The Lord of the Rings:

A Semiotic AnalysisBy: Darcy Pope

IntroductionA friend and I were discussing ‘The Lord of the Rings’ trilogy and I said “well, Lord of the Rings isn’t just some fairytale. The main plot is too complex to break it down to basics, you have to include everything for it to make sense”. But she disagreed with me. So this is what gave me an idea for my final project. I’m using semiotics to break the epic of ‘Lord of the Rings’ down to a basic fairytale.

So what is a fairytale?I grew up knowing that a basic fairytale is about a hero (or heroes) who do a brave deed to vanquish evil. They would also fall in love with a heroine and have a little

help along the way.

So Who is Our Hero in Lord of the Rings?

There are four…

Frodo Baggins Gandalf Aragorn Samwise Gamgee

Signifier: The HeroesFrodo and Sam

Signified• Brave• Small• Loyal• Compassionate• Pure

While Frodo is the main hero in this film. Sam is also a hero because he also carries the burden of the ring and keeps a hopeful heart that there will be a return journey home and he never truly let’s that go. Sam: “I made a promise, Mr Frodo. A promise. 'Don't

you leave him Samwise Gamgee.' And I don't mean to. I don't mean to.”

Signifier: The HeroesGandalf and Aragorn

Signified•Brave•Strong•Fearless•Fights for the good of others•Wise

Aragorn and Gandalf are the ideal heroes one would think of for a fairytale. Unlike the hobbits, Frodo and Sam.

Who are the Helpers?

Merry and Pippin Legolas and Gimli

Signifier: The HelpersSignified•Witty•Funny•Supportive•Dependent (you’ll see this more with Merry and Pippin rather than Legolas and Gimli)

Merry and Pippin are the ideal helpers aka the break from all the serious action. Legolas and Gimli become more like the ideal helpers in the second and third film.

Aragorn: "Gentlemen! We do not stop till nightfall."Pippin: "What about breakfast?"Aragorn: "You've already had it."Pippin: "We've had one, yes. What about second breakfast?"

Merry: "Don't think he knows about second breakfast, Pip."Pippin: "What about elevensies? Luncheon? Afternoon tea? Dinner? Supper? He knows about them, don't he?"Merry: "I wouldn't count on it."

Who are the Villains?

Sauron Saruman

There are two... Others are just minions…

Signifier: The VillainsSignified•Evil•Heartless•Obsessed with having power•Cruel•Intimidating•Powerful

While it’s obvious that Sauron is the main villain, Saruman is also a villain because he decides to join the side of evil because he knew that he would not win against the powers of Mordor. He did not want to lose anything, just wanted to keep his power in Isengard.

Saruman: “We must join with Him, Gandalf. We must join with Sauron. It would be wise, my friend.”

Gandalf: “Tell me, ‘friend’, when did Saruman the Wise abandon reason for madness?”

Signifier/Signified Heroes/Helpers/Villains Refer to Past 7 Slides

Metaphor No matter how bad things get, Good will always triumph over Evil.

ParadigmaticAnalysis Good vs Evil, Innocence vs Adulthood, Loyalty vs Betrayal

SyntagmaticAnalysis Refer to next slide

Indexes Whenever Frodo puts on the Ring, the forces of evil are able to see him

Symbols There are two important symbols: (1) the One Ring – symbolizes evil and temptation. (2) Smeagol/Gollum – he symbolizes what Frodo could become if he allows the Ring to control him.

Intertexuality There are many Biblical allusions in Lord of the Rings. For example: Gandalf represents a Jesus figure (he dies while fighting a Balrog and is later reborn to finish his mission to help Frodo destroy the Ring).

Codes In the first film, the Fellowship is trying to enter Moria but the door is locked until they can speak the password which is the riddle: “Speak Friend and Enter” Gandalf misinterprets this, but Frodo sees that you must say “Friend” in Elvish to enter.

Syntagmatic Analysis of the Main Plot

•At the beginning of the trilogy, Frodo is presented with the ring (0) and is warned by Gandalf of the powers (1).

•He sets out to bring the ring to Rivendell with Sam, Merry, and Pippin. (11) When they arrive the council argues about who will go to Mordor and destroy the ring. Frodo decides that he’s going to do it (10) and the full fellowship is on its way (11).

•A few times throughout the trilogy Frodo slips the ring on his finger (3) and the enemy is able to see that Frodo has the ring (5).

• Frodo is constantly tested by evil by just being the ringbearer (12). He finally makes it to Mordor (15) and destroys the ring (18).

•The hobbits return to the Shire (20) but soon after Frodo must depart for the Grey Havens because the damage he got from the ring never fully healed.

http://changingminds.org/disciplines/storytelling/plots/propp/propp.htm

My Semiotic Analysis Results Are…!

ResultsIn my opinion I was right, The Lord of the Rings cannot be broken down to a simple fairy tale. While parts of the main plot (following Frodo and the Ring) went along with Propp’s morphology, a lot of the story was left out because there are at times where we’re following three different stories (in the Two Towers where Merry and Pippin were separated from Aragorn, Legolas, and Gimli). There is just so much story that it’s hard to break it all down to basics using semiotics.

SourcesThe Lord of the Rings the Fellowship of the Ring. Dir. Peter Jackson. Perf. Elijah Wood, Ian

McKellan, Viggo Mortenson. New Line Home Entertainment, 2001. DVD.

The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King. Dir. Peter Jackson. Perf. Elijah Wood, Ian McKellan, Viggo Mortenson. Entertainment in Video, 2004. DVD.

The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers. Dir. Peter Jackson. Perf. Elijah Wood, Ian McKellan, Viggo Mortenson. New Line Home Entertainment, 2003. DVD.

"Propp's Morphology of the Folk Tale." Changing Minds and Persuasion. Changing Minds. Web. 29 Apr. 2012.

<http://changingminds.org/disciplines/storytelling/plots/propp/propp.htm>.