This weekend in the Hall of Fire, we’ll be chatting about the final chapter of Book III of…
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This weekend in the Hall of Fire, we’ll be chatting about the final chapter of Book III of The Two Towers.
‘Go to sleep!’ said Merry. ‘You’ll get information enough, sooner or later. My dear Pippin, no Took ever beat a Brandybuck for inquisitiveness; but is this the time, I ask you?’ Continue reading “Hall of Fire this weekend: The Palantìr”
Last weekend in Hall of Fire we discussed the hero and the heroic in Lord of the Rings. The topic proved quite popular for everyone, so by request this weekend we’ll be honing in a little more to examine heroism among the Fellowship itself.
‘I wish it need not have happened in my time,’ said Frodo.
‘So do I,’ said Gandalf, ‘and so do all who live to see such times. But that is not for them to decide. All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given, us. A Shadow of the Past, The Lord of the Rings.
Continue reading “Hall of Fire tomorrow: aspects of heroism within the Fellowship”
This weekend, Hall of Fire we’ll be exploring the hero, and the heroic, in the Lord of the Rings.
I think the simple ‘rustic’ love of Sam and his Rosie (nowhere elaborated) is absolutely essential to the study of his (the chief hero’s) character, and to the theme of the relation of ordinary life (breathing, eating, working, begetting) and quests, sacrifice, causes, and the ‘longing for Elves’, and sheer beauty. Letter #131, Letters of J.R.R. Tolkien.
Continue reading “Hall of Fire this weekend: the hero and the heroic in The Lord of the Rings”
This weekend, Hall of Fire returns to The Lord of the Rings as we continue our chapter discussions of The Two Towers and journey with Gandalf, Aragorn, Theoden and his riders to the very door of Orthanc.
‘I am not Gandalf the Grey, whom you betrayed. I am Gandalf the White, who has returned from death. You have no colour now, and I cast you from the order and from the Council.’ He raised his hand and spoke slowly in a clear cold voice. ‘Saruman, your staff is broken.’ There was a crack and the staff split asunder in Saruman’s hand, and the head of it fell down at Gandalf’s feet.
Book III, Chapter X: The Voice of Saruman Continue reading “Hall of Fire topic this weekend: the Voice of Saruman”
This weekend, Hall of Fire will focus on the stewards of Middle-earth.
“…the rule of no realm is mine, neither of Gondor nor any other, great or small. But all worthy things that are in peril as the world now stands, those are my care. And for my part, I shall not wholly fail of my task, though Gondor should perish, if anything passes through this night that can still grow fair or bear fruit and flower again in days to come. For I also am a steward. Did you not know?”
Gandalf, The Lord of the Rings.
Stewards of Middle-earth. Who? What? Why? Continue reading “Hall of Fire topic this weekend: the stewards of Middle-earth”
This weekend, Hall of Fire returns to The Lord of the Rings as we continue our chapter discussions of The Two Towers.
Throughout the first half of The Two Towers, Tolkien weaves together two threads of narrative. On one hand we have Aragorn, Gimli and Legolas and their efforts to find the hobbits, and then to assist the Rohirrim. On the other, Merry and Pippin’s captivity among the Uruk-hai, their escape and their burgeoning friendship with the Ents of Fangorn.
Flotsam and Jetsam finally reunites the two groups and reveals what happened after the Ents marched on Isengard. Continue reading “Hall of Fire topic this weekend: Flotsam and Jetsam”
