The Lord of the rings

The Lord of the Rings (original title in English: The Lord of the Rings) is a epic fantasy novel written by British philologist and writer J. R. R. Tolkien.

Their story takes place in the Third Age of the Sun in Middle-earth, a fictional place populated by men and other anthropomorphic races such as hobbits, elves and dwarves, as well as many other real and fantastic creatures. The novel narrates the journey of the main protagonist, Frodo Baggins, hobbit of the Shire, to destroy the One Ring and the consequent war that the enemy will provoke to recover it, since it is the main source of power of its creator, the Lord dark Sauron.

«Three rings for the Elve Kings under the sky.
Seven for the Enanos Lords in stone houses.
Nine for the Mortal Men doomed to die.
One for the Dark Lord on the Dark Throne
in the Land of Mordor where the Shadows extend.
A ring to rule them all. A ring to find them,
a Ring to attract them all and tie them in darkness
in the Land of Mordor where the Shadows extend."

J. R. R. Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings

J. R. R. Tolkien planned The Lord of the Rings as a sequel to his previous novel The Hobbit, but it ended up becoming a story of far greater scope and length than, written in stages. between 1937 and 1949, it was first published in the UK between 1954 and 1955 in three volumes. Since then it has been reprinted numerous times and translated into many languages, becoming one of the most popular works of 20th century literature. In addition, it has been adapted on several occasions for radio, theater and cinema, highlighting mainly the film trilogy created by New Zealand filmmaker Peter Jackson.

The story that the novel narrates is only the last part of a mythology that J. R. R. Tolkien began in 1917, when he was in hospital after falling ill during the First World War and on which he worked for the rest of his life Along with these other writings, The Lord of the Rings has been the subject of many critical approaches to its origins, influences, and literary themes. Its enduring popularity has also led to numerous references in popular culture, the founding of societies by many fans of the works of J. R. R. Tolkien, and the publication of many other books about the author and his works.

Context

Although it is true that The Lord of the Rings was conceived as a continuation of The Hobbit, plotwise it is of The Silmarillion, work that recounts the events of the Ancient Days and in which the entire plot of the legendarium created by J. R. R. Tolkien is built. The First Age of the Sun is the age of the elves, while the Second is the rise of the men of Númenor (dúnedain) and their subsequent fall, but it is also the construction of a purely human culture (with its limitations). in a land permanently threatened by evil. For this reason, in the Third Age of the Sun, that culture gradually took over Middle-earth and transformed it into a place where, once evil had been defeated, men found their true dimension: J. R. R. Tolkien calls it the "Age of Men" and "the end of the Ancient Days."

The Lord of the Rings is, in this sense, a metaphor that implies the culmination of a long process that gives rise to current humanity, with all its mythical but also historical charge. The creation of the world, the implantation of evil as a model of absolute domination and its continuity through the ages, the fight of the elves and their alliance with the edain to preserve the land of Beleriand, the defeat of the first Dark Lord Melkor and the rise of his right hand Sauron, the rise and fall of Númenor, the making of the Rings of Power, the installation of the Númenórean kingdoms in Middle-earth and, finally, the defeat of Sauron, are all depicted. in The Silmarillion as a context supporting the hobbit epic Frodo Baggins and the Company of the Ring.

If The Silmarillion is an account of a historical-mythical process, in The Hobbit an event of said process is narrated. This is not a mere historical fact, it is nodal and significant; because in the work it is known how the One Ring appears among the hobbits. An innocent story for children, although founded in the legendarium, becomes the triggering element for the end of the Third Age of the Sun. By chance, and in the framework of a trip to rescue a treasure from the hand from the dragon Smaug, the hobbit Bilbo Baggins becomes Ringbearer. There J. R. R. Tolkien, by adapting this children's work to The Lord of the Rings, outlines the culture and, therefore, the temper that will lead Frodo to be the main protagonist of the closure of the process begun in the Days Ancient.

Main characters

Parts

Although Tolkien conceived The Lord of the Rings as a single story, the novel was divided into three parts for editorial reasons: The Fellowship of the Ring, The Two Towers and The Return of the King, and also has a book of appendices. Despite this division, the book is not a trilogy and Tolkien himself was annoyed by being called that, since from the beginning it was written to form a single volume, but the publisher George Allen & Unwin decided to divide it into three due to its length and cost. The only natural divisions Tolkien made are books I, II, III, IV, V, and VI.

The Fellowship of the Ring

It is the first of the three volumes that make up the work. It is subdivided in turn into two parts, preceded by a prologue. After this, Tolkien introduced a small section entitled A Note on the Shire Archives, which did not appear until the second edition of The Fellowship of the Ring, and where he lists the sources which are supposed to have been used when writing the book (since he intends to imply that his legendarium was real).

Tolkien originally set the volume to be called The Shadow Grows, but decided to change it to The Return of the Shadow. However, ten days later After this choice, he decided to change it again to the final one, The Fellowship of the Ring, since it was more suited to the plot.

Books I and II, of which this volume consists, also originally had titles: The Ring sets out and The Ring goes South, respectively. In a manuscript of the book kept at Marquette University in Milwaukee (United States), two different titles appear in the index: The First Voyage and The Voyage of the Nine Companions, However, these titles for the books were eventually dropped in the published version.

Foreword

Preceding the two parts of which The Fellowship of the Ring is formed, Tolkien wrote a prologue dedicated to the Hobbits, because, as the first words of the novel say, he considered them the main protagonists this. Due to the great importance that Tolkien gave it, it took him more than ten years to complete it and this would not happen until shortly before the publication of The Fellowship of the Ring .

He wrote the first version of the prologue between 1938 and 1939, very shortly after starting to compose the story of The Lord of the Rings, although this version was still very poor. After the development of the complete novel, the prologue underwent great changes, existing several versions, some of which were published by Christopher Tolkien in the books The Return of the Shadow and The Peoples of the Earth Media.

The final version of the prologue is made up of four sections:

• «From the Hobbits»: it is the only place where you can find the history of the Hobbits before the events of The Lord of the Ringsin addition to an analysis of its main physical characteristics, habits and culture.
• "From grass for pipe": describes one of the main hobbits hobbies, smoking in pipe, and the origins of this habit.
• "De la Orden de la Comarca": describes the main geographical divisions of the Comarca, its politics and its public services.
• «From the discovery of the Ring»: here Tolkien offers a summary The hobbitwith special emphasis on the part in which Bilbo discovers the Unique Ring and its encounter with the Gollum creature.

Book I

The play begins with the news of the celebration of Bilbo Baggins' 111th birthday in the Shire. However, for Bilbo this great party had as its main reason his departure for his last trip, the product of the desire to end his days in peace and tranquility. The wizard Gandalf, a friend of Bilbo and who was informed of the hobbit's decision, also attended the party. After Bilbo's speech, he put on his magic ring and disappeared before the surprised hobbits. Gandalf, who knew well what Bilbo had just done, found him at Bag End and there had a little argument with him, as he refused to leave the ring along with the rest of the inheritance to his nephew Frodo; however, the wizard ended up convincing him and Bilbo finally left. Then, due to the doubts that the ring was causing him, Gandalf sets out in search of information about it, but not before informing Frodo to keep it and not touch it.

Hobbiton in Matamata, New Zealand, stage of adaptation The Lord of the Rings Peter Jackson.

Nearly twenty years later, Gandalf returns to Bag End and tells Frodo what he had discovered about the Ring: that it was the same Ring that King Isildur of Arnor had taken from the Dark Lord Sauron and that many years later had been found by the creature Gollum after being lost in the Anduin River during the Gladio Fields Disaster. The two then agreed to meet again in the village of Bree in order to then take the One Ring to Rivendell, where the wise men would decide their fate. Together with his gardener Samwise Gamge, Frodo draws up a plan to leave the Shire under the pretext of going to live in Los Gamos; but the plan ends up being discovered by two other friends, Pippin and Merry, who decide to accompany him too.

After wandering into the Old Forest in order to avoid the paths, the hobbits are trapped by the Old Man-Willow, a uhorn, who sets a trap for them; however, they are saved by a mysterious character named Tom Bombadil. After spending a few days in her house, the hobbits set out again for Bree, but are lost in the mist and arrive at Barrow Downs. There they are captured by the Wights, but again, after Frodo sings a song that Tom Bombadil taught him, he comes to his aid and saves them, giving them some weapons so that they could defend themselves on their journey.

Once in Bree, the hobbits go to the inn "The Prancing Pony" where Frodo had met Gandalf. Accidentally, the hobbit puts on the Ring and thus alerts the Nazgûl, Sauron's servants who pursue him to snatch it away. Thanks to a friend of Gandalf's, named Aragorn, and the hobbit Noob, they manage to save themselves when the Nazgûl attack the inn that night. The next day, accompanied by Aragorn, the hobbits set out for Rivendell. At their stop at Amon Sûl, the Nazgûl attack them again, this time seriously wounding Frodo. After fighting them, they manage to escape and get near the Bruinen ford, where they meet Glorfindel, an elf from the house of Elrond, who accompanies them to Rivendell. Pursued again, Glorfindel orders his horse Asfaloth to go ahead carrying Frodo mounted and, upon reaching the river, the Nazgûl are swept away by its current thanks to the power of Rivendell.

Book II

Days later, Frodo woke up before Gandalf in Rivendell and he told him what had happened to the Nazgûl and how some elves had taken him to Elrond and he took care of his healing. He then informed him about the celebration of a council to which representatives of the different towns of Middle-earth would attend and where they would discuss what had happened and the issue of the Ring. In it, Gandalf revealed the treachery of Saruman, to whom he went for advice and held him prisoner in Isengard, and after deciding that the Ring must be destroyed in the fires of Orodruin, Frodo offered to take it there. Sam, who despite not being invited to the Council had eavesdropped on everything, offered to accompany his master and Elrond would later decide that Gandalf, Aragorn, Merry, Pippin, a dwarf named Gimli, Prince Legolas of the Elves of the Black Forest and the heir to the stewardship of Gondor, Boromir, would also accompany him, forming what was called the Fellowship of the Ring.

Mount Cook (New Zealand) represents the Caradhras in adaptation The Lord of the Rings Peter Jackson.

Two months later, the Community began their journey. Passing through Holly (the old Eregion), they reached the Misty Mountains and decided to cross them by the Caradhras, since the closer they got to the Rohan pass, the closer they would be to Isengard and to being captured by Saruman. However, faced with the possible death of the hobbits due to the bad weather on the mountain, the Fellowship was forced to turn around and head across the mountains through the mines of Moria. On the way there, the Fellowship was attacked by Sauron's wolves, but they managed to repel them and reach the West Gate of Moria. There they were attacked by the Guardian of Water, a kraken-like monster that had settled in a lake near the gate and locked them inside the mines. Shortly after they arrived at the Chamber of Mazarbul, where the tomb of Balin, the lord of Moria, was, and where Gandalf found a book in which a dwarf narrated the events that occurred in the mines and how the town had been annihilated by the orcs. Then drums began to be heard and numerous orcs appeared. After defeating a few, the Fellowship managed to escape and reach the Khazad Dûm bridge. There a new, more powerful enemy appeared, a balrog, which Gandalf faced and managed to throw off the bridge; however, as he fell, the balrog grabbed the mage with his whip and dragged him with it into the abyss.

Sorry at Gandalf's death, the Fellowship reached the forest of Lothlórien, where the elf Haldir and his brothers gave them shelter and led them to Celeborn and Galadriel, the lords of the forest. After spending a month resting there, the Fellowship set out in three elven boats following the course of the Anduin River. In Sarn Gebir they were hit by the orcs that Saruman created in Isengard, but managed to dodge them by crossing to the other bank of the river. Arriving in the meadows of Parth Galen, at the foot of the Amon Hen, Frodo withdrew from the others to ponder whether he should follow the path to Mordor alone, as he did not want to endanger his friends. Boromir, who had long desired the Ring, followed him and tried to convince him not to destroy the Ring and take it to his city, Minas Tirith, to be used in defense against Sauron. Faced with the hobbit's refusal, Boromir tried to take the Ring from him and Frodo put it on him to flee from him. Then Boromir realized what he had done and returned to the rest of the Fellowship to tell them. They all went in search of Frodo and Aragorn ordered Boromir to follow Merry and Pippin to protect them, while he followed Sam. However, Sam found Frodo on the banks of the river and set off with him in one of the boats before Aragorn found them.

The Two Towers

It is the second of three volumes. Initially, Tolkien titled it The Ring in the Shadow , although, shortly after, he changed it to The Shadow Lengthens . Ten days after this change, Tolkien wrote to his publisher, Rayner Unwin, and proposed the title The Two Towers, which would ultimately be chosen. Regarding which two towers are referred to in this title?, Tolkien did not make it clear. In that same letter, the author told Unwin that the identity of the towers remains ambiguous, since it could refer to Orthanc and Barad-dûr (the two towers related to the enemy), to Minas Tirith and Barad-dûr (the two most powerful towers on each side), or Orthanc and Cirith Ungol (the two towers that appear in the last moments of each book's plot). In a later letter, Tolkien claims that they are Orthanc and Cirith Ungol, but due to the importance given to the opposition between Barad-dûr and Minas Tirith, the identity was equivocal.

The book is further subdivided into two parts, books III and IV, which during the time that Tolkien decided that the six books should bear names, these two were baptized The Isengard Betrayal and The Ring Goes East, respectively. However, in the manuscript preserved at Marquette University, the titles that appear are: The Isengard Betrayal and The Journey of the Ringbearers.

Book III

After Frodo and Sam escape in Parth Galen, Boromir is killed by the Uruk-hai while protecting Merry and Pippin, who are taken prisoner by Saruman's servants. Aragorn, Legolas and Gimli then decide to chase them in order to rescue the two hobbits.

From that moment on, the narrative is divided into several parts: on the one hand, the pursuit of the three hunters and on the other, the adventures of Merry and Pippin in the hands of the Orcs. In the first, the three hunters meet Éomer's Éored Rohirrim, Marshal of the Kingdom of Rohan, who informs them of the Battle at Fangorn's Edge where, apparently, the two Hobbits would have perished. This part culminates when Aragorn discovers footprints, on the battlefield, that lead them to enter the Forest of Fangorn and meet again with Gandalf, now turned into the White Wizard.

Representation of Bárbol with the hobbits Merry and Pippin.

In the other, Merry and Pippin are leaving signs for the hunters to rescue them, thinking of tricks to escape, suffering torture and exhaustion. In the end, the Hobbits manage to escape in the middle of the battle and take refuge in the forest of Fangorn, where they meet Treebeard, an Ent. He takes them into the forest to his house (once he discovers that it is not about Orcs), helping them recover from their fatigue and learning news from the outside world. The next day, the Ent convenes an assembly of his kindred to define what they will do in the face of the danger that Saruman represents for Rohan and therefore Gondor and the west.

After their reunion with Gandalf, the three hunters plus the wizard head to Edoras, where they free Théoden from the evil influence wielded by the Wizard of Isengard through his servant Gríma. Faced with the imminence of Saruman's attack, Gandalf advises the King of Rohan to retreat to Helm's Deep to better defend the territory, which they do. As they prepare to withdraw, the wizard leaves Meduseld with the intention of following a prearranged strategy to defeat his opponent. In this part, the Battle of Helm's Deep takes place where the combined forces of Rohirrim and Ucornos, after the timely arrival of Gandalf with Rohirrim from the Westfold, utterly defeat the army of the White Hand.

These stories come together in the last four chapters of book III: after the battle, a procession made up of Théoden, Gandalf, Aragorn, Légolas, Gimli, Éomer and about thirty knights set out for Isengard. Upon arrival they are greeted, to everyone's surprise (except Gandalf) by Merry and Pippin, who are sitting in the rubble of the Gates of Isengard. The hobbits enjoy a second breakfast while they tell their friends all the experiences they have had since their separation, and how the Ents defeated Saruman and destroyed Isengard.

Later, they head to Orthanc to have a dialogue with the White Wizard, who was trapped inside the tower. Gandalf's intention was to give Saruman another chance to retract his actions and help them defeat Sauron. But he refuses and so they decide to leave him in the custody of Treebeard and locked up in Orthanc. Before doing so, Gríma throws an object that Gandalf rushes to keep in his clothes, taking it from Pippin.

Pippin, intrigued and curious about the object that Gandalf guarded jealously, and taking advantage of the fact that everyone was sleeping in the Dol Baran camp, takes the object and without knowing that it was the Palantir of Orthanc, looks at it, being trapped by the gaze of Sauron, since he was connected with Barad-dûr. After having horrible visions, the hobbit inadvertently reveals Gandalf's strategy to Sauron. This unfortunate action forces the magician to take Pippin to Minas Tirith, capital of the Kingdom of Gondor, to save him from the "Dark Lord" and to prepare the defense of the city before the precipitation of events.

Book IV

Following their separation from the rest of the Company, Frodo and Sam set out for Mordor through the Emyn Muil. After several days wandering in search of paths that would allow them to descend to the east, they meet Gollum, who had been following them from Moria. Frodo ends up getting, first under threats and then with convincing arguments, that the creature guides them to Mordor.

Leaving Emyn Muil and passing through the Bog of the Dead, they come to the Black Gate. However, the enormous number of enemies guarding it makes it impossible for them to enter Mordor through it and, on Gollum's advice, the travelers decide to take their way towards the pass of Cirith Ungol, which was supposed to be less guarded by Sauron.

Ithilien drawing, by Matěj Čadil.

In Ithilien, and due to an oversight of Sam, who had not put out the fire used to make the food, Faramir and a group of rangers catch them and take them into custody, while they were fighting a skirmish with the troops of the Harad. Gollum, who had escaped when Frodo and Sam are discovered by the Rangers, ends up also being captured before Frodo's eyes, a fact that makes the creature feel disappointed and betrayed by his "master", thus unleashing, for his Ring-obsessed personality to reappear. When Faramir discovers the existence of the object, and therefore, the reason for the trip, he begins to debate in contradictions about what to do with it, although finally and against the laws of his kingdom, the captain leaves the hobbits free to continue their March.

In the valley of the Morgul, Gollum disappears several times, plotting his betrayal and sneaking out to prepare the ground. After reaching the gorge of Cirith Ungol and seeing the departure of the Witch-king's troops, who were marching towards Minas Tirith, the travelers set out by the "straight stair" towards Mordor. After ascending, they enter Torech Ungol, where Gollum disappears again to alert Ella-Laraña, a giant spider, to the hobbits' presence. They are attacked just as they discover a way out; Frodo is bitten by the spider and enters a state of unconsciousness that resembles death, which does not happen thanks to the intervention of Sam, who fights the spider and forces it to flee, badly wounded.

Sam, seeing his master apparently dead, decides to continue with the mission by himself and after taking the One Ring, he sets off towards the Morgai; but he had only traveled a few meters when he sees that the inert body of Frodo is carried by some Orcs. Fortunately, Sam overhears them commenting among themselves that Frodo is not dead, but only immobilized by the spider's venom. Hidden by the Ring, the hobbit marches to the Tower of Cirith Ungol to rescue its master.

Return of the King

The Return of the King is the third of three volumes. At the time of its publication, it was doubtful whether it was called The War of the Ring or The Return of the King, because while Allen & Unwin found the latter more commercially attractive, J. R. R. Tolkien preferred the former because it did not reveal excessive details of the plot and, above all, the end of the story; finally the author ended up yielding to the title preferred by the publishers.

The volume is also subdivided into two parts, books V and VI, which originally bore the titles The War of the Ring and The End of the Third Age, before being cancelled.

At first the novel ended with an epilogue in which Sam, his wife Rosita Coto and their children were seen, years after the War of the Ring and in which the head of the family read them a letter of Aragorn, who in a few days would pay a visit to the border of the Shire. However, Tolkien ended up being convinced not to include this epilogue, despite the fact that he considered it necessary. Later, Christopher Tolkien would pick it up along with its different versions in The End of the Third Age, fourth volume of the collection entitled The Story of The Lord of the Rings.

Book V

Gandalf and Pippin ride to Minas Tirith on Shadowfax's back and, after several days' journey, reach the city and present themselves before the steward Denethor. Pippin tells him of the events that occurred in Parth Galen, including the death of his son, and ends up offering his services as payment for his debt of gratitude to Boromir.

Meanwhile, on their way to Edoras, Aragorn and King Théoden meet near the Fords of Isen with Halbarad, Elladan, Elrohir, and a company of rangers from the north, who convey to the Dúnadan the advice of Galadriel and, together with to them, he decides to take the Path of the Dead, where they can reach the south of Gondor and thus try to stop the corsairs of Umbar, who, having taken the city and port of Pelargir, were preparing to send a support fleet to the King Sorcerer. Legolas and Gimli also leave with Aragorn towards the path and there they summon the dead of El Sagrario so that these, who had to fulfill an oath made to Isildur in the past to free themselves from his curse, accompany them in their fight against the corsairs.

On the fifth day of Gandalf and Pippin's stay in Minas Tirith, a thick shadow hides the sunlight and the siege of the city by the Witch King's army begins. Faramir is forced to withdraw from his post on the Rammas Echor and flees to the city, where he informs Gandalf of Frodo and the path he has taken to enter Mordor. Denethor, who begins to show signs of madness, sends her son back to the Rammas Echor on an impossible mission to try to stop the enemy; the mission fails and Faramir returns seriously injured by the Black Breath of the Nazgûl, a fact that ends up driving Denethor mad, who decides to take his body to the Mortuary House of the Stewards in Rath Dínen with the intention that they both be burned on a pyre. mortuary. Pippin, after witnessing Denethor's fit of madness, goes in search of Gandalf. Meanwhile, the Witch King's armies finish laying siege to the city and launch an attack on the Great Gate of Minas Tirith, which is brought down with the help of a gigantic battering ram called the Grond. Then the Witch King enters the city and Gandalf, who led the resistance, comes out to meet him, coming face to face with the Nazgûl.

Representation of a gentleman from Rohan.

In Rohan, Théoden assembles his troops at a place known as The Sanctum. During dinner, the king receives a visit from Hirgon, an emissary of the seneschal Denethor who brings him the red arrow, a sign by which Gondor demanded help from Rohan in case of need. This, together with the thick black cloud sent from Mordor and covering the entire region south of the River Anduin, hastened the mobilization of Rohan's army and six thousand spearmen prepared to march towards Minas tirith. Merry is released from King Théoden's services because his size would make it difficult for them to find a fast horse for him and would be a nuisance to any rider riding him. As the army was setting out, a horseman who calls himself Dernhelm took Merry and rode with him, hiding him in his drapery. The army was forced to camp in the Drúadan Forest, as according to the scouts, an army of orcs awaited them a few miles ahead. Thanks to the help of Ghân-buri-Ghân, chief of the drúedain race that lived in said forest, the Rohirrim took an alternative path and, on the sixth day of riding, they reached the Rammas Echor. Théoden arranged his troops and launched his attack, just as the Witch-king entered Minas Tirith.

It was then that the Battle of the Pelennor Fields began. The Rohirrim drove the enemy back and the men of Gondor broke the siege, coming out to fight in the open. During the battle, the Witch-king attacks Théoden and his horse, Whitemane, freaks out and flips his rider, falling on top of him. However, as the Nazgûl prepare to finish off the king, Dernhelm steps between them and reveals his true identity, Éowyn, the king's niece and Éomer's sister. Merry, who was watching the scene, takes her sword and thrusts into the Nazgûl's tendon, while Éowyn, with a badly wounded arm, swings her sword at the Witch-king's helm, killing him. It is then that the corsairs' ships arrive in Harlond and the orcs see surprised how Aragorn, Legolas and Gimli come down from them, accompanied by hundreds of men from the south of Gondor who join the battle and achieve victory.

Gandalf, who had been alerted by Pippin, returns to the sixth circle of Minas Tirith during the battle with to try to stop Denethor. Upon reaching Rath Dínen he engages in a fight with the crazed seneschal and manages to rescue the dying Faramir, but not Denethor who dies on the pyre.

After the battle, the captains of the armies decide, at Gandalf's idea, to divert the attention of Sauron so that Frodo can fulfill his mission and, with their remaining forces, they head towards the Black Gate. Once there and after refusing Sauron's conditions, the battle begins.

Book VI

Because of their greed for Frodo's mithril mail, the orcs of Cirith Ungol ended up killing each other, making it easier for Sam to rescue their master. Disguised in Orc garb, the hobbits set out on the journey to Orodruin, during which they are incorporated into a troop of orcs, although shortly after they manage to flee.

After two days of marching and having shed all useless weight, they arrive at the foot of Mount Doom. Near exhaustion, Sam begins to climb the mountain carrying the nearly lifeless body of his master, due to the exhaustion produced by the Ring. Halfway up the path, they are attacked by Gollum and while Sam takes care of him, Frodo continues ascending; but Sam is unable to kill the creature and lets it go down the hill. Sam then goes in search of Frodo and reaches the Sammath Naur, where he finds him on the brink of the Crack of Fate. However, the Ring ends up taking over Frodo's will and, after refusing to throw it into the lava, he puts it on. Just then Gollum reappears, knocking Sam half unconscious and fighting an invisible Frodo, biting off the ring finger of his hand, with the Ring on it. Such is Gollum's joy at having recovered his treasure that he inadvertently falls down the crack, dying and thus destroying the Ring. Sauron is defeated at last, along with all his works, and the Orodruin bursts into flames, consuming the Nazgûl, who were then heading there for the Ring, in midair.

Meanwhile, at the Black Gate, the warriors of Rohan and Gondor take advantage of the bewilderment of their enemies to counterattack and defeat them.

Days later, Sam and Frodo wake up in Ithilien. They had been rescued from the slopes of Orodruin by Gwaihir and two more eagles who were led by Gandalf to the place. After recovering physically, they went to Minas Tirith, where they attended as heroes the coronation of Aragorn and the union of this with Arwen, the daughter of Elrond. Éomer became the new king of Rohan, and his sister Éowyn married Faramir, who was made seneschal.

After attending King Théoden's funeral in Edoras, the Company set out for Rivendell, taking different paths along the way. On their way through Orthanc, Treebeard informed them that he had let Saruman escape, whom they later found in the Dusky Lands with Wormtongue, both refusing to receive help. Once in Rivendell, Frodo was reunited with Bilbo who gave him the Red Book of the Western Border so that he could continue writing about his adventures. A month later, the four hobbits and Gandalf began the journey back to the Shire, although the wizard only accompanied them as far as the Old Forest and then left to visit Tom Bombadil.

Arriving in the Shire, the hobbits found it taken over by Dunlendings following Saruman's orders. However, Frodo, Sam, Merry and Pippin, with the help of other hobbits, end up defeating the invaders in what became known as the Battle of Delagua. In Hobbiton they find Saruman and Grima, the latter tired of the humiliations of the former kills him, being in turn shot to death by the hobbits. After that, the so-called Sanitation of the Shire begins, where the reconstruction of the Shire took place.

A year later and as planned in Rivendell, Frodo, accompanied by Sam, finds himself in the Enclosed Forest with Gandalf, Elrond, Galadriel, Bilbo and a retinue of Elves and together they travel to the Gray Havens. There, Círdan, Merry and Pippin were waiting for them and after a painful farewell, Frodo, Bilbo, Elrond, Gandalf, Galadriel and the elves leave on a ship for the Imperishable Lands.

Appendices

The appendices to The Lord of the Rings collect from a series of short stories about Tolkien's legendarium, chronologies, genealogies, and notes on the book's fictional languages:

• Appendix A: collects annals on the rulers of the Tolkien legendarium, from Numenor, passing through Gondor and Arnor, to the houses of Eorl and Durin. In addition to listing those rulers, it includes brief stories about the history of each house and a fragment about the love story between Aragorn and Arwen.

• Appendix B: collects a chronology of the Second and Third Ages of the Sun, with special emphasis on the facts that are narrated in The Lord of the Rings. The few known events of the Fourth Age of the Sun are also collected, although dated according to the Comarca compute.

• Appendix C: collects the genealogical trees of different hobbit families, among which are the Bolsón, the Brandigamo, the Tuk, and the family of Sam Gamyi. In the latter, besides the Gamyi themselves, the Coto and the Cavada.

• Appendix D: collects an explanation of the different calendars used on the Middle Earth.

• Appendix E: collects the rules of writing, spelling and pronunciation of tengwar and angerthas, the types of letters used in the languages created by Tolkien for his work.

• Appendix F: collects a text in which Tolkien talks about the languages used by the different peoples of the Middle Earth in the Third Ages of the Sun and about their translation.

Composition

The Lord of the Rings was started as a sequel to The Hobbit, a fantasy story published in 1937 and originally written by Tolkien for his children. The popularity of The Hobbit caused George Allen & Unwin asked Tolkien for more stories related to the novel and, in this way, the author began to write what would become The Lord of the Rings and that would not end until twelve years later, in 1949.

Tolkien did not originally intend to write a sequel to The Hobbit and instead offered his publisher various children's stories, such as Roverandom, written some years ago. However, what Tolkien spent the most time on was outlining the story of Arda, which he already began in 1917. The author died before he could finish and prepare this work, today known as The Silmarillion , but his son Christopher edited it still full of gaps and published it in 1977. Some Tolkien biographers consider The Silmarillion to be his true "heart's work", since it is to which he devoted the most time in his entire life and which provides the historical and linguistic context for his most popular work, The Lord of the Rings.

Despite this, Tolkien was eventually persuaded by Stanley Unwin, president of George Allen & Unwin at that time, to write the sequel to The Hobbit and, in December 1937, began to develop it. Initially, he wrote several versions of a story in which Bilbo Baggins, the protagonist of The Hobbit, he had spent all the treasure found in said novel and was looking for another adventure to earn more. However, Tolkien remembered the Ring and its powers and decided to write about it, while keeping much of it from the discarded versions. He also decided to replace Bilbo as the main character, first creating his son, Bingo, but also discarding him because he generated some difficult questions, like creating a wife for Bilbo and why she wasn't in the story. This is how the character of Frodo Baggins, also originally called Bingo, arose. Technically, Tolkien made Frodo Bilbo's second cousin, but due to their age difference the two consider themselves uncle and nephew respectively. From here, the story took course, although it was subjected to constant revisions and modifications.

Due to Tolkien's perfectionist nature and the fact that he was frequently interrupted due to his academic obligations, especially those of an examiner, the composition of the novel was slow and fitful. Tolkien sent copies of the finished chapters to his son Christopher, his friend C. S. Lewis, and Unwin's son Rayner, who served as critics. Having rewritten the story three times from the beginning to the arrival in Rivendell, in 1940 he abandoned his writing for a time, leaving the Company of the Ring, still without Legolas and Gimli, at Balin's tomb in Moria. In January from 1941, he restarted writing until before 1943, a year that was again almost blank. In April 1944, he began writing Book IV and progressed rapidly, finishing it in June. In October Tolkien began Book V, which took a long time, and in early December he sent a letter to Stanley Unwin at the which communicated to him the possibility that the novel would be finished before the end of the year. However, he underestimated the lengthy ending he was crafting, which, together with his obligations and the post-war paper shortage, prevented him from finishing it. The Lord of the Rings was effectively finished in 1948, but Tolkien kept revising the work until 1954, the same year it was published.

After the work was finished, there was some dispute between Tolkien and the publisher George Allen & Unwin, a fact that led the former to offer The Lord of the Rings to HarperCollins. However, the publisher ended up rejecting it due to its length and pressure from Tolkien, and finally, George Allen & Unwin was in charge of its publication.

Following the massive success of The Lord of the Rings, Tolkien considered a sequel titled The New Shadow, which is set in the days of the reign of Eldarion, son of Aragorn. Tolkien never went very far with this sequel, as he was more concerned with human nature than epic struggle, and the few pages he wrote were published by Christopher Tolkien in The Peoples of Middle-earth.

Influences

The Lord of the Rings was developed by its author as a personal exploration of his interests in philosophy, religion (particularly Catholicism), fairy tales and mythology, especially Norse, but was also decisively influenced by the effects of his military service during World War I. J. R. R. Tolkien created a complete and detailed fictional universe (Eä) in which The Lord of the Rings and many parts were set. of this world are influenced by other sources, as he openly admitted. Tolkien, as well as important figures of the Catholic Church such as Cardinal Newman, considered the mythology to be fully compatible with Christianity, as if it were a prequel to it. So is the Old Testament.

Tolkien described The Lord of the Rings to his friend, the English Jesuit Robert Murray, as a fundamentally religious and Catholic work, unconsciously at first, but consciously during revision. There are many theological themes underlying the narrative, including the battle of good against evil, the triumph of humility over pride, and the intervention of divine grace. The novel also includes themes incorporating death and immortality, mercy and pity, resurrection, salvation, repentance, sacrifice, will, justice, fellowship, authority, and healing. In addition, the Our Father prayer "Lead us not into temptation and deliver us from evil" was present in Tolkien's mind when he described Frodo's struggle against the power of the One Ring. However, the author himself claimed that during the revision of the work removed any reference to religion, as he wanted the religious elements to be absorbed into the story and symbolism.

In addition, several of its characters are inspired by Christian historical figures, such as Galadriel for the Virgin Mary, the Eorlingas as Catholic crusader knights of the Middle Ages, or Aragorn associated with the figure of Christ the King as chosen to end the evil one Sauron representing Lucifer. In turn, Gandalf is also identified with the Anglo-Saxon missionary San Boniface defending civilization against the barbarians from the East.

Odin, of the Nordic mythology, and Väinämöinen, of the fine mythology, were two of the main inspirations that J. R. R. Tolkien took to create the magician Gandalf.

Non-Christian religious themes also have strong influences in Middle-earth, with Northern European mythologies being the most well-known influences. Her dwarves are based on those that appear in Norse mythology and many characters were named after her: Thorin Oakenshield, Dwalin, Balin, Kíli, Fíli, Bifur, Bofur, Bombur, Dori, Nori, Ori, Óin, Glóin, Thráin, Thrór, Dáin, Náin and Durin were taken by Tolkien from the Poetic Edda, a collection of poems written in Old Norse, and more specifically from Völuspá, the first of them. The name of Gandalf is also taken from that work, but his figure is particularly influenced by the deity Odin, in his incarnation as Vegtamr, an old man with a long white beard, wearing a hat with a brim wide and a walking stick; Tolkien claimed that he conceived of Gandalf as an "Odinic Walker".

Finnish mythology, and more specifically the epic Kalevala, was recognized by Tolkien as an influence on Middle-earth. Similar to The Lord of the Rings, the theme of the Kalevala centers around a powerful magical item, the Sampo, which bestows great fortune on its owner, but its exact nature is never made clear. Like the One Ring, the Sampo is fought over by the forces of good and evil, only to be destroyed at the end of the story. Another parallel is the wizard of the Kalevala, Väinämöinen, who bears many similarities to Gandalf in his immortal origins and wise nature, and, in both works, the wizards depart at the end on a ship to the lands. beyond the mortal world. Tolkien also bases Quenya, one of the Elvish languages, on Finnish. By contrast, the other Elvish language, Sindarin, is based on Welsh, the phonetic structure of both being very similar.

It has been widely claimed that Tolkien also borrowed elements from the Völsunga saga, the basis for Richard Wagner's series of operas The Ring of the Nibelung; especially, it has been said that the One Ring is influenced by a magical gold ring, the Andvarinaut. However, in a letter Tolkien wrote to George Allen & Criticizing the commentary that had been introduced for the Swedish translation of the novel and referring to these influences, Unwin told them that the only similarity between his ring and the Andvarinaut was that both "were round" and he concluded that the Scandinavian saga "has absolutely nothing to do with The Lord of the Rings ".

However, the topic of the ring of power bears similarities to an older work. The Greek philosopher Plato in The Republic, Book II tells in a brief passage the legend of Gyges, a shepherd who finds a ring that allows him to become invisible and unleashes his ambition to usurp the throne of Lydia.

Illustration of Beowulf fighting a dragon.

The Anglo-Saxon epic poem Beowulf is another of his main influences. Tolkien was very fond of this work and even made a translation and interpretation of it, found years after his death. The people of Rohan, their culture, social organization, physical characteristics and character, with the exception of their link to the horses, are inspired by the mythical Anglo-Saxon peoples of Beowulf. in the world of horses") and Éowyn ("pride of horses").

The mill of Sarehole, which served as inspiration for the factory built during the invasion of the region by the magician Saruman.

William Shakespeare's Macbeth is another of Tolkien's influences. The destruction of Isengard by the Ents was inspired by Act V of the play, where Birnam Forest attacks Dunsinane Castle. This fact surprised Tolkien when, in his school days, he attended the performance of Macbeth ; however, he was disappointed to discover that it was men camouflaged with branches and not the forest that was moving. In this way, in his work he decided that the trees would really go to war as real creatures.In addition, the way of walking and talking of the Ent Treebeard is inspired by his friend, the also writer C. S. Lewis.

On a more personal level, some locations are inspired by Tolkien's childhood in Sarehole and Birmingham, especially the Hobbit Shire, which was, in Tolkien's own words, "a parody of rural England", Inspired by the idyllic Merry England ideology, which is based on a pastoral way of life that the people of England would have enjoyed at some point between the Middle Ages and the start of the Industrial Revolution. Sarehole Mill, now a museum, was the inspiration for the factory built by Saruman's men to replace the Arenas family mill, and the nearby Moseley Bog Nature Reserve was probably the inspiration for the Forest. Old. The industrialization of the Shire is based on Tolkien's testimony about the extent of the Industrial Revolution in Warwickshire during his youth and, especially, the deleterious consequences it caused. Other such places that influenced Tolkien are the Victorian towers of Edgbaston Waterworks and Perrott's Folly, under whose shadow he lived during his orphanhood and would inspire images of the dark towers of Orthanc and Minas Morgul.

Post

Post in English

The novel itself was commissioned in 1939 by Stanley Unwin, president of George Allen & Unwin around this time, who, wanting to build on the success of The Hobbit, asked Tolkien for a sequel. Upon completion, The Lord of the Rings > was judged by the publisher and they gave it the go-ahead, although they were not convinced that the public would like it because its composition had a much more adult and mature style than The Hobbit. Tolkien tried to take advantage of the publication of The Lord of the Rings so that The Silmarillion, a work on which he had been working for many years and which was previously rejected by the publisher, was published also; however, George Allen & Unwin was unwilling to do so, and Tolkien offered the works to HarperCollins in 1950. Milton Waldman, a board member of HarperCollins, was interested in both, but in the spring of 1952 decided to reject them due to their length and pressure from Tolkien, that he was beginning to lose patience with the delays in publication.

Finally George Allen & Unwin was commissioned to publish The Lord of the Rings. Due to the great shortage of paper as a result of the post-war period, the publisher proposed to Tolkien to divide the novel into three volumes with the aim of publishing them at least a year apart and thus lower the costs of their publication. The author was never very In agreement with this decision and his stubbornness it cost him to live counting every penny for a longer time. Despite this and even without the appendices and maps, the books were published: The Fellowship of the Ring on July 29, 1954, The Two Towers on November 11 of the same year, and The Return of the King almost a year later, on October 20, 1955. Later, in 1966, a volume was added to The Return of the King with the appendages.

Post in Spanish

The artists Alan Lee and John Howe, two of the main illustrators of the works of J. R. R. Tolkien, whose drawings have appeared in several of the published editions of The Lord of the Rings.

The book took more than twenty years to translate into Spanish. The person responsible for this was an editor named Francisco Porrúa, who in the early 1970s ran a small fantasy literature publishing house in Argentina called Minotauro, founded by himself in 1954 and which, at that time, was an appendage of the South American editorial. Porrúa, knowing the importance of the work in the Anglo-Saxon world, did not hesitate to try to obtain the rights and for this he contacted the Muchnik family, who held the rights to the work in Spanish and had already published The hobbit, but not The Lord of the Rings for lack of money. That was how in 1973 and for a sum close to 1,500 dollars, Porrúa bought the rights from the family and got down to work to publish it.

In those years the economic and social situation in Argentina was very complex and, together with the delay of the Sudamericana publishing house, Porrúa decided to transfer Minotauro to Spain. In this way he managed to publish the first edition in Spanish of La Fellowship of the Ring in June 1977, The Two Towers in November 1979 and The Return of the King in April 1980, all with illustrations of Tolkien on the cover. The people in charge of the translation were Porrúa himself, who signed with his pseudonym Luis Domènech and translated the first volume himself, and Matilde Horne. The appendices, however, were not published until 1987 and were translated by Rubén Masera.

Subsequent editions were made entirely in Spain. In 1991, a paperback edition was released, with cover art by John Howe, which was reprinted 32 times until 2003. In 1993, all three books were printed in a single volume, this time with illustrations by Alan Lee. The most recent is a pocket edition of the three books plus appendices, with drawings by John Howe and Ted Nasmith, which was printed in 2006. translations of the first edition.

Reception

Before The Lord of the Rings was published, George Allen & Unwin and even Tolkien himself feared an avalanche of criticism against the novel; however, it received both good and bad reviews, ranging from terrible to excellent. Among the critics, those that dismissed the play as children's dominated: the American critic Edmund Wilson described the work in the newspaper The Nation as "adolescent garbage", while the writer Edwin Muir said that all the characters they were like children who would never reach puberty. Other criticism was due to Tolkien's relationship with the writer C. S. Lewis, who at the time was quite unpopular with critics due to his treatment of religion in his novels. The author asked Lewis to write a commentary on The Lord of the Rings for his dust jacket and was seen by many as jesterish, due to the comparison he made between Tolkien and the poet Ludovico Ariosto.

"No world has ever been projected that at the same time is so varied and so committed to its own domestic laws. If Ariosto competed in invention (which in fact does not succeed) he would still lack his heroic seriousness."

C. S. Lewis

The pub Eagle and Child, meeting place of the Inklings.

Some science fiction authors, such as David Brin or Michael Moorcock, also criticized the work. The latter became one of Tolkien's main detractors and, in the 1960s, led a movement that considered the fight of Good against Evil as presented in The Lord of the Rings obsolete.. In his essay Epic Pooh, Moorcock dismisses Tolkien as conservative, criticizes his perception of Merry England and describes the novel as children's, as well as comparing it to Winnie the Pooh, the bear from the children's saga created by Alan Alexander Milne. Even within Tolkien's own literary group, the Inklings, commentary was mixed. The author, like the other members of the group, read in their meetings some of the texts that he was writing and Hugo Dyson, for example, complained during one of the readings of The Lord of the Rings saying « Oh no! Not another fucking elf!" ("Oh no! Not another fucking elf!").

Despite this, for Tolkien the reception of the novel was better than expected by opinions such as Herbert Dingle, who praised him in The Guardian: «Having created such a romantic epic exciting, with its own mythology and diversity of characters and landscapes, with that enormity of imagination for invention and description, and such a supernatural sense underlying the abundance of incidents, is a more than remarkable fact"; or that of the newspaper The Sunday Times which stated that “The world is divided between those who have read The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings and those who are about to read them", In addition, the novel's sales beat critics, as it achieved a respectable and unexpected success. In the early 1960s the book began to spread more widely in American university circles and in 1965 Richard Plotz, a Columbia University student, founded the first Tolkien Society dedicated to the study and dissemination of his work. In 1967 Glen H. GoodKnight founded the Mythopoeic Society which expanded his study to the work of members of the Inklings.

Despite the modest initial success, editorial and cultural events were the ones that catapulted the novel and its author to the status of cultural and literary icon of the first order in the mid-1960s. In 1965, taking advantage of a legal vacuum in the USA, the publisher Ace Books released a paperback edition without the authorization of the author and without paying royalties to its creator. The publishing was not illegal in the United States but it represented a great financial loss for Tolkien. What the press called "The War for Middle-earth" broke out: the Tolkien Enterprises dispute with Ace Books which ended with the publication in October of the same year of a new paperback edition by Ballantyne Books, Authorized and revised by Tolkien. The author, taking advantage of the already numerous correspondence from fans that he received, added in his responses a note asking his readers to disclose Ballantyne's edition and revile Ace's. The result was that, whether in one edition or another, sales of the book skyrocketed, making it, now, a true "best-seller". Its diffusion coincided with the rise of the Counterculture and the Hippie movement, which saw themes such as love, friendship, nature, ecology and a strong anti-war message and against uncontrolled progress being treated in the book, making it together with some other works like Frank Herbert's Dune in one of its symbols. In a troubled time, in the midst of the Vietnam War, the fight for Civil Rights, the Prague Spring, May 68, Watergate, etc., the slogans Frodo Lives! (Frodo lives!) and Gandalf for president (Gandalf for president) that were very popular at the time and appeared everywhere in graffiti on colleges, trains, subway cars and from which improvised items such as t-shirts, pins or badges were made..

Years after the novel's publication, some critics began to appear, describing it, and even Tolkien himself, as racist and fascist, mainly because the races on the good side were white, while those on the right side were white. Sauron's side were dark-skinned. The writer Fred Inglis tried to prove in one of his essays that The Lord of the Rings was a proto-fascist myth, however, statements made by Tolkien during his lifetime contradict these accusations; during World War II the author expressed his disagreement with the ideas of fascism on several occasions, while in a letter written after an interview with him, the author expressed his offense at the suggestion that Middle-earth corresponded with the Nordic Europe, since the term "Nordic", of French origin, was associated with racist theories.

«I keep in this war a fiery private grudge against that ignorant horse, Adolf Hitler. Arruina, perverts, wrongly applies and returns forever that noble Nordic spirit, supreme contribution to Europe, which I always loved and tried to present in its true light."

J. R. R. Tolkien in a letter to his son Michael (9 June 1941)

In Spain and Latin America, newspapers and literary supplements ignored the publication of The Lord of the Rings and the novel received almost no reviews; some outlets simply focused on commenting on the success of the novel in England and the United States. However, despite this, an average of 50,000 copies are sold annually and the film version by director Peter Jackson increased these figures considerably.

In 1997, a macro-poll was carried out in Waterstone's bookstores in the United Kingdom and on Channel 4 television to choose the best book of the century and The Lord of the Rings was the winner. Criticism arose again and some came to accuse the Tolkien Society of having rigged the survey; Tolkien's own biographer, Humphrey Carpenter, joined the group that made this accusation. However, new polls silenced the accusations: in the one carried out by the newspaper The Daily Telegraph, the novel returned to came out the winner and Tolkien as best author. Two months later, members of the Folio Society editorial chose The Lord of the Rings as the best work of all the centuries in Great Britain, thus ruling out any attempt to rig the results. In 1999 Amazon.com, a virtual Internet bookstore, carried out another survey and the novel was chosen as the book of the millennium. In Spain, the cultural supplement of the newspaper ABC carried out a similar survey, with a number of 9,320 participants, and The Lord of the Rings obtained the seventh position.

Accommodations

Radios

The actor Ian Holm gave his voice to the Frodo character in the radio adaptation of 1981 and years later he would interpret Bilbo in the film trilogy.

The first adaptation of The Lord of the Rings was made for radio, between 1955 and 1956. BBC Radio made a twelve-episode adaptation in the United Kingdom, six dedicated to The Fellowship of the Ring and six others for The Two Towers and The Return of the King, all of them adapted and produced by Terence Tiller. However, while the adaptations helped publicize the books, Tolkien disliked them. The adaptations were also discussed on the BBC's The Critics. /i>») and those present maintained the opinion of Tolkien, although they confessed not having read the book and directed their criticism towards him and the author.

In the early 1960s, New York radio station WBAI-FM broadcast a short adaptation of The Lord of the Rings set to music. This version, which had not been authorized by Tolkien, was later suppressed by his legal representatives.

In 1979, National Public Radio broadcast another adaptation in the United States, produced by The Mind's Eye radio company and written by Bernard Mayes with a script lasting approximately eleven hours. Mayes himself was in charge of lending his voice to some characters, such as Gandalf or Tom Bombadil, while Bilbo was in charge of Ray Reinhardt, Frodo by James Arrington, Sam by Lou Bliss, Merry by Pat Franklyn, Pippin by Mac McCaddon, and Aragorn by Tom Luce.

In 1981, BBC Radio broadcast a new adaptation directed by Jane Morgan and Penny Leicester and written by Brian Sibley and Michael Bakewell. This time the script was made for twenty-six episodes, with a running time of half an hour. Although the script follows the story of the book in almost every respect, Sibley himself said that "there is no way to successfully approach the dramatic presentation of this story." Actor Ian Holm, who would later play Bilbo in director Peter Jackson's film adaptations, provided the voice of Frodo. In 1982 the adaptation was reissued, grouping the episodes into just thirteen, each one hour long. In 2002, encouraged by the success of Jackson's adaptations, the BBC lightly edited the adaptation and rebroadcast it., also publishing it on cassette and CD.

Cinema and television

In 1956, The Lord of the Rings had already attracted the attention of the film world. The publisher George Allen & Unwin informed Tolkien that an American company wanted to make a cartoon version of the novel, and the author was very interested. Months later, Forrest J. Ackerman, the film company's agent, showed Tolkien some of the sketches he had prepared for the film, along with photographs of American landscapes that might inspire Middle-earth. Tolkien gave them the go-ahead, as they were not tempted to copy the style of Disney cartoons, but rather based on the works of illustrator Arthur Rackham. However, the script by Morton Grady Zimmerman included numerous changes to the story., such as using the eagles as a usual means of transportation, turning the inn "El Póney Prador" into a hotel or Saruman's suicide. Tolkien was outraged when he read the script and refused to have the play changed in this way, thus canceling the film.

The second attempt to bring The Lord of the Rings to the big screen occurred in 1967, by the American director Stanley Kubrick, who wanted to make a version of the novel with members of the musical group The Beatles. to star: Paul McCartney as Frodo, Ringo Starr as Sam, George Harrison as Gandalf, and John Lennon as Gollum. However, it all came down to one project after Tolkien rejected it.

Peter Jackson, director of the film trilogy on the work of J. R. R. Tolkien.

United Artists, which had bought part of the rights to The Lord of the Rings, hired filmmaker John Boorman to make a live-action adaptation in the mid-1970s. A script for a single film was produced, about seven hundred pages long and quite adapted, in which numerous characters disappeared, the Nazgûl rode skinless horses, Arwen turned into a girl, and there was even a sex scene between Frodo and Galadriel. However, the cost of the film meant that it was not carried out. Ralph Bakshi, who had joined Boorman's project, contacted the then president of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM), Dan Melnick, and they agreed buy the script from Boorman; but Melnick was fired and they could not buy the script. United Artist eventually agreed to distribute the film, which was directed by Bakshi, produced by Saul Zaentz, and written by Peter S. Beagle. It was made in cartoon format and rotoscoping, a technique in which scenes are filmed with real people and then turned into animation, and was financially successful, although reviews were mixed.

In 1995, a project to make a live-action film began with New Zealand director Peter Jackson. The Miramax company was the first interested in the project, but ended up rejecting it because it contemplated the option of only one film, while the script, written by Jackson himself, together with his wife, Fran Walsh, was made for two. Jackson then presented the project to New Line Cinema and it was decided that the novel would finally be adapted in three parts, again rewriting the script, which, this time, also had the help of Philippa Boyens. Filming began in October 1999. and ended in December 2000, with each film having one year of post-production. The Fellowship of the Ring was released in December 2001, The Two Towers in December 2002 and The Return of the King in December 2003 They were a huge box office success, revived the Tolkien phenomenon, and were mostly well received by critics. Among the three, they won seventeen Oscars from the United States Film Academy (of the thirty possible), being the third part the most awarded with eleven, precisely the same as film milestones such as Ben-Hur and Titanic.

In 2009 a group of fans of Tolkien's stories made a forty-minute short film entitled The Hunt for Gollum. The short is based on Aragorn's time searching for Gollum at Gandalf's behest, with elements from the novel's appendices. writer-director Chris Bouchard. It had a budget of less than £3,000 and most of the contestants worked pro bono. It was released on 3 May 2009 and is available for watch it online for free.

TV series

In 2017, Amazon acquired the television rights to make a series based on new stories that will temporarily be located prior to the development of The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings, based on the events of the second age of Middle-earth described by Tolkien.

Others

In 1978, at minute 2.08 of the video clip for the song "That's Life", performed by Frank Sinatra in black and white, he appears on the marquee of the "Theatre Royal Drury Lane" the name of the play "The Lord of the Rings".

Between 1979 and 1981, Luis Bermejo and Nicola Cuti published a comic adaptation of The Lord of the Rings in three volumes for Toutain Editor, which was also published in other European countries such as Italy, Germany, Holland, Denmark, Sweden and Finland.

In 1980 the film The Return of the King was released on television, also made into cartoons and which was intended to be a continuation of the Ralph Bakshi film. It was directed by Jules Bass and Arthur Rankin Jr., along with the rest of the team that had already made The Hobbit film in 1977.

In 1990 Recorded Books published an audiobook version of the novel read by British actor Rob Inglis, who uses different voices for each character and sings all the songs himself. Tolkien had written the music for some of the songs in the book, but it was Inglis, along with director Claudia Howard, who wrote the rest.

There has also been a stage adaptation based on the book, a three-hour musical. In 2006 it was released in Toronto, Ontario (Canada), but it was closed without recovering the investment from the producers (18 million euros). Despite this, the production was also released in London in June 2007 and was closed in July 2008, after 492 performances. This production, somewhat shorter than the one in Toronto, has become the most expensive (about 25 million euros) of this type of performance and, despite this, the criticisms that has received are mixed and the producers considered doing another production in German in November 2009 and a tour of New Zealand, Australia and the Far East.