A Glimmer of Hope (Happy Birthday, LOTR!)

We have come to the end of the very first Silmarillion Awards, my friends, and what fun it has been! We shared our enjoyment of beloved fantasy characters, creatures, and objects with other readers . . . we perked up our ears when books we have yet to read were enthusiastically discussed . . . we saw the most popular nominees and, with hearts splitting from multiple loyalties, voted for our favorites . . . we waited with bated breath as the winners were announced one by one . . . and at last, we celebrated!




This is sadly my only Middle Earth book.
I needs more, precious!

Fantasy is the genre that inspires perhaps the most loyalty in its readers. Fall in love with a fantasy world, and there's no going back.

And one of the authors who played a great part in shaping the genre--in making fantasy what it is today--was J.R.R. Tolkien. Just think of how many fantasy book covers say, "Fans of Lord of the Rings and [fill in the blank] will love [this book]." Think of how anytime someone writes about elves, they're compared to Tolkien's elves. When someone writes about dwarves, about wizards, about fantastical creatures and epic battles and death-defying quests--it's very often held up to the standard of Tolkien.

In honor of him, and of everything related to Middle Earth, a celebration is taking place across the blogosphere this weekend. That's right: we're having a Tolkien Party!



As I was trying to figure out just where to go with this post, I decided to smash all my ideas together. Because parties are fun and chaotic that way. So. On today's itinerary, we have . . .

• Which LOTR character are you? (link to a quiz)
• A selection of some of my favorite LOTR and The Hobbit quotes
• A few of my favorite pieces of music from the soundtracks
• A tribute to LOTR

Which Lord of the Rings character are you?

I admit, I can't get enough of personality quizzes, and they're especially fun when they relate to book or movie characters! Recently I took THIS ONE and wound up being Gandalf.

I don't know how accurate it is, but I can't complain about the results! (Eccentric: check. Silly: check. Warmhearted: check. Shrewd and powerful tactician? I have no clue. Bwahaha, I just might be awesome at being evil too, who knows?)

If you take the quiz, let me know which character you get! My brother, curiously, was pegged as Gimli. Both my sisters were Sam, and my mom was Merry. (According to the little blurb, she's a prankster--since when?)

I also saw this Meyers-Briggs personality chart for LOTR characters. According to this, I'm Galadriel.

Sorry it's so hard to read. This is as big as I could make it.

Book Quotes

"Do you mean to wish me a good morning, or mean that it is a good morning whether I want it or not; or that you feel good this morning; or that it is a morning to be good on?" ~Gandalf, The Hobbit

***

Now it is a strange thing, but things that are good to have and days that are good to spend are soon told about, and not much to listen to; while things that are uncomfortable, palpitating, and even gruesome, may make a good tale, and take a deal of telling anyway. ~The Hobbit

***

"Go back?" he thought. "No good at all! Go sideways? Impossible! Go forward? Only thing to do! On we go!" So up he got, and trotted along with his little sword held in front of him and one hand feeling the wall, and his heart all of a pitter patter. ~Bilbo, The Hobbit

***

All that is gold does not glitter,

Not all those who wander are lost;

The old that is strong does not wither,

Deep roots are not reached by the frost.

From the ashes a fire shall be woken,

A light from the shadows shall spring;

Renewed shall be blade that was broken,

The crownless again shall be king.

~The Fellowship of the Ring

***

"It is not despair, for despair is only for those who see the end beyond all doubt. We do not." ~Gandalf, The Fellowship of the Ring

***

"It would be the death of you to come with me, Sam," said Frodo, "and I could not have borne that."

"Not as certain as being left behind," said Sam.

"But I am going to Mordor."

"I know that well enough, Mr. Frodo. Of course you are. And I'm coming with you." ~Frodo and Sam, The Fellowship of the Ring

***

"I would cut off your head, beard and all, Master Dwarf, if it stood but a little higher from the ground," said Eomer. ~The Two Towers

***

"I had forgotten that," said Eomer. "It is hard to be sure of anything among so many marvels. The world is all grown strange. Elf and Dwarf in company walk in our daily fields; and folk speak with the Lady of the Wood and yet live; and the Sword comes back to war that was broken in the long ages ere the fathers of our fathers rode into the Mark! How shall a man judge what to do in such times?"

"As he ever has judged," said Aragorn. "Good and ill have not changed since yesteryear; nor are they one thing among Elves and Dwarves and another among Men. It is a man's part to discern them, as much in the Golden Wood as in his own house." ~Eomer and Aragorn, The Two Towers

***

"It's like in the great stories, Mr. Frodo. The ones that really mattered. Full of darkness and danger they were. And sometimes you didn't want to know the end . . . because how could the end be happy? How could the world go back to the way it was when so much bad had happened? But in the end, it's only a passing thing . . . this shadow. Even darkness must pass." ~Sam, The Two Towers

***

"As I have begun, so I will go on. We come now to the very brink, where hope and despair are akin. To waver is to fall." ~Aragorn, The Return of the King

***

"What do you fear, lady?" he asked.

"A cage," she said. "To stay behind bars, until use and old age accept them, and all chance of doing great deeds is gone beyond recall or desire." ~Aragorn and Eowyn, The Return of the King

***

". . . And so a great evil of this world will be removed. Other evils there are that may come; for Sauron himself is but a servant or emissary. Yet it is not our part to master all the tides of the world, but to do what is in us for the succour of those years wherein we are set, uprooting the evil in the fields that we know, so that those who live after may have clean earth to till. What weather they shall have is not ours to rule." ~Gandalf, The Return of the King

Soundtracks

[source]

The soundtracks of the LOTR and Hobbit movies are some of my all-time favorites. By turns sweeping and majestic, dark and sinister, heartrending and melancholy, and soft and beautiful, they encompass so very many emotions. I was going to share a few of my favorite tracks, but there's too many, so I'll include one from each of the six movies. These would be among my most beloved tracks, but the list is certainly not exhaustive. (Links lead to YouTube.)

From An Unexpected Journey: The Adventure Begins

From The Desolation of Smaug: Thrice Welcome

From The Battle of the Five Armies: Mithril

From The Fellowship of the Ring: Concerning Hobbits

From The Two Towers: Riders of Rohan

From The Return of the King: The Steward of Gondor

And there are so many more! I love Smaug's exotic theme and the dark choral parts of the Black Riders' theme. I love the swelling heroism of the Fellowship's theme. I love all the elven music. I love the moments of peril sung by frantic violins and low, bellowing brass. I love the soft flutes painting a picture of beauty. I love the poignant strings, the gorgeous vocals, the relentless percussion, the whistles that hearken back to home. I love "I See Fire," "The Last Goodbye," and "May It Be." I LOVE IT ALL.

[source]

And lastly, a tribute . . .

I was sixteen (almost seventeen), starting grade eleven, when I read The Fellowship of the Ring. The following spring, I read The Two Towers. And then, at seventeen-almost-eighteen, I read The Return of the King. Sometime prior to all this, before I started keeping record of my books, I read The Hobbit. So I was a lot older than many LOTR fans who picked up the books during their childhood, but they impacted me nevertheless.

With the bold brushstrokes only Tolkien could paint, I witnessed the strain of Frodo's burden, the courage of hobbits, the wisdom of wizards, the corruption of power, the loyalty of truest friends, and the light of hope. I followed the Fellowship across mountain and plain, through forest and over river, to a place of darkest despair--and then to victory. I saw the small and weak press on in the face of overwhelming evil--and win. I saw a best friend seldom thanked for his steadfastness, and stay faithful regardless. I saw races once at odds with each other become allies and brothers-in-arms. I saw a man take up the kingship he was destined for, but not without pain and heartache.

In Middle Earth, I saw a star of hope gleam bright in a sea of darkness. And that is why I love LOTR. Yes, I love the worldbuilding, the humor, the depth of character, the spectrum of emotion, the epic scope, and the lofty themes. But I treasure the picture of hope presented in these books the most.

I recently watched the LOTR movies for the first time, and though they differ somewhat from the books, they stirred up the same emotions all afresh.

My heartfelt thanks goes to Tolkien today, on the 62nd birthday of Lord of the Rings. Thank you for inspiring so many readers in such a profound and memorable way!

(And now I'm longing to reread the books. And re-watch the movies. And play all the soundtracks all at once. But mostly to reread the books.)

Anyway, if you'd like to participate in this big LOTR birthday celebration, please do! We'd love to see your post, whether it's on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, your blog, or any other platform. Use #silmawards2016 to make it easy to find. Then go to Jenelle's blog to add your link to the fancy little link-up. And be sure to check out other posts, too--there are lots of awesome articles and tributes and even trivia being shared. Huzzah for Middle Earth!

So tell me, dear questers, what LOTR means to you! Do you remember when you first read it? How as it impacted you? (And if you took the quiz or used the personality chart, which character are you?)