I like how he never chose to make a hobbit the ringbearer... but just had to go on from where he left the ring itself at the end of the hobbit (with bilbo).
@DarkenedPsycho Actually Tolkien is not the father of fantasy or even high fantasy. The general ignorance of the masses can be astounding. The father of popular fantasy and sword and sorcery is Robert E Howard and HP Lovecraft. The father of high fantasy is Lord Dunsany. These authors came first and Tolkien mimicked their styles and many ways. What perpetuates this lie is Tolkien's sudden rise in popularity in the 60's by the hippy generation. Most enthusiasts consider his work good but dry.
@DarkenedPsycho ummm... no it's not, it's a hard fact that is easy to fact check since the roots of modern fantasy is very well documented. I like Tolkien and everything, but Tolkien being the founder of modern fantasy is a commonly held myth that is propagated by many people out of ignorance. Just because many people are mistaken doesn't make it a truth, he is not the "father" or "founder" of modern fantasy no matter how great his work is.
@nicholsml Big deal Tolkien is still an amazing writer and should not be underestimated for the middle earth he created, he still deserves credit for his creativity and amazing work, very few writers can top what he has done. He may not have been the first but he has done his bit for fantasy and he did it damn well.
@nicholsml I dont really understand you.And you are not being attacked (most assured) by a ignorant or foolish man.Tolkien has always told his "fans" and the Foolish critics(the reason for their bottom feeding"job" because they are the = of a sports critic.too low to make the Bigs) that his love for Finnish and Nordic Myth was his original inspiration.C.S. Lewis said"He was inside language". JRRT began the Silmarillion in 1917, with all intent of it to be a linguistic work for Friends and Family
@nicholsml You have no idea of what you are talking about.
Tolkien created Arda since 1905. Howard was born at 1907 or 6, and he began with Conan and his other fantasy work a decade and a half after, which makes your claims pointless.
As for Lovecraft, I actually laughed when i read that Tolkien mimicked him. Lovecraft is writing on a completely different style, and you would know that if you have read Mountains of Horror or the Cthulhu Mythos. So excuse me, but you are ignorant yourself.
@nicholsml As for Lord Dunsany, fuck my ass. I can call the villagers of ancient Mesopotamia the fathers of high fantasy, cause they are the first to create such things as stupid religions about Mythical beings that held bolts of lighting.
Overall, as i said in the previous comment you have no idea of what you are talking about.
@nicholsml Oh, you are a troll. Sorry, i thought you were a common stubborn Conan fanboy, my mistake. Enjoy your trolling then, i wont reply again. Have a nice day.
@nicholsml Hmm, strange. i believe i just gave you a lot of facts to reconsider your statement. Seems that you dont. So excuse me mr Troll but i have better things to do.
No need to reply by the way, i wont read your next comment.
@nicholsml dude , if you think silmarillion or children of hurin or lord of the rings is a copy of enithing then read those books and then think again , and plz dont reply me till you read those books becouse if you do then you prouve that you are ignorant and stubborn .
@TheVikiLaki I don't care if your language is harder, I really don't. I was just pointing out your ignorance of the English language since you had brought up ignorance. You're actually the ignorant person in this conversation. How ironic, poetic justice perhaps?
@nicholsml dude how can I not have some mistake's if this language is not my language . and you are joust being stupid with whole ignorant thing becouse I can say that you are ignorant over my language becouse you dont know it , then I can say that you are actually the ignorant personin this conversation .
He sounds just as I imagine Gandalf sounding as I read through his works. Sir Ian McKellan made a great Gandalf in the movies, but I think Tolkien's voice suits much better.
This interviewer has such a one track mind. Tokien is on a completely different level. This guy does not understand Tolkien at all. He fancies himself to have "discovered" the history of middle earth..not invented it. This interview guy wants explanations for everything and symbolism....
@locsaretheshit he actually just published two complete stories, which were LoTR and The Hobbit, but there are many others books published after his death, edited by his son. The silmarillion was published after his death and I think it had to be changed a lil bit to fit together. Some things didnt make sense with others. The last published book under his name was published in 2007, the children of hurin.
@securuslol Another interesting works is 'The Unfinished Tales' published in 1980, which tells among various other stories, the kings and queens of Numenor.
one of the greatest writers of all time. Its good to know that PJ immortalised Tolkien with his films that are much a work of a genious as the books were!
CaptPoco, dwarves, elves, hobbits, and men in LoTR are not caricatures of anyone or anything, they are what they are. Why is that so hard for people to accept! sheesh!
although I admit John-Rhys Davies' performance (in the movies) is faintly Scottish-Welsh.
Frodo is hardly a Christ-figure, if anyone in the mythology is a Christ-figure it's either Aragorn or Elrond (who are rather similar in many key ways).
People commonly confuse it with the chronicles of Narnia where their are references with Christianity whereas LOTR has no such connections its straight from the imagination
It is an inversion of the traditional quest story ( which, in it's inner meaning, is about growing from childhood to adulthood with the winning of treasure representing the acheivement of a healthy independant character ).
TLotR is about the other end of life. Death can only be conquered if you give up attachment to the selfish ego (the One Ring). As a youth you had to win it, now you have to let it go. The life you lived is now the real treasure.
Judging by other comments Tolkien made, I think the 'Jew' reference is about the Dwarves lacking a homeland and so being a kind of diaspora and a culture within a culture. Also their language inspired by Yiddish. The Dwarves love of gold comes directly from the Norse stories, so I don't think Tolkien was necessarily playing up the old stereotype.
"Rowley Birkin QC from the Fast Show"- Yes to the extent that i wonder if they didn't hear this recording and base the character on an impression of it.
Yes, the silences are rather astonishing aren't they..
I want to listen to this interview so bad, I know he's a genius and it's probably an interesting conversation but I can't understand a word he's saying.
Tolkien was a devout Roman Catholic and this is what Tolkien said about the LOTR,
"The Lord of the Rings is of course a fundamentally religious and Catholic work; unconsciously so at first, but consciously in the revision. That is why I have not put in, or have cut out, practically all references to anything like 'religion', to cults or practices, in the imaginary world. For the religious element is absorbed into the story and the symbolism."
Very observant of you. Nothing else seemed to me Jewish. Some call Jewish folk misers and there certainly are many rich Jews, so the aspect of gold lust and such also makes sense to some degree.
I think because of the stereotype that Jews are greedy, and the Drawfs were considered greedy for digging too deep into the mines of Moria for Mitheral (probably spelled this wrong)...?
@gringolazlo I probably read 80% of Silmarillion roughly 50 times on the train to work in the morning ( skipping the first 3 chapters - on a side note, if you want your friends to read it counsel them to do as well )
In my opinion its a thousands times more interesting and moving than Lord of the Rings.
Tolkien was absolutely brilliant. In particular the detail he included in his work was astounding, to include written and spoken language fragments for elves and dwarves. Quite an artist.
How sad that there's an argument on this combox about antisemitism.
Tolkien was clearly not an anti-semite. At the time he lived, it was more acceptable to mention the word "Jewish" in public - nowadays only saying the word is suspicious.
The concept of religion, and of national identity, have nowadays both become "fundamentalised", mere labels for parties. In Tolkien, there are echoes of the European conflict with "the South" or "the East", but his concept is to do with histories, not parties
I would love to talk to this man the imagination he must have to think of storys like The Lord Of The Rings and The Hobbit, its just remarkeble The details in Lord of the rings are just amazing how one man can think of a hole new world and name every city and county and then go on to make maps of these places its just unreal There is much detail in his books that he must have got lost in his own world! Its such a such a shame he didn't see what a great job Peter Jackson did with his work! x <3
The master himself. He brought about today's modern fantasy books. He is a huge influence in the wordl of literature. And i agree, Jackson did a fantastic job.
Not to mention the fact that he's a very devout christian and it obviously played a huge role in his potrayal of what is good and evil even though secularists hate to hear that. lol
Yep. In a 1953 letter to a priest friend Tolkien wrote:
"'The Lord of the Rings' is of course a fundamentally religious and Catholic
work; unconsciously so at first, but consciously in the revision. That is why I have not put in, or have cut out, practically all references to anything like 'religion', to cults or practices, in the imaginary world. For the religious element is absorbed into the story and the symbolism."
I suppose I'm in a position where it doesn't matter what people think of me now - there were some frightful mistakes in grammar, which from a Professor of English Language and Lit are rather shocking.
In regards to Professor Tolkien's comparison of the dwarves to Jews, assuming his comments refer to cultural images or stereotypes is a bad road to go down. I take it rather that the dwarves are "like" the Jewish people insomuch as they are portrayed as having been habitually turned out of their homes in Middle-Earth, and forced to sell and trade wares among other folks and lands: a sort of medeival image of the Jews, as in "Ivanhoe." Maybe not accurate; but not particularly anti-Semitic.
Correct. Tolkien himself said this in a letter (made within the context of criticizing the BBC adaptation of LotR and its depiction of Glóin, which he thought to be "apparently someone's idea of a German"):
"I do think of the 'Dwarves' like Jews: at once native and alien in their habitations,
speaking the languages of the country, but with an accent due to their own private tongue..."
If I might add, the "BBC adaptation" I mentioned above is not the 1981 version, but one made during 1955-1956 (the aforementioned letter meanwhile was written in 8 December 1955).
Tolkien continues to surprise me in every way. I've been reading through all of his books and the amount of information contained is far more than any man can construct. He has taken everything from out myths, and quite possibly, the most important characteristic. Myths are the key to our origins and I do agree with him, that they are much, much more. How many questions he answers in his works! Dunno if he is antisemitic. But he can't be judged for that since he never really admit those beliefs.
honestly, this is an epic story that actually seems to have quite little greek origins in it, It was baffling to see an epic mythical story without many greek origins.
From 6:59 - "But the Dwarves of course, quite obviously are, couldn't you say that in many ways they remind you of the Jews? All their words are semitic obviously, constructed to be semitic."
In the 1968 television interview, (posted as TOLKIEN ON RINGS MYTHOLOGY), he says several things about the Dwarves, including - "...they are not part of the Children of God"
Sometimes he talks as if he feels he's tapped into something that's more than just fantasy fiction.
Its hard to say. If he based the Dwarves in part on his view of Jews, he gave Jews both a compliment and an insult. The Dwarves have courage and ingenunity, but they are insular and greedy. He was no more generous with Men, who are also not "part of the Children of God." Only the elves are idealistically portrayed. Anyway, he clearly drew on Norse mythology for the dwarves too.
You would disagree with that statement re: Tolkien if you'd read his letters - which were postumously. Particularly those before the war to prospective German publishers.
Great master! Wonderfull books!!! Do you wanna continued look incredibles things and creatures like this appear in his stories? See the first video of the list: "duendes magicos" it´s really amazing!!! Enjoy it!
Gran maestro! Maravillosos libros! Quieres seguir viendo criaturas increíbles como las que aparecen en sus historias? Pues no dejes de ver el primer video del listado "duendes magicos"... Son realmente increíbles!!! Disfrútalo!
I am surprised that Tolkien didn't DENY that Frodo is a "christ-like" figure. Although devoutly religious, i have read that he wanted LOTR to be free of religion and all that bollocks. EVERYONE tries to draw a comparison from life...why can't some of these people just read the book for what it is? It's the cornerstone of fantasy as we know it...
I can barely understand his thick old-fashioned English accent. I'm trying to picture Frodo and Aragorn talking with this accent (as Tolkien himself would have likely pictured them doing) and I really can't picture that.
Tolkien's works were not just good v evil but a combination of human virtues such as, courage, friendship and loyalty. T
As far as religion is concerned Tolkien was very careful not to indulge in dogmatic Christian beliefs, but to allow the reader to interpret as they wish to.
Tolkien invented a pantheon of gods similar to the Greek order.
I personally prefer to think it is a mixture of Norse and Greek mythology but thats just my bag.
The funny thing was that The Hobbit was published in 1937, the same year Disney's Snow White and the 7 Dwarves was released, both invloved Dwarves--The Hobbit had 13, Snow White had 7, and I doubt Disney and Tolkien ever met in person
Boy, that remark about the Dwarves being like the Jews took me by surprise. No such similarity ever occurred to me after years of reading the books (and being a Jew). The only similarity I can think of is that both Dwarves and the stereotypes of Jews include long beards and greed. Not a very sympathetic view of Jews. I always assumed his dwarves were inspired by Norse mythological characters (from which he borrowed some of the dwarf names, etc).
But this is a fictional conceit:his sources are obviously Celtic, Germanic, Finnish (yet also Classical and Biblical), he began there and developed them acc to his own purposes.Having done so he didn't want readers to LIMIT his creations as it were retroactively to his orginal models.
Sorry, typo from rewriting: ;The influence of and elements from..'Hence in part he evolved the fictional conceit that the extant NW European myths were perhaps fragmentary and garbled remans of his reconstructed 'asterisk-'mythopoeia, plus that of his work as a 'translation' into terms we might find more or less familiar. So the dwarves are like Scandinavian ones and have Old Norse names, but this is really a superficial resemblance.
my biggest concern is that rothschild froze the credit of the prussian nobles in 1917 and helped usa to build the nation of poland and it's polish orthodox that was even more antisemitical than the russian orthodox in practise and advanced loans to usa and uk. the state of israel serves as a propagandic cause for a preemptive strike to maintain the dollar monopoly on oil, wich is a great help for the usa now that iran is selling oil against euro's and undercuts the opec prices.
My bigest concerns R the convertion of Jews,felowship between them(us after the convertion)and Muslims,the recovery of the Temple Mound to rebuild the Holly Temple,and the fall of capitalism.Capitalism is the yoke the US put over the poor countries like mine and wardevastated countries,and which England imposed to the USA too,& now for the fact that England was once the bigest power because of it now most of the world is sufering for it.I incline myself to Socialism if it prohibits not religion.
jaures in france (19th century) prohibited the subsidizing of religious(catholic in general)schools and he was a socialist, he did not prohibit churches, synagoges or mosques(neither did lenin or stalin)but he secularized society hence that the contrareformation that started eversince the moors brought back the works of aristoteles in europe intensified. liberals in germany declared catholics as reichsfeinde, not socialists.
It's amazing that Tolkien's version of creation is so much like the Bible, and more believable. The elves are angels (analogous). Tolkien was very devout, and I don't care if Catholicism is a cult or not, I firmly believe Tolkien is in heaven, if for no other reason than he brought a singular creation of beauty to this otherwise shithole world.
what concerns me is that uk did not carry out d-day untill the dutch status quo that was at that time without any public mandate ratificated the bretton woods system wich ended the golden standard in holland and enhanced the dollar monopoly on silver and gold.
He was indeed trying - among many other things-to retell the English mythology,incl its Old Norse/'Anglo-Saxon' & Celtic/Arthurian elements.My best wishes and sorrow for kiddynamite: may he recover his composure.
I like how he never chose to make a hobbit the ringbearer... but just had to go on from where he left the ring itself at the end of the hobbit (with bilbo).
gringolazlo 6 days ago
who saying J.J.R Tolkien he cant spell he is th greatest morden english writer i had but with respect i say you clueless and retarded
raedhead 1 month ago
1:38 "I actually wept at the denoumont" - I still do that every time I read it!
ASeasonedWitch 2 months ago in playlist J.R.R.Tolkien Interviews & Audiotapes
can anyone provide a transcript link that actually works?
imbeingdanmstraight 3 months ago
i cant understand what hes saying! :,(
theBODNER1 5 months ago
5 Nazgul didn't like this video
edualym 5 months ago
Tolkien is great
CHRIS1974100 6 months ago
That was very interesting.
waypastthat 7 months ago
damn transcript is gone.
utmax85 7 months ago
The Silmarillion is by far the most impressive book I have ever read. Tho my favorite book is The Hobbit/There and Back Again.
Gotta love the hobbits.
Nuukify 8 months ago 2
im peruvian and completely understand his accnt lol
rdanino 11 months ago 4
Stop Criticizing his speech. I dare say his knowledge of launguege far surpasses your own. He was a linguist for fucks sake.
Plus he is ENGLISH.
Thats the way they talk. Deal with it.
DarthXasthur 11 months ago 13
Tolkien had a pretty strange way of talking...I don't know about others, but I barely understand him.
attila3453 11 months ago
A genius, no book could ever come to as close to as being as big as his was, pretty much created an entire world and was the true creator of fantasy.
DarkenedPsycho 1 year ago
@DarkenedPsycho Actually Tolkien is not the father of fantasy or even high fantasy. The general ignorance of the masses can be astounding. The father of popular fantasy and sword and sorcery is Robert E Howard and HP Lovecraft. The father of high fantasy is Lord Dunsany. These authors came first and Tolkien mimicked their styles and many ways. What perpetuates this lie is Tolkien's sudden rise in popularity in the 60's by the hippy generation. Most enthusiasts consider his work good but dry.
nicholsml 11 months ago
@nicholsml Thats your opinion.
DarkenedPsycho 11 months ago 3
@DarkenedPsycho ummm... no it's not, it's a hard fact that is easy to fact check since the roots of modern fantasy is very well documented. I like Tolkien and everything, but Tolkien being the founder of modern fantasy is a commonly held myth that is propagated by many people out of ignorance. Just because many people are mistaken doesn't make it a truth, he is not the "father" or "founder" of modern fantasy no matter how great his work is.
nicholsml 11 months ago
@nicholsml Big deal Tolkien is still an amazing writer and should not be underestimated for the middle earth he created, he still deserves credit for his creativity and amazing work, very few writers can top what he has done. He may not have been the first but he has done his bit for fantasy and he did it damn well.
DarkenedPsycho 11 months ago 4
This has been flagged as spam show
@DarkenedPsycho never said otherwise.
nicholsml 11 months ago
@nicholsml I dont really understand you.And you are not being attacked (most assured) by a ignorant or foolish man.Tolkien has always told his "fans" and the Foolish critics(the reason for their bottom feeding"job" because they are the = of a sports critic.too low to make the Bigs) that his love for Finnish and Nordic Myth was his original inspiration.C.S. Lewis said"He was inside language". JRRT began the Silmarillion in 1917, with all intent of it to be a linguistic work for Friends and Family
joeknee4767 11 months ago
@nicholsml You have no idea of what you are talking about.
Tolkien created Arda since 1905. Howard was born at 1907 or 6, and he began with Conan and his other fantasy work a decade and a half after, which makes your claims pointless.
As for Lovecraft, I actually laughed when i read that Tolkien mimicked him. Lovecraft is writing on a completely different style, and you would know that if you have read Mountains of Horror or the Cthulhu Mythos. So excuse me, but you are ignorant yourself.
Premoguys 6 months ago
@nicholsml As for Lord Dunsany, fuck my ass. I can call the villagers of ancient Mesopotamia the fathers of high fantasy, cause they are the first to create such things as stupid religions about Mythical beings that held bolts of lighting.
Overall, as i said in the previous comment you have no idea of what you are talking about.
Premoguys 6 months ago
@Premoguys all opinions except for the part where you think I don't know what I'm talking about.
That is your own fantasy to help you combat my rational.
nicholsml 6 months ago
@nicholsml Oh, you are a troll. Sorry, i thought you were a common stubborn Conan fanboy, my mistake. Enjoy your trolling then, i wont reply again. Have a nice day.
Premoguys 6 months ago
@Premoguys Nope. I'm not a troll, I'm just someone who doesn't agree with you, so you act childish and call me names. Have a nice day :)
nicholsml 6 months ago
@nicholsml Hmm, strange. i believe i just gave you a lot of facts to reconsider your statement. Seems that you dont. So excuse me mr Troll but i have better things to do.
No need to reply by the way, i wont read your next comment.
Premoguys 6 months ago
@nicholsml dude , if you think silmarillion or children of hurin or lord of the rings is a copy of enithing then read those books and then think again , and plz dont reply me till you read those books becouse if you do then you prouve that you are ignorant and stubborn .
TheVikiLaki 4 months ago
@TheVikiLaki You misspelled "becouse", "enithing", "plz", and "prouve".
...yet you think I'm the ignorant one? You sir, are a FUCKING IDIOT.
Also I have read those books, you just implied that I haven't because I disagreed with you, which is childish.
Grow the fuck up!
nicholsml 4 months ago
@nicholsml I am an idiot ?? learn croatian then tell me I am idiot .
TheVikiLaki 4 months ago
@nicholsml you know , there are other languages , and by the way my language is 10 times harder then yours
TheVikiLaki 4 months ago
@TheVikiLaki I don't care if your language is harder, I really don't. I was just pointing out your ignorance of the English language since you had brought up ignorance. You're actually the ignorant person in this conversation. How ironic, poetic justice perhaps?
nicholsml 4 months ago
@nicholsml dude how can I not have some mistake's if this language is not my language . and you are joust being stupid with whole ignorant thing becouse I can say that you are ignorant over my language becouse you dont know it , then I can say that you are actually the ignorant personin this conversation .
TheVikiLaki 4 months ago
@nicholsml except of mithologies
TheVikiLaki 4 months ago
I'm not a native English speaker so I find it extremely difficult to keep up.
Dodo251 1 year ago
How can anyone NOT like this??? It is a priceless treasure!
happylmc 1 year ago 4
And he was very, very drunk.
DrunkenPoetic 1 year ago
@DrunkenPoetic Nice one - of course JRRT was never drunk but he does sound very much like the Paul Whitehouse character.
belisariusorb 1 year ago
He sounds just as I imagine Gandalf sounding as I read through his works. Sir Ian McKellan made a great Gandalf in the movies, but I think Tolkien's voice suits much better.
OldIronbark 1 year ago
This interviewer has such a one track mind. Tokien is on a completely different level. This guy does not understand Tolkien at all. He fancies himself to have "discovered" the history of middle earth..not invented it. This interview guy wants explanations for everything and symbolism....
hangtime41 1 year ago
Hahaha I know an autistic walmart cartpusher who talks like Tolkien but he talks only to himself
0O00OO0O00OO0O00OO 1 year ago 2
@0O00OO0O00OO0O00OO thats my dad you jerk. youve got to be kidding me
Mattystew17 1 year ago
How many books did he actually write? LoTR, the silmarillion, the hobbit...anything else?
locsaretheshit 1 year ago
@locsaretheshit Tolkien wrote a lot of stuff. "The Adventure of Tom Bombadil" is another one. "Farmer Giles of Ham", and other shorter works.
Dirtfire 1 year ago
@locsaretheshit he actually just published two complete stories, which were LoTR and The Hobbit, but there are many others books published after his death, edited by his son. The silmarillion was published after his death and I think it had to be changed a lil bit to fit together. Some things didnt make sense with others. The last published book under his name was published in 2007, the children of hurin.
securuslol 1 year ago
@securuslol Another interesting works is 'The Unfinished Tales' published in 1980, which tells among various other stories, the kings and queens of Numenor.
roac7777 1 year ago
From now on I'm saying descrobed.
barukkhazaddum 1 year ago
one of the greatest writers of all time. Its good to know that PJ immortalised Tolkien with his films that are much a work of a genious as the books were!
Tolkien forever!
NetherDrakeye 1 year ago
"feel as sense of guilt for creating lord of the rings?"
heh. quite amusing question.
raphael3d 1 year ago
CaptPoco, dwarves, elves, hobbits, and men in LoTR are not caricatures of anyone or anything, they are what they are. Why is that so hard for people to accept! sheesh!
although I admit John-Rhys Davies' performance (in the movies) is faintly Scottish-Welsh.
Frodo is hardly a Christ-figure, if anyone in the mythology is a Christ-figure it's either Aragorn or Elrond (who are rather similar in many key ways).
peacecanhappen27 1 year ago
@peacecanhappen27
People commonly confuse it with the chronicles of Narnia where their are references with Christianity whereas LOTR has no such connections its straight from the imagination
gunsncrocker 1 year ago
actually it's from the language itself, find a book called 'the hobbit companion.'
RogerGargoyle 1 year ago
bbc radio
TheBigB137 1 year ago
Tolkien's speaking voice or the way he speaks in conversation sounds to me, kinda of like Anthony Hopkins or John Cleese in his Fawlty Tower days.
nat00ben06 1 year ago
(If you have lived well, that is) (!)
B7Scorpio 1 year ago
The Lord of the Rings is a story about death.
It is an inversion of the traditional quest story ( which, in it's inner meaning, is about growing from childhood to adulthood with the winning of treasure representing the acheivement of a healthy independant character ).
TLotR is about the other end of life. Death can only be conquered if you give up attachment to the selfish ego (the One Ring). As a youth you had to win it, now you have to let it go. The life you lived is now the real treasure.
B7Scorpio 1 year ago
Wow, and here I thought Dwarves were supposed to be Scottish caricatures, not Jewish ones!
CaptPoco 1 year ago
Can you post the transcript of this on an active website please? The sad demise of geocities is a heartbreak for many.
thanks.
matthewscott61 2 years ago
I hear you. back before the orwellian web 2.0.
mwells219 2 years ago
Hm! This guy was quite smart. Certainly didn't compliment the interviewer very much.
BenMcCormack91 2 years ago
Judging by other comments Tolkien made, I think the 'Jew' reference is about the Dwarves lacking a homeland and so being a kind of diaspora and a culture within a culture. Also their language inspired by Yiddish. The Dwarves love of gold comes directly from the Norse stories, so I don't think Tolkien was necessarily playing up the old stereotype.
grovelbean 2 years ago 14
1:16 wtf? xD
2112Johnny2112 2 years ago
dwarves are akin to Jews?!
hippojuice23 2 years ago
lol he did say that...he just said they have "semetic qualities" or something.
CtrlRm 2 years ago
AAAaaghhh I cant understand a thing hes sayinnnnggg!!! I wanna hear him so bad! :'(
ambereyes93 2 years ago 2
You have to listen really hard (but it's worth it). It's an Edwardian way of speaking that's long gone!
scibby2 2 years ago
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Dirtfire 2 years ago
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Dirtfire 2 years ago
type "tolkien interview transcript" into google and click on the first link. That's the conversation in written form.
Dirtfire 2 years ago
@Dirtfire Thank you!
ambereyes93 2 years ago
This comment has received too many negative votes show
You cannot deny a REAL FACT.
Tolkien attended mass daily and confession before mass almost daily.
One of his son was a priest (John, who died in 2003).
Tolkien wrote in his letters that the drama at the core of his mithology was "the adoration which must only offered to God".
Don't be silly. Nobody aims at inventing a cult based on Tolien's work.
This cult is not a consequence of his mithology, this cult IS THE CAUSE OF HIS MITHOLOGY and this cult is THE CATHOLIC LITURGY.
C2209w 2 years ago
This has been flagged as spam show
TOLKIEN WORKS = a mythology for the Catholic Church.
Tolkien = an unrecognised saint of the Catholic Church.
Time will manifest that these statements are true.
There are MANY ways of being a saint but really only one: being united with the Saviour.
And Tolkien was.
Tolkien, ora pro nobis coram Deo!
C2209w 2 years ago
l THOUGHT L RON HUBBARD WAS A DICK FOR STARTING A CULT
JRR TOLKIEN WASNT EVEN TRYING TO START A CULT THERES ENOUGH DICKS TO DO IT THEMSELVES
ZEROEVILDARKCOOL 2 years ago
It sounds as if the interviewer is trying to cut him down in sorts.
grayfin 2 years ago
The One, yes definately the One. Don't you love it when you understand things that other people didn't.
emergencyCALL911 2 years ago
Could Tolkien sound more English? Wow...
Nobody but Royalty dares, today, to wait a moment before answering, even if they fill the gap with mmm's errr's and what?'s
Best Fantasy writer by a country mile. But he does sound somewhat like Rowley Birkin QC from the Fast Show at times - which is no bad thing to me.
Almuric7 2 years ago 4
He it the greatest fantasy writer. He has inspired every book you can think of.
hannigan06 2 years ago 17
"Rowley Birkin QC from the Fast Show"- Yes to the extent that i wonder if they didn't hear this recording and base the character on an impression of it.
Yes, the silences are rather astonishing aren't they..
ExMachine 2 years ago
i love it how you can hear him smoking his pipe
spoooneyspencer 2 years ago 10
I want to listen to this interview so bad, I know he's a genius and it's probably an interesting conversation but I can't understand a word he's saying.
14ricki 2 years ago 6
I appreciate your conversation... very mumbly indeed! His son Christopher speaks very clearly, though.
philatelist26 2 years ago
type "tolkien interview transcript" into google and click on the first link. That's the conversation in written form.
Dirtfire 2 years ago
Comment removed
Dirtfire 2 years ago
This has been flagged as spam show
type "tolkien interview transcript" into google and click on the first link. That's the conversation in written form.
Dirtfire 2 years ago
Much of Tolkien's story references the bible and his Catholic faith.
1tontomato 2 years ago
kind of.
amyinarms 2 years ago
Tolkien was a devout Roman Catholic and this is what Tolkien said about the LOTR,
"The Lord of the Rings is of course a fundamentally religious and Catholic work; unconsciously so at first, but consciously in the revision. That is why I have not put in, or have cut out, practically all references to anything like 'religion', to cults or practices, in the imaginary world. For the religious element is absorbed into the story and the symbolism."
1tontomato 2 years ago
awesome, thanks for uploading
jumjum151 2 years ago
Why exactly would dwarfs be like the Jews? I'm not offended, just confused.
Ebuverthebicepcurler 2 years ago 4
I think because they are a race in exile from their homeland.
Altaica42 2 years ago 5
Very observant of you. Nothing else seemed to me Jewish. Some call Jewish folk misers and there certainly are many rich Jews, so the aspect of gold lust and such also makes sense to some degree.
Ebuverthebicepcurler 2 years ago
That could be but Buffett and Gates aint Jews.
nat00ben06 1 year ago
greedy?
volcom94x 2 years ago
hmm, also bearded...
Ebuverthebicepcurler 2 years ago
I think because of the stereotype that Jews are greedy, and the Drawfs were considered greedy for digging too deep into the mines of Moria for Mitheral (probably spelled this wrong)...?
That's my guess, at least
LadyAmaltheaUnicorn 2 years ago
smaug Specialy Pissed off the dwarfs,=D.
ConformistJoe 2 years ago
This comment has received too many negative votes show
maybes cos there were greedy like jews :)
spoooneyspencer 2 years ago
"Three rings for the Elven-kings under the sky,
Seven for the Dwarf-lords in their halls of stone,
Nine for Mortal Men doomed to die,
One for the Dark Lord on his dark throne
In the Land of Mordor where the Shadows lie.
One Ring to rule them all, One Ring to find them,
One Ring to bring them all and in the darkness bind them
In the Land of Mordor where the Shadows lie."
banistirtzis 2 years ago 4
i love it
joewondy 2 years ago
read the silmarillion... he pretty much wrote the history for an entire planet.
gringolazlo 2 years ago 65
@gringolazlo i would but it's to damn long! haha only one by him i have not read yet
ZACKnirvana 1 year ago
@gringolazlo I probably read 80% of Silmarillion roughly 50 times on the train to work in the morning ( skipping the first 3 chapters - on a side note, if you want your friends to read it counsel them to do as well )
In my opinion its a thousands times more interesting and moving than Lord of the Rings.
lord69z 1 year ago
@gringolazlo middle is part of earth
Reeves987 1 year ago
@Reeves987 makes no sense, please restate.
gringolazlo 1 year ago
@gringolazlo middle earth i just part of the eath that we live on
make since
Reeves987 1 year ago
@gringolazlo he wrote more history than our own history, 2000 years of accurate history against more than 8000 years of accurate history O.o
TheNLguy 7 months ago
Tolkien was absolutely brilliant. In particular the detail he included in his work was astounding, to include written and spoken language fragments for elves and dwarves. Quite an artist.
DrCruel 2 years ago 6
Sir Tolkien.... The Master
kapenzo 2 years ago
How sad that there's an argument on this combox about antisemitism.
Tolkien was clearly not an anti-semite. At the time he lived, it was more acceptable to mention the word "Jewish" in public - nowadays only saying the word is suspicious.
The concept of religion, and of national identity, have nowadays both become "fundamentalised", mere labels for parties. In Tolkien, there are echoes of the European conflict with "the South" or "the East", but his concept is to do with histories, not parties
mhopwood1 2 years ago 7
Really like this. Many people seem to having trouble understanding his voice, but I can fairly easily. Maybe if you listen to it a couple times.
Jarlaxle898 2 years ago 2
wow, I hardly understand what he says... still incredible to hear the man's own voice!
klimt82 2 years ago 2
Everyone please read "Tolkien' Letters" it explains a lot of his inner workings and opinions.
angelmarine1292 2 years ago 3
I would love to talk to this man the imagination he must have to think of storys like The Lord Of The Rings and The Hobbit, its just remarkeble The details in Lord of the rings are just amazing how one man can think of a hole new world and name every city and county and then go on to make maps of these places its just unreal There is much detail in his books that he must have got lost in his own world! Its such a such a shame he didn't see what a great job Peter Jackson did with his work! x <3
EstherMarie134 2 years ago 3
The master himself. He brought about today's modern fantasy books. He is a huge influence in the wordl of literature. And i agree, Jackson did a fantastic job.
Balthemos 2 years ago
As a canadian I'm having a hard time understanding Sir Tolkien
davaeron666 2 years ago 4
dranks loads of absinthe also ;)
AHFashionenemy 2 years ago
Is this verified...
davaeron666 2 years ago
It's so awesome to hear the words of the master himself!
JediHobbit89 3 years ago 54
Tolkien smoked capstan pipe tobaccos.
TheLastPaganblood 3 years ago
Not to mention the fact that he's a very devout christian and it obviously played a huge role in his potrayal of what is good and evil even though secularists hate to hear that. lol
Valkyriar 3 years ago
Yep. In a 1953 letter to a priest friend Tolkien wrote:
"'The Lord of the Rings' is of course a fundamentally religious and Catholic
work; unconsciously so at first, but consciously in the revision. That is why I have not put in, or have cut out, practically all references to anything like 'religion', to cults or practices, in the imaginary world. For the religious element is absorbed into the story and the symbolism."
flyingblackboard 3 years ago 2
really? I'm a "secularist" I've had no problem with the struggle of good and evil.
savagenoble7 2 years ago
I suppose I'm in a position where it doesn't matter what people think of me now - there were some frightful mistakes in grammar, which from a Professor of English Language and Lit are rather shocking.
:)
whatsername707 3 years ago
In regards to Professor Tolkien's comparison of the dwarves to Jews, assuming his comments refer to cultural images or stereotypes is a bad road to go down. I take it rather that the dwarves are "like" the Jewish people insomuch as they are portrayed as having been habitually turned out of their homes in Middle-Earth, and forced to sell and trade wares among other folks and lands: a sort of medeival image of the Jews, as in "Ivanhoe." Maybe not accurate; but not particularly anti-Semitic.
aelfwine14 3 years ago
Correct. Tolkien himself said this in a letter (made within the context of criticizing the BBC adaptation of LotR and its depiction of Glóin, which he thought to be "apparently someone's idea of a German"):
"I do think of the 'Dwarves' like Jews: at once native and alien in their habitations,
speaking the languages of the country, but with an accent due to their own private tongue..."
flyingblackboard 3 years ago 2
If I might add, the "BBC adaptation" I mentioned above is not the 1981 version, but one made during 1955-1956 (the aforementioned letter meanwhile was written in 8 December 1955).
flyingblackboard 3 years ago
Second that.
CalvadosKid 3 years ago
lol 7:04
Dwarves were meant to be Jews.
eternalwanker 3 years ago
Is it almost work for word? Or is the legend just similar?
lord69z 3 years ago
John Ronald Reuel Tolkien the best writer of all time.
mmafan567 3 years ago 12
Tolkien continues to surprise me in every way. I've been reading through all of his books and the amount of information contained is far more than any man can construct. He has taken everything from out myths, and quite possibly, the most important characteristic. Myths are the key to our origins and I do agree with him, that they are much, much more. How many questions he answers in his works! Dunno if he is antisemitic. But he can't be judged for that since he never really admit those beliefs.
scartaci90 3 years ago 4
honestly, this is an epic story that actually seems to have quite little greek origins in it, It was baffling to see an epic mythical story without many greek origins.
devilgryphon 3 years ago
Tolkien's work draws more from the Northern tradition, i.e. Norse and Saxon mythology, than Greek.
jrlaker 3 years ago 5
I think the only greek inspiration was the tragedies such as Turin. ( Having sex with his sister and thus ending in ruin )
Greatest writer in my book, he wrote a book greater than the Bible.
lord69z 3 years ago 2
In fact the story of Turin is from Finnish mythology, from story of Kullervo to be exact.
Tupiii89 3 years ago
From 6:59 - "But the Dwarves of course, quite obviously are, couldn't you say that in many ways they remind you of the Jews? All their words are semitic obviously, constructed to be semitic."
In the 1968 television interview, (posted as TOLKIEN ON RINGS MYTHOLOGY), he says several things about the Dwarves, including - "...they are not part of the Children of God"
Sometimes he talks as if he feels he's tapped into something that's more than just fantasy fiction.
B7Scorpio 3 years ago
white rider etc. prob but you dont think about those things now but many said that maybe he was a little antisemetic.
Ladaffe 3 years ago
Its hard to say. If he based the Dwarves in part on his view of Jews, he gave Jews both a compliment and an insult. The Dwarves have courage and ingenunity, but they are insular and greedy. He was no more generous with Men, who are also not "part of the Children of God." Only the elves are idealistically portrayed. Anyway, he clearly drew on Norse mythology for the dwarves too.
etsneroj 3 years ago
Everybody was antisemitic back then. They just won't admit since after the Nazis.
CarlOlav 3 years ago
You would disagree with that statement re: Tolkien if you'd read his letters - which were postumously. Particularly those before the war to prospective German publishers.
dmsdbo 3 years ago
its like his language his too vast that in a mea convo 3 words try to come out at one
yellowpowwer 3 years ago
lolz...id need a slowmotion of this to understand all this correctly lol
wormdemorgoth 3 years ago
Lol :) Compare him with John Michell in:
Graham Hancock - Quest for the lost civilization part 12/14
moonmaria 3 years ago
Great master! Wonderfull books!!! Do you wanna continued look incredibles things and creatures like this appear in his stories? See the first video of the list: "duendes magicos" it´s really amazing!!! Enjoy it!
Gran maestro! Maravillosos libros! Quieres seguir viendo criaturas increíbles como las que aparecen en sus historias? Pues no dejes de ver el primer video del listado "duendes magicos"... Son realmente increíbles!!! Disfrútalo!
Lisandroalejan 3 years ago
His Books are literary classics for the ages. Never again will such masterpieces of Fantasy be written.
Runeguy33 3 years ago
They have a link to the entire transcript (hopefully accurate) to the right of the video.
Dirtfire 3 years ago 2
I love his laugh.
I wish he was still alive to see the films.
Seeing him laugh tells me that even though he was uptight about the story, he could have enjoyed it.
Odonus2 3 years ago
I am surprised that Tolkien didn't DENY that Frodo is a "christ-like" figure. Although devoutly religious, i have read that he wanted LOTR to be free of religion and all that bollocks. EVERYONE tries to draw a comparison from life...why can't some of these people just read the book for what it is? It's the cornerstone of fantasy as we know it...
*pats Tolkien on the back*
"Well in son"
gunslingerxix 3 years ago 5
I absolutely agree, one of the many great things about JRRT is that he allowed the reader to interpret what he/she may.
I myself like the so called pagan references
roac7777 3 years ago
cant agree more...thought the same thing my selff :)
wormdemorgoth 3 years ago
I can't understand what he's saying. However J.R.R. Tolkien is the best writer of all time. There will not be any other like him.
RulerL0rd 3 years ago 4
there will never ever be another man like J.R.R TOLKIEN, when it came to fantasy stories he made it come true.
hurley501 3 years ago
I love how the Catholic undertones of the story are virtually invisible.
The last thing I would ever read is a Bible allegory (i.e. Lewis).
MediStalgia 3 years ago
Lewis only wrote a single allegory (The Pilgrim's Regress).
josher2004 3 years ago 2
Please.
See Narnia.
MediStalgia 3 years ago
One of the best writers of all time.
Gondin1 3 years ago 3
He died the next year am I correct?
smoky90210 3 years ago
yes
yewtewbpewper 3 years ago
I can barely understand his thick old-fashioned English accent. I'm trying to picture Frodo and Aragorn talking with this accent (as Tolkien himself would have likely pictured them doing) and I really can't picture that.
OldCottage2 3 years ago
thats hilarious
Shadowjak101 3 years ago
Tolkien's works were not just good v evil but a combination of human virtues such as, courage, friendship and loyalty. T
As far as religion is concerned Tolkien was very careful not to indulge in dogmatic Christian beliefs, but to allow the reader to interpret as they wish to.
Tolkien invented a pantheon of gods similar to the Greek order.
I personally prefer to think it is a mixture of Norse and Greek mythology but thats just my bag.
roac7777 3 years ago
this is great , thanks for posting :)
UniversalBrother108 3 years ago
The funny thing was that The Hobbit was published in 1937, the same year Disney's Snow White and the 7 Dwarves was released, both invloved Dwarves--The Hobbit had 13, Snow White had 7, and I doubt Disney and Tolkien ever met in person
KTChamberlain 3 years ago
Boy, that remark about the Dwarves being like the Jews took me by surprise. No such similarity ever occurred to me after years of reading the books (and being a Jew). The only similarity I can think of is that both Dwarves and the stereotypes of Jews include long beards and greed. Not a very sympathetic view of Jews. I always assumed his dwarves were inspired by Norse mythological characters (from which he borrowed some of the dwarf names, etc).
etsneroj 3 years ago
But this is a fictional conceit:his sources are obviously Celtic, Germanic, Finnish (yet also Classical and Biblical), he began there and developed them acc to his own purposes.Having done so he didn't want readers to LIMIT his creations as it were retroactively to his orginal models.
ekerilaz 3 years ago
Sorry, typo from rewriting: ;The influence of and elements from..'Hence in part he evolved the fictional conceit that the extant NW European myths were perhaps fragmentary and garbled remans of his reconstructed 'asterisk-'mythopoeia, plus that of his work as a 'translation' into terms we might find more or less familiar. So the dwarves are like Scandinavian ones and have Old Norse names, but this is really a superficial resemblance.
ekerilaz 3 years ago
Why are you all talking about random religous stuff?
Just talk about how awesome this guy is.
kbai.
Scottieonfire 3 years ago
my biggest concern is that rothschild froze the credit of the prussian nobles in 1917 and helped usa to build the nation of poland and it's polish orthodox that was even more antisemitical than the russian orthodox in practise and advanced loans to usa and uk. the state of israel serves as a propagandic cause for a preemptive strike to maintain the dollar monopoly on oil, wich is a great help for the usa now that iran is selling oil against euro's and undercuts the opec prices.
bendingnote 3 years ago
My bigest concerns R the convertion of Jews,felowship between them(us after the convertion)and Muslims,the recovery of the Temple Mound to rebuild the Holly Temple,and the fall of capitalism.Capitalism is the yoke the US put over the poor countries like mine and wardevastated countries,and which England imposed to the USA too,& now for the fact that England was once the bigest power because of it now most of the world is sufering for it.I incline myself to Socialism if it prohibits not religion.
09j03r94 3 years ago
jaures in france (19th century) prohibited the subsidizing of religious(catholic in general)schools and he was a socialist, he did not prohibit churches, synagoges or mosques(neither did lenin or stalin)but he secularized society hence that the contrareformation that started eversince the moors brought back the works of aristoteles in europe intensified. liberals in germany declared catholics as reichsfeinde, not socialists.
bendingnote 3 years ago
It's amazing that Tolkien's version of creation is so much like the Bible, and more believable. The elves are angels (analogous). Tolkien was very devout, and I don't care if Catholicism is a cult or not, I firmly believe Tolkien is in heaven, if for no other reason than he brought a singular creation of beauty to this otherwise shithole world.
Joe41272 3 years ago 3
No, the Maiar are angels.
auitane 3 years ago
LOL he's funny! Talks really fast!
lotrfan66 3 years ago
Bendingnote additionally gives cause for concern.
ekerilaz 3 years ago
he sure does, doesn't he?
bendingnote 3 years ago
what concerns me is that uk did not carry out d-day untill the dutch status quo that was at that time without any public mandate ratificated the bretton woods system wich ended the golden standard in holland and enhanced the dollar monopoly on silver and gold.
bendingnote 3 years ago
He was indeed trying - among many other things-to retell the English mythology,incl its Old Norse/'Anglo-Saxon' & Celtic/Arthurian elements.My best wishes and sorrow for kiddynamite: may he recover his composure.
ekerilaz 3 years ago