come upon a white wizard, who turns out to be Gandalf. Gandalf says that a new stage of the war of Middle-earth is upon them: war has come to Rohan. He leads the others back to the edge of the forest and whistles for his horse, and then the four set off for Rohan. Asked to disarm before going to see the king, Gandalf holds onto his staff, which he uses to release Thoden from Sarumans controlling spell. Thoden is transformed from elderly to middle-aged and from weak to strong, and he banishes Wormtongue. Soon villagers arrive at the castle, telling of an oncoming orc and Uruk-hai army. Thoden elects to move Rohans entire population to the fort at Helms Deep, which is what Wormtongue, who arrives at Saruman's tower, tells Saruman will happen.Meanwhile, Pippin and Merry have discovered Treebeard, a giant walking tree, or Ent, which has promised to keep them safe. Sam, Frodo, and Gollum, having arrived at the gates of Mordor, are about to enter Saurons kingdom when Gollum suggests that they take a back entrance. Frodo defends Gollum to Sam. Frodo feels sympathy for the former ring-bearer, while Sam says that the ring is beginning to take over Frodo.One night, as Frodo and Sam sleep, Gollum has the first of what will become a series of internal debates. Smagol, his good side, wants to be obedient to Frodo, who has treated him so nicely. Gollum, his bad side, desperately wants the ring. Smagol temporarily wins out, and the next day Gollum/Smagol presents Frodo with a gift, a rabbit hes hunted, which Sam cooks as a stew. As they eat, they see thousands of troops marching to Mordor, part of the army Sauron is assembling. These arriving soldiers are attacked by a group of humans led by Faramir, Boromirs younger brother, who come upon Frodo and company and capture them.In a dream, Arwen encourages Aragorn to stay the course and not falter. Her father wants her to go off with the other elves to eternal life. Aragorn tells her that their love is over and she should go. As his people head to Helms Deep, Thoden leads an army to fend off the approaching orcs. Aragorn appears to die as he falls over a cliff in the clutches of a hyenalike creature. However, he actually falls into a body of water, and dreams of Arwen kissing him. Aragorns horse resuscitates him and carries him to Helms Deep. Arwens father, Elrond, tells her that the time has come to leave Middle-earth. She wants to wait for Aragorn, but her father insists that Middle-earth can offer her only death. Even if Aragorn does manage to return, he is mortal and will eventually die. However, the Lady of the Woods tells Elrond that Faramir, who has taken Frodo captive, will seize the ring and then all will be lost. Do we elves leave Middle-earth to its fate? she implores Elrond. Do we abandon the fight and let them stand alone?Faramir questions Frodo and Sam. He wants to know of his brothers death. That evening, Faramir captures Gollum, whos been following the troop. Faramir wants to kill the creature, but Frodo insists on sparing him. Later, Frodo tries to help Gollum escape, but Gollum misunderstands and thinks Frodo is complicit in his capture. He undergoes another round of Smagol/Gollum debates, and Faramir comes to understand that Frodo has the ring. Sam explains that their task is to destroy the ring in Mordor, but Faramir says the ring will go to Gondor.An army of 10,000 marches on Rohan, and Helms Deep prepares for battle. Aragorn says they must call upon their allies, but Thoden says they have none and that Gondor cannot be counted on. Things do not look good for Rohan, since the fighters are few and of generally low quality, but all try to be hopeful. Then an elf army of bowmen led by the warrior Haldir arrive. Sent by Elrond, they come to honor the ancient alliance between men and elves. The orcs and Uruk-hai arrive at the walls of Helms Deep beneath a pouring rain. The two armies face each other, and the combat begins when a single human lets an arrow fly. After that, a ferocious battle rages. The Uruk-hai raise ladders and scale the walls of Helms Deep. The elf-human army fights bravely, but the oncoming Uruk-hai are difficult to withstand. They pierce the castle walls and force the defending army deep within the castle. Haldir is killed in battle. Gimli and Aragorn fight bravely on the drawbridge, buying time for the rest of the defending army to regroup.Meanwhile, the Ents have gathered to debate whether to go to war. They speak incredibly slowly and take a long time to make decisions. Eventually, despite Merrys entreaties that they participate in the world, the Ents decide against going to war and encourage the two hobbits to return to the Shire. As Treebeard carries the two hobbits to the edge of the forest, however, he comes across a stretch of gutted forest and burnt trees. He blames Saruman for the destruction and decides to rally the other Ents to war.Women and children flee Helms Deep for the safety of the mountains as Aragorn rallies the remaining soldiers to continue to fight. When all hope seems lost, Gandalf appears in the distance along with the riders of Rohan, led by omer, who charge the Uruk-hai. The Ents attack Saruman's tower and destroy its defenses. They open a dam and the rushing water floods the entire plain surrounding the tower. The battle of Helms Deep is won, but Aragorn and Gandalf see Mordor in the distance, buzzing with activity. The battle for Middle-earth, they know, has just begun.Meanwhile, back in Gondor, where Faramir has brought his captives, Frodo stands face-to-face with a wraith riding a dragon and is about to hand him the ring when Sam intervenes. Angered, Frodo almost attacks his friend, then apologizes and begins to doubt his own strength. Sam encourages him with a stirring speech about heroism and fighting for good. Moved by Sams words, Faramir releases the hobbits.The Return of the KingIn a flashback, we see Smagol, a hobbit, happily fishing with a friend. The friend falls into the water and reemerges holding a ring. Smagol wants the ring and strangles his friend to death. After this, Smagol slowly decays into the dirty, green, raw-fish-eating swamp creature Gollum. He says he forgot what life was like outside his cave. He even forgot his own name. Back in the present, Gollum awakens Frodo and Sam and hurries them along. Sam says hes begun to ration the little food they have left.Meanwhile, Aragorn, Gimli, Legolas, and Gandalf come upon Merry and Pippin celebrating on the flooded plain of Saruman's tower, which Treebeard now seems to control. Saruman is still alive, but he is powerless and isolated in his tower. Pippin spots a seeing stone in the water, and Gandalf grabs it and covers it up. At a memorial service and victory celebration at Rohan, owyn shares wine with Aragorn, with whom she is falling in love. That evening, Pippin steals the seeing stone from Gandalf and sees the fiery eye of Sauron. The stone nearly kills Pippin, who is revived by Gandalf. In the stone, Pippin saw a vision of Minas Tirith, the capital of Gondor, destroyed. He also saw Sauron but refused to give the Dark Lord any information about Frodo. Gandalf says this vision proves that Sauron plans to attack Minas Tirith, where he and Pippin head.About to depart Middle-earth for immortal life, Arwen has a vision of a child that she and Aragorn will have. Quickly, she turns around and returns to Rivendell, where she beseeches her father, who has the gift of foresight, to tell her everything he has seen. She says she knows that death is not the only thing that awaits in her future, but also a child. She says that if she leaves now, shell regret it forever. She asks her father to reforge Narsil, the sword with which Isildur cut off Saurons finger, thereby releasing the ring.Meanwhile, Gandalf and Pippin arrive at Minas Tirith, where Lord Denethor, who rules Gondor as steward in the absence of the king, already knows of the death of his son Boromir. Pippin offers his fealty in payment for Boromirs life, claiming that Boromir saved his own. Gandalf calls upon Denethor to raise an army and call upon his allies. Denethor, however, knows about Aragorn and is afraid of losing power. Gandalf says he cannot resist the return of the king, but Denethor insists that Gondor belongs to him. Disobeying Denethor but following Gandalfs instructions, Pippin lights the Beacon of Minas Tirith, with which Gondor calls its allies to help. Soon, beacons all across Middle-earth are lit, and Thoden decides that Rohan will answer the call.Faramir and his men are gathered at Osgiliath, an outer fortress of Gondor, but lose a battle to an approaching orc army. Escaping to Minas Tirith, Faramir tells Gandalf he has seen Sam and Frodo. Denethor, who clearly favors the deceased Boromir over his surviving son Faramir, beseeches Faramir to retake Osgiliath. Faramir agrees, even though it is clearly a suicide mission. He and his men are promptly slaughtered as they ride into battle.Gollum leads Sam and Frodo to a secret staircase that leads into Mordor. Frodo is pulled toward the front gates, and Saurons giant eye burns, sensing the nearness of the ring. Gollum tells Frodo that Sam will turn on him and come after the ring. As the hobbits sleep, Gollum throws away their remaining food after sprinkling crumbs on Sam to make it look like Sam ate the food himself. When they wake up, Sam discovers that the food is gone and accuses Gollum, who points to the crumbs on Sams cloak. Sam beats up Gollum and then asks Frodo if he needs help carrying the ring, which triggers Frodos doubts about Sam. Frodo decides that Sam, not Gollum, is the problem and decides to continue on with only Gollum.At camp with the horsemen of Rohan, Aragorn dreams that Arwen has chosen immortality, thereby breaking her promise to him. He is roused by a messenger, who informs him a stranger has come. Aragorn follows the messenger into a tent where Elrond reveals himself and relates very different news about Arwen: she is dying, and her fate is tied to the ring. For Aragorn, saving Middle-earth is now bound up with saving the life of his love. Elrond also tells Aragorn he needs to enlist those who dwell in the mountain to fight against Sauron. These mountain-dwellers are crooks, murderers, and traitors, but they will respond to the king of Gondor. In an act that functions as a kind of coronation, Elrond presents Aragorn with the sword Anduril, which was forged from the shards of Narsil. owyn confesses her love to Aragorn, but he tells her he is committed to another. He rides into the mountain with Legolas and Gimli. The men of the mountain swore an oath to a previous king of Gondor but reneged, and Isildur put a curse on them, decreeing that they would never rest until they had fulfilled their obligation. Aragorn and company enter a cave in the mountain and come across a ghost king who says that the dead do not suffer to let the living pass. Suddenly, swarms of ghostly warriors appear. Legolass arrows are powerless against them, but Aragorns sword can stop their thrusts. He asks them to fight for him and regain their honor, marking the first time that he asserts himself as king of Gondor.Dragged behind a horse, Faramirs body arrives at Minas Tirith. The orc army catapults the heads of his dead companions into the city. Denethor bemoans the end of his line, but Pippin insists that Faramir is still alive. The attack on the city begins, but Denethor commands the soldiers to abandon their posts. Seeing that the king is losing his mind, Gandalf takes over command and orders the soldiers to prepare for battle. While the battle rages outside Minas Tirith, Denethor plans to burn Faramir and himself on a pyre. Pippin insists that Faramir is not dead, but Denethor is unconvinced. He lights the pyre, but Gandalf and Pippin rescue Faramir, and Denethor burns alone.Gollum and Frodo arrive at a cave full of skeletons and giant spider webs. With his plan to steal back the ring falling into place, Gollum seems to disappear, and Frodo is suddenly alone and lost. Meanwhile, Sam, descending the stairs out of the mountain, comes upon the bread that Gollum dropped. He understands Gollums deceit and turns around. In the cave, Frodo gets stuck in a web. Using the gift given to him by the Lady of the Woods, he lights the cave and sees Shelob, a giant spider, coming toward him. Frodo cuts his way out of the web and escapes the cave, but Gollum attacks him. They struggle, and Gollum falls over a cliff. The Lady of the Woods reappears to Frodo and encourages him to complete his task. Frodo continues to Mordor on his own. However, Shelob creeps behind him, stings him, and spins a thick web around him. Sam arrives and fights off the creature, but Frodo is wrapped tight in a cocoonlike bundle of webbing, and Sam fears he is dead. Sam abandons the body when a few orcs come down the path. They pick up Frodos body and carry it off with them.Giant elephants, carrying numerous reinforcements from Sauron, arrive on the battlefield of Minas Tirith. Having recently arrived at the battlefield, the riders of Rohan fight bravely, using their speed and agility to confront the elephants. Still, the battle appears to be going in Mordors favor. Pippin and Gandalf, within the castle, begin to philosophize about death. On the battlefield, the witch-king is about to kill Thoden, but owyn and Merry intervene. Merry distracts the creature, and owyn kills it. Thoden dies from his wounds, but he is proud of owyn and goes gladly into the afterlife. Meanwhile, a ship carrying Aragorn and his army of ghost men arrives, and the group overwhelms the orc army. The field is calm, and the battle seems won. Aragorn releases the men of the mountain, and they disappear. Pippin and Merry reunite on the battlefield.Frodo awakes in Mordor. He is chained and half naked. His things have been taken from him, including the ring. Sam enters the orc stronghold where Frodo is held captive and rescues Frodo. When they are free, Sam tells Frodo that he, not the orcs, has the ring. He took it when he thought Frodo was dead. Though a little reluctant to return it to Frodo, he agrees to. The two friends dress in orc armor and go onto the plains of Mordor. They spot Mount Doom in the distance, Saurons fiery eye raging at its peak.Back at Minas Tirith, Gandalf despairs about Frodos ability to complete the mission, but Aragorn says they must not give up hope. He suggests they march upon Mordor to distract Sauron. As Aragorns army approaches the gates of Mordor, Saurons orcs are drawn from the plains of Mordor to its front gate, and Sam and Frodo cross the plain unhindered. Nevertheless, the passage is far from easy. They have little water left. They drink the last drops and accept that there will be no return journey. As they struggle up Mount Doom, Sam encourages his friend with talk of the Shire and has to carry the weakened Frodo a good distance on his back. Gollum reappears, and Sam fights him as Frodo runs to the top of Mount Doom on his own. Standing above the fiery inferno of Mount Doom just as Isildur did years earlier, Frodo holds the ring above the volcano, but, like the former king, he cannot let it go. Instead, he declares the ring his and puts it on. Gollum has also managed to get to the top of the mountain and attacks Frodo. In the ensuing struggle, Gollum bites off the finger on which Frodo is wearing the ring and falls, clutching the ring, over a cliff and into the lava below, while Frodo survives by holding onto the cliff. Sam pulls him up as the ring disappears into the sea of fire. With the ring destroyed, Saurons eye burns out. The tower of Mordor begins to collapse and then explodes. Mount Doom erupts, flooding the plain with lava. Sam and Frodo are stuck on top of a giant boulder, with lava flowing all around. They prepare for their deaths, but Gandalf swoops by on a giant eagle and picks them up.Frodo awakens in a luxurious bed with Gandalf by his side. The remaining fellowship is there, too. Aragorn is crowned king at a ceremony in Gondor. Placing the crown on his head, Gandalf announces the return of the king. Legolas and the elves arrive, along with Arwen. She and Aragorn kiss. Then the whole crowd bows before the four hobbits. The fellowship is declared over, and the fourth age of Middle-earth begins. The hobbits return to the Shire, and the four friends drink at a pub. Sam sees the girl he used to have a crush on and talks to her. Shortly thereafter, they are married. Frodo writes his adventures in the same manuscript in which Bilbo wrote his. It is called The Lord of the Rings. He finishes four years to the day after receiving his wound from the ringwraith, but he still hasnt healed from the experience, and he, along with Bilbo and Gandalf, head off with the elves to eternal life. As he boards the ship that will carry them off, Frodo hands Sam his book. The last pages are for you, Sam, he says. Then the boat sails off. Returning to the Shire, Sam joins his wife and two children.

THE LORD OF THE RINGS

Character ListAragorn-Played by Viggo MortensenThe heir to the throne of Gondor. Though Aragorn is the rightful king of Gondor, he travels under an assumed identity at the beginning of the trilogy: he is a ranger, known as Strider. The fact that he is not upon the throne reveals the weak state of the kingdoms of men. As the trilogy proceeds, Aragorn shows himself to be a noble leader with a pure heart. He is relatively unaffected by desire for the ring and routinely throws himself in harms way to ensure the fellowships survival. In love with the elf princess Arwen, he fights for her survival and for the successful return of the ring to Mordor. He becomes increasingly comfortable asserting his royal identity, but only when he addresses the men of the mountain in The Return of the King does he actually declare himself king of Gondor. By the time he is crowned king at the end of the final film, he has proven himself to be a worthy leader.Read an in-depth analysis of Aragorn.

Arwen-Played by Liv TylerAn elf princess and Aragorns future queen. Like many characters in the trilogy, Arwen must make a sacrifice. She must choose between the immortal life of the elves and a mortal life with Aragorn, whom she loves. Not only does she choose the latter path, which goes against her fathers wishes, but she also encourages Elrond to stay in Middle-earth until its future is secure. At the end of the trilogy, she marries Aragorn and becomes queen of Middle-earth. Based on a vision Arwen has of the future, we know the couple will eventually have a child.Bilbo-Played by Ian HolmFrodos uncle, who possesses the ring at the beginning of the trilogy. Bilbo is a playful old hobbit, but he is restless and covetous of his ring. His unsettled feelings suggest how great a burden it is to carry the ring and foreshadow the great travails that await Frodo. Bilbo never realizes that his ring is the one ring of power. Like Gandalf and Frodo, he is invited to depart with the elves at the end of The Return of the King.Boromir-Played by Sean BeanThe heir to the steward of Gondor. More than any other member of the fellowship of the ring, Boromir is the victim of desire for the ring. At the end of The Fellowship of the Ring, he attacks Frodo to try to take it from him. Later, Boromir attempts to make up for this slip by fighting the oncoming army of Uruk-hai. He is killed in battle, but his bravery allows the other members of the fellowship to survive.Denethor-Played by John NobleThe steward of Gondor. The ruler of Gondor in the absence of the proper king, Denethor has grown corrupt and weak-minded. He is reluctant to give up power should the real king return. Lamenting the death of his oldest and most beloved son, Boromir, he is cruel to his second son, Faramir, and sends him off into an unwinnable battle. When Faramir returns unconscious but alive, Denethor insists that his son is dead and builds a funeral pyre. Gandalf and Pippin save Faramir, and only Denethor burns.Elrond-Played by Hugo WeavingRuler of the Rivendell elves and Arwens father. Though Elrond is sympathetic to the goals of the fellowship, his primary concern is the safety of his elf subjects. The elves face a choice: they can leave Middle-earth for immortal life, or they can delay their departure and contribute to the fight against Sauron. Elrond has a low opinion of men, as he was with Isildur when the king failed to destroy the ring of power. For this reason and because of his concerns about Arwens life, he is reluctant to aid in the fight against Sauron. Eventually, he commits himself to the ancient alliance of men and elves, sends an army to defend Rohan, and reforges Isildurs sword for Aragorn.

omer-Played by Karl UrbanThodens nephew and the leader of the riders of Rohan.owyn-Played by Miranda OttoThodens niece. owyn falls in love with Aragorn, but he cannot return her love. Though Thoden has commanded her not to, she rides into battle with Merry and kills the witch-king.Faramir-Played by David WenhamYounger son of Denethor, the steward of Gondor. Faramir is forever living in the shadow of Boromir, his older brother and Denethors favorite. When he learns that Sam and Frodo have the ring, he wants to bring them to Gondor, thinking the ring will help protect the kingdom. Eventually, he reconsiders his plan and sets the two hobbits free. Faramir fights bravely against Saurons army, even riding into an impossible battle in order to impress Denethor. He manages to survive, but only barely, and Denethor comes close to burning him alive on a funeral pyre.Frodo-Played by Elijah WoodThe ring-bearer and protagonist of the trilogy. A young hobbit, Frodo is chosen by the wizard Gandalf to return the ring to Mordor. The ring offers terrible temptation to anyone who comes near it, and though Frodo on occasion succumbs to its power, he generally shows remarkable strength before its siren call. However, when it comes time to drop the ring into Mount Doom, he is unable to simply let the ring go. Only because the ring is torn loose in Frodos struggle with Gollum does it fall into the fiery pit of lava below, which suggests that Frodo is a very fallible hero. Unlike the three other hobbits, Sam, Merry, and Pippin, Frodo is unable to readjust to life in the Shire upon his return. In this way, he resembles his uncle Bilbo, a former owner of the ring who is forever restless. The ring has a great effect on Frodo, changing him from an ordinary hobbit of exceptional qualities into someone extraordinary. He becomes a legend and eventually leaves the land of living mortals for immortal life with the elves. Despite Frodos success in returning the ring to Mordor, in some ways he is the least memorable character in the trilogy. In three epic films full of battles, he is a reserved, physically small, and ineffective fighter.Read an in-depth analysis of Frodo.Galadriel-Played by Cate BlanchettAn elf queen known as the Lady of the Woods. Galadriel is the leader of the Sylvan elves. She offers spiritual aid to Frodo, giving counsel and encouraging him during the dark moments of his quest. She gives him a star of light that proves essential to Frodo when he is betrayed by Gollum and trapped in the spider Shelobs webs.Gandalf-Played by Ian McKellenA grandfatherly wizard. Gandalf is the first to understand the dangers that Bilbos ring poses, and his knowledge sets the whole trilogy in motion. Gandalf selects quiet Frodo to carry the ring and the bumbling Sam to be Frodos protector, and these hobbits seem unlikely choices for such a dangerous mission. Here and elsewhere, Gandalf exhibits a remarkable wisdom and insight into hobbits and men alike, and he seems to see potential and ability where others do not. Gandalf is affable, slow, and deliberate, but he is also a skilled fighter. His battles with Saruman and in the mines of Moria are heroic, and the Moria fight in particular provides the others in the fellowship with a model for the sacrifice their quest may require of them. The others assume Gandalf has died in this battle, but he returns, transformed from a gray wizard into a white one. Gandalf is often playful, but he is also deeply concerned about the fate of Middle-earth and always prepared to fight for its safety. At the end of the trilogy, he leaves with Bilbo, Frodo, and the elves for immortal life. Though this wizard seems human, he has always been a little different and a little better than any man could possibly be.Gimli-Played by John Rhys-DaviesA bearded, ax-wielding warrior dwarf. Gimli is a brave and loyal member of the fellowship of the ring.Gollum-Played by Andy SerkisA wretched swamp creature who covets the ring. Before becoming obsessed with the ring, Gollum was a hobbit named Smagol. His transformation into the disgusting, raw-fish-eating Gollum serves as a cautionary tale about the evil effects of the ring. Both Gollum and Smagol are vastly different from Frodo. Gollum is a living reminder of a possible alternate life for Frodo, and, while Frodo is incorruptible, Smagol is weak-willed and criminal. From the moment he first laid eyes on the ring, Smagol was obsessed with it, and years later it is still Gollums sole reason for living. Gollum leads Frodo and Sam to Mordor, and his intentions are constantly suspect. Usually he seems to be waiting for an opportunity to steal the ring, but at times he appears to be a faithful servant, won over by Frodos generous spirit. His desire for the ring eventually wins out, and this desire ultimately leads to the destruction of the ring and his own death at Mount Doom. As is Saurons, Gollums identity is tied up with the ring. Whereas Sauron is pure evil, however, Gollum is pure weakness. He is always the rings victim.Read an in-depth analysis of Gollum.Haldir-Played by Craig ParkerAn elf leader. Haldir is killed defending Rohan, which suggests the larger sacrifice the elves have made by choosing to defend the human kingdom.Isildur-Played by Harry SinclairThe former king of Gondor. Isildur once defeated the forces of Sauron and came to possess the ring of power. He went to Mount Doom to destroy the ring, but at the last moment decided to keep it, a fateful decision that breathed new life into Sauron, allowing him to wage war on Middle-earth a second time.King of the Dead-Played by Paul NorellThe ruler of the men of the mountain. The men of the mountain reneged on a pledge to the king of Gondor and were cursed to suffer eternal servitude for their transgression. The King of the Dead listens to Aragorn when he requests their help. Aragorn succeeds in enlisting the ghostly army for his battle and says they will be free of their pledge when the battle for Middle-earth is over. When the forces of Sauron are defeated, the men of the mountain simply disappear.Legolas-Played by Orlando BloomA boyish elf. Thanks to Legolass skill with a bow and arrow, his kill number is consistently higher than Gimlis. Like his dwarf friend, he is a brave and loyal member of the fellowship of the ring.Merry-Played by Dominic MonaghanA mischievous and courageous hobbit. Like Pippin, his best friend, Merry is a rabble-rouser and troublemaker. However, he proves himself to be a fearless fighter at the great battle of Minas Tirith, when he helps owyn slay the witch-king.Pippin-Played by Billy BoydA mischievous hobbit. If Sam and Frodo are necessary members of the fellowship, chosen to carry the ring because of their essentially incorruptible spirits, Pippin and Merry are the accidental fellowship members, who come on the journey because they happen to bump into the other two. Pippin is playful and enjoys a good party, but his carelessness also causes many problems. When he steals the seeing stone from Gandalf, he alerts Sauron to the partys whereabouts. He tries to atone for this error by pledging fealty to Denethor.Sam-Played by Sean AstinFrodos best friend and constant companion. If Frodos burden is to carry the ring, Sams is to carry Frodo, which he literally does as the two finally struggle up Mount Doom. Sam is Frodos loyal friend, as committed as Frodo is to returning the ring and keeping the Shire safe. Considering his proximity to the ring, Sam is remarkably immune to its call. Sam himself carries the ring for a short time, and, if necessary, could probably have completed the mission on his own. When the four hobbits return to the Shire at the end of The Return of the King, Sam emerges from Frodos shadow. He approaches the woman hes been dreaming about, and soon they are married. Within little time he is a father of two, with a nice house and garden. Back in the Shire, Frodo suffers, but Sam thrives. Sam is no less pure a soul than Frodo, but his purity is one rooted in his own world, not in a world beyond. His life represents the mortal life lived to the fullest. Immortality holds no charm for him, and he wants nothing more than to thrive in the present.Read an in-depth analysis of Sam.Saruman-Played by Christopher LeeA wizard who joins forces with Sauron. A former friend of Gandalf, Saruman has been tempted by evil and has allied with Sauron. At his mighty tower, Orthanc, he creates countless Uruk-hai, monsters that terrorize Middle-earth.Thoden-Played by Bernard HillThe king of Rohan. Initially, Thoden is an elderly, decrepit king nearly out of his mind, doing the bidding of his evil advisor, Wormtongue. His insanity and decrepitude, however, are both symptoms of his being under the spell of Saruman. When Sarumans spell is overthrown and Wormtongue, Sarumans disciple, is banished, Thoden becomes a strong, gray-bearded leader. He bravely leads his people in defense of Helms Deep and shows his true mettle when he answers Gondors call for help, despite the bad feeling between the two kingdoms of men. Thoden dies in battle but proves himself a worthy king.Treebeard-Voiced by John Rhys-DaviesA friendly Ent who becomes Merry and Pippins protector. Ents are walking, talking trees who are well intentioned but generally pacifist. The Ents decide to join the battle against Saurons forces when they come upon a patch of scorched forest, which they blame on the orcs. The Ents defeat Saruman and flood the fields around his tower, Orthanc.The Witch-king-Played by Lawrence MakoareOne of Saurons most feared warriors. Unable to be killed by men, the witch-king is eventually felled by owyn, a woman, with the help of Merry, a hobbit.Wormtongue-Played by Brad DourifA disciple of Saruman. The frightfully pale Wormtongue is evil but weak. He serves as advisor to the ailing Thoden and uses the kings weakened state to advance his own agenda. When he wields power in Rohan, he banishes Thodens nephew, omer. Soon thereafter, he himself is banished when Sarumans spell on Thoden is broken and Thoden sees Wormtongues true evil.

Analysis of Major CharactersAragornThe descendent of Isildur, Aragorn is the heir to the throne of Gondor, but at the beginning of the trilogy, he hides this identity and pretends to be a ranger named Strider. That Aragorn does not claim his throne, and that the steward Denethor rules Gondor, show the disunity