The Silmarillion

So it is Saturday! The topic for discussion in yesterday's class was The Silmarillion or as I like to call it, the Tolkien Bible...That is because the first 150 pages of this book really reads like the Bible...However, the subjcet matter is all about the creation of Middle-Earth and all of the beings that live there.

I have to admit that the content is very complex, because there is a lot of explanation regarding family lines and how different races were created, but it is still extremely fascinating to me...Once you get past the initial confusion and really start to focus on what the content is saying, it becomes pretty interesting.

I find it fascinating that Tolkien wrote this before the Hobbit or LOTR books. It shows just how detailed his thoughts and ideas about the world and characters were. As an aspiring writer I find his abilities and talents to create not only a mythical world that seems so really, but along with it languages that can really be spoken and a history that can really be traced, are truly remarkable. He is a genius in every sense of the word and I find myself so envious of him. And yet he seemed humble, telling in a letter that all stories end up in the same place eventually, lining the wastepaper basket! (I don't know if his comments were truthful or if he was being snarky, which he could've been...How could he NOT have known what kind of masterpiece he had compiled?) Whether he was being honest or not, I find myself in unending awe of him and I wish I could be like him...but who doesn't wish that??

Anyway, back to the Silmarillion...We will be discussing the second part of the book next week..Which should be more exciting, because this half reads more like a story or narrative. It also tells about Beren and Luthien (these are the names Tolkien had engraved on his and his wife's headstones...so romantic!) which is an epic love story, of the first human and elf couple..I'm really excited and can't wait to finish up with these stories!

Until Then..
XOXO,
Julia