J.R.R. Tolkien: Creator of Middle Earth – Guided Notes
Early Life and Influences
1. It’s the __________________ that gives Lord of the Rings its depth.
2. Tolkien was born in _______________________ in ___________.
3. Both parents were _____________ by the time he was ________.
4. He attended ______________________________ where he began to study ___________.
5. He and his school friends formed the _____________________________, or the ______.
6. In 1911 he attended ______________________.
7. Tolkien joined the ___________ where he fought in the _________________________.
8. Many scholars agreed that one of the major themes of Tolkien’s writing was __________.
Creating the Secondary World
9. While he was in the trenches of World War I, Tolkien began to write what he called
__________________________________________.
10. One of his longer poems was called __________________________________.
11. Two Elven languages: _______________, based on ________________, and ______________,
based on ____________________.
12. Tolkien felt that England lacked a ________________.
13. By 1925, Tolkien had become a _____________________________ at Oxford University.
14. The original review for __________________ was written by _____________________.
15. The Fellowship of the Ring was published in ___________. The entire saga took ______ years to
write.
16. The Lord of the Rings is the _________ second most read book after the ___________.
The Themes of Tolkien’s Writings
17. Tolkien vehemently denied that LOTR was an _______________ of ________________.
18. The idea that new generations of readers can meanings in the book for their own lives is called
________________________________.
19. Tolkien believed true courage was about being able ____________________, finding hope in
_________________________.
20. Another theme is that you can’t have courage without ____________. Frodo makes a great
______________ because __________________________________________________.
21. In FOTR, the fates of all the characters are _________________________. Without
_________________________________, Frodo would have ___________________.
23. In FOTR, Tolkien offers hope _______________________. __________________ is for people
who know what the future holds beyond any doubt.
24. Since nobody knows the future, despair is not only a ________, but it’s a ____________.
Tolkien’s View of Evil
25. The word wraith comes from the root words ________________ and _______________.
26. The Ringwraiths are creatures defined by _____________________________________.
27. The people of Tolkien’s generation had a problem ______________________________.
28. During the War, evil was performed by __________________. They seemed to become
_____________.
29. They started out with _____________________________, but it all somehow
________________________________.
30. Under the right _______________________, _____________ can become the ________.
The Problem of the Ring
31. When Frodo gives Gandalf the Ring, it’s ____________.
32. Either _________ is reluctant or the _____________ is reluctant. Which is it?
33. If it’s Frodo, then his own _____________________ make the Ring fell heavy. The source of the
evil is ________________.
34. If it’s the Ring, then evil is an ____________________ that can ______________ you.
35. Nobody can be trusted, because ________________________________________ that’s
vulnerable to ______________________________.
36. The Ring works ______________: it’s an ___________________ we have to resist, and it’s a
___________________________________ that brings out your own weaknesses.
37. People start out well, but are ________________ by the desire for
_____________________________________________________________________________.