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116-550: Peregrin Took , commonly known simply as Pippin , is a fictional character from J. R. R. Tolkien 's fantasy novel The Lord of the Rings . He is closely tied with his friend and cousin, Merry Brandybuck , and the two are together during most of the story. Pippin and Merry are introduced as a pair of young hobbits of the Shire who become ensnared in their friend Frodo Baggins 's quest to destroy

232-402: A Steward of Gondor . He marries Finduilas, daughter of Prince Adrahil of Dol Amroth . She gives birth to two sons, Boromir and Faramir , but dies when they are ten and five years old, respectively. Denethor never remarries, and becomes grimmer and more silent than before. He is a man of great will, foresight, and strength, but also overconfident. Gandalf describes him as "proud and subtle,

348-507: A troll , who falls on him. Gimli notices his feet under the troll and dragged him out, saving his life. Returning home, he and Merry rouse the Hobbits of the Shire to destroy Saruman 's forces during the Scouring of the Shire , achieving greater fame in their homeland than Frodo. He marries Diamond of Long Cleeve; they have a son, Faramir. He later becomes the Took, head of his clan, and Thain of

464-442: A computer-based unified text. In 2004, for the 50th Anniversary Edition, Wayne G. Hammond and Christina Scull , under supervision from Christopher Tolkien, studied and revised the text to eliminate as many errors and inconsistencies as possible, some of which had been introduced by well-meaning compositors of the first printing in 1954, and never been corrected. The 2005 edition of the book contained further corrections noticed by

580-448: A cover illustration, both of which identified the pair as Minas Morgul and Orthanc. Tolkien was initially opposed to titles being given to each two-book volume, preferring instead the use of book titles: e.g. The Lord of the Rings : Vol. 1, The Ring Sets Out and The Ring Goes South ; Vol. 2, The Treason of Isengard and The Ring Goes East ; Vol. 3, The War of the Ring and The End of

696-611: A cursed blade. Strider fights them off and treats Frodo with the herb athelas . They are joined by the Elf Glorfindel , who rides with Frodo, now deathly ill, towards Rivendell. The Black Riders pursue Frodo into the Ford of Bruinen, where they are swept away by flood waters summoned by Elrond . Frodo recovers in Rivendell under Elrond's care. Gandalf informs Frodo that the Black Riders are

812-399: A film version is inevitably different , and if so the reasons for any changes, and the effectiveness of the result. The Hunt for Gollum , a 2009 film by Chris Bouchard , and the 2009 Born of Hope , written by Paula DiSante and directed by Kate Madison , are fan films based on details in the appendices of The Lord of the Rings . From September 2022, Amazon has been presenting

928-552: A great army against Gondor . Gandalf arrives at Minas Tirith to warn Denethor of the attack, while Théoden musters the Riders of Rohan to go to Gondor's aid. Minas Tirith is besieged; the Lord of the Nazgûl uses a spell-wound battering ram to destroy the city's gates. Denethor, deceived by Sauron, falls into despair. He burns himself alive on a pyre; Pippin and Gandalf rescue his son Faramir from

1044-684: A guide, to ensure the elements of the story fitted together in time and space. He prepared a variety of types of illustration – maps, calligraphy, drawings, cover designs, even a facsimile painting of the Book of Mazarbul – but only the maps, the inscription on the Ring, and a drawing of the Doors of Durin were included in the first edition. The hardback editions sometimes had cover illustrations by Tolkien, sometimes by other artists. According to The New York Times , Barbara Remington 's cover designs for Ballantine 's paperback editions "achieved mass-cult status in

1160-413: A hard round object to try to kill Gandalf. Pippin picks it up; Gandalf swiftly takes it, but Pippin steals it in the night. It is a palantír , a seeing-stone that Saruman used to speak with Sauron, becoming ensnared. Sauron sees Pippin, but misunderstands the circumstances. Gandalf rides for Minas Tirith , chief city of Gondor , taking Pippin with him. Frodo and Sam struggle through the barren hills of

1276-461: A high-minded belief in the importance of his mission as a literary preservationist, which turns out to be death to literature itself". The critic Richard Jenkyns, writing in The New Republic , criticized the work for a lack of psychological depth. Both the characters and the work itself were, according to Jenkyns, "anemic, and lacking in fibre". The science fiction author David Brin interprets

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1392-735: A leader who has to defend his realm. Sauron drives Denethor to suicide by showing him in the Palantír the Black Fleet approaching Gondor, while concealing the fact that the ships are carrying Aragorn's troops, coming to Gondor's rescue. The Tolkien scholar Tom Shippey comments that this forms part of a pattern around the use of the Palantír, that one should not try to see the future but should trust in one's luck and make one's own mind up, courageously facing one's duty in each situation. The medievalist Elizabeth Solopova comments that unlike Aragorn, Denethor

1508-484: A letter to the poet W. H. Auden , who famously reviewed the final volume in 1956, Tolkien himself made use of the term "trilogy" for the work though he did at other times consider this incorrect, as it was written and conceived as a single book. It is often called a novel; however, Tolkien objected to this term as he viewed it as a heroic romance . The books were published under a profit-sharing arrangement, whereby Tolkien would not receive an advance or royalties until

1624-409: A major work in itself, The Lord of the Rings was only the last movement of a much older set of narratives Tolkien had worked on since 1917 encompassing The Silmarillion , in a process he described as mythopoeia . The Lord of the Rings started as a sequel to Tolkien's work The Hobbit , published in 1937. The popularity of The Hobbit led George Allen & Unwin, the publishers, to request

1740-497: A man of far greater lineage and power [than Théoden of Rohan ], though he is not called a king." Gandalf further comments: He is not as other men of this time…by some chance the blood of Westernesse runs nearly true in him, as it does in his other son, Faramir, and yet did not in Boromir. He has long sight. He can perceive, if he bends his will thither, much of what is passing in the minds of men, even of those that dwell far off. It

1856-567: A much larger work. Written in stages between 1937 and 1949, The Lord of the Rings is one of the best-selling books ever written , with over 150 million copies sold. The title refers to the story's main antagonist , the Dark Lord Sauron , who in an earlier age created the One Ring , allowing him to rule the other Rings of Power given to men , dwarves , and elves , in his campaign to conquer all of Middle-earth. From homely beginnings in

1972-658: A multi-season television series of stories, The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power . It is set at the beginning of the Second Age , long before the time of The Lord of the Rings , based on materials in the novel's appendices. In early 2023, Warner Bros. Discovery announced that multiple new movies set in Middle-earth are in development, and will be produced along with New Line Cinema and Freemode. In 1990, Recorded Books published an audio version of The Lord of

2088-485: A nominal payment to Tolkien. Authorized editions followed from Ballantine Books and Houghton Mifflin to tremendous commercial success. Tolkien undertook various textual revisions to produce a version of the book that would be published with his consent and establish an unquestioned US copyright. This text became the Second Edition of The Lord of the Rings , published in 1965. The first Ballantine paperback edition

2204-497: A purely rural world with no bearing on modern life in cities; of containing no sign of religion; or of racism. Other commentators responded by noting that there are three powerful women in the book , Galadriel, Éowyn, and Arwen; that life, even in rural Hobbiton, is not idealized; that Christianity is a pervasive theme ; and that Tolkien was sharply anti-racist both in peacetime and during the Second World War, while Middle-earth

2320-466: A rebellion and scours the Shire . Saruman reveals crimes that Wormtongue has done, causing Wormtongue to turn on Saruman and kill him in front of Bag End , Frodo's home. Wormtongue then is killed by hobbit archers. Merry and Pippin are celebrated as heroes. Sam marries Rosie Cotton and uses his gifts to heal the Shire. Frodo, broken by the quest, leaves a few years later, sailing from the Grey Havens over

2436-417: A secret pass that Gollum knows. They are captured by rangers led by Faramir , Boromir's brother, and brought to the secret fastness of Henneth Annûn . Faramir resists the temptation to seize the Ring and, disobeying orders to arrest strangers, releases them. Gollum guides the hobbits to the pass, but leads them into the lair of the great spider Shelob in the tunnels of Cirith Ungol . Frodo holds up his gift,

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2552-480: A sequel. Tolkien warned them that he wrote quite slowly, and responded with several stories he had already developed. Having rejected his contemporary drafts for The Silmarillion , putting Roverandom on hold, and accepting Farmer Giles of Ham , Allen & Unwin continued to ask for more stories about hobbits . Persuaded by his publishers, he started "a new Hobbit" in December 1937. After several false starts,

2668-559: A serial for his son Christopher Tolkien , who was sent chapters as they were written while he was serving in South Africa with the Royal Air Force . Tolkien made another major effort in 1946, and showed the manuscript to his publishers in 1947. The story was effectively finished the next year, but Tolkien did not complete the revision of earlier parts of the work until 1949. The original manuscripts, which total 9,250 pages, now reside in

2784-571: A skirmish among his captors, Pippin and Merry escape and meet the tree-giant Treebeard , leader of the Ents . They rouse the Ents against the wizard Saruman , and see his stronghold of Isengard destroyed. Treebeard's "Ent-draught" makes Merry and Pippin grow to become the tallest hobbits in history. Gríma Wormtongue , Saruman's spy among the Rohirrim , throws Saruman's palantír , a stone of seeing, at members of

2900-522: Is a book which will break your heart." Lewis observed that the writing is rich, in that some of the 'good' characters have darker sides, and likewise some of the villains have "good impulses". Despite the mixed reviews and the lack of a paperback until the 1960s, The Lord of the Rings initially sold well in hardback. Judith Shulevitz, writing in The New York Times , criticized the "pedantry" of Tolkien's literary style , saying that he "formulated

3016-773: Is a traitor. The Council decides that the Ring must be destroyed in the fire of Mount Doom in Mordor , where it was forged. Frodo takes this task upon himself. Elrond chooses companions for him: Sam, Merry, and Pippin; Gandalf; the Men Aragorn and Boromir , son of the Steward of Gondor ; the Elf Legolas ; and the Dwarf Gimli , representing the Free Peoples of the West. After a failed attempt to cross

3132-637: Is brought to the city's Steward , Denethor , and volunteers to serve him out of respect for Denethor's son Boromir , who had died trying to defend Merry and Pippin from the Orcs. According to Gandalf, this gesture touches Denethor, who accepts the hobbit's offer and makes him one of the Guards of the Citadel . The soldier Beregond is tasked with assisting Pippin in getting started with his new duties. When Denethor despairs and sets out to burn his son Faramir and himself alive in

3248-507: Is difficult to deceive him, and dangerous to try. Unlike Saruman , Denethor is too strong to be corrupted directly by Sauron . He begins secretly using a palantír to probe Sauron's strength, incorrectly insisting he can control it. The effort ages him quickly, and the impression of Sauron's overwhelming force that he gains from the palantír depresses him greatly, as Sauron biases what Denethor sees. Boromir's death depresses Denethor further. Nonetheless he continues to fight Sauron until

3364-434: Is divided into those who have read The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit and those who are going to read them." The New York Herald Tribune appeared to predict the books' popularity, writing in its review that they were "destined to outlast our time". W. H. Auden , a former pupil of Tolkien's and an admirer of his writings, regarded The Lord of the Rings as a "masterpiece", further stating that in some cases it outdid

3480-414: Is evidently polycultural. A dispute with his publisher, George Allen & Unwin , led Tolkien to offer the work to William Collins in 1950. Tolkien intended The Silmarillion (itself largely unrevised at this point) to be published along with The Lord of the Rings, but Allen & Unwin were unwilling to do this. After Milton Waldman, his contact at Collins, expressed the belief that The Lord of

3596-678: Is incapable of displaying what Tolkien in Beowulf: the Monsters and the Critics called " northern courage ", namely, the spirit to carry on in the face of certain defeat and death. Alex Davis, in the J.R.R. Tolkien Encyclopedia , writes that many critics have examined his fall and corrupted leadership, whereas Richard Purtill identifies Denethor's pride and egoism, a man who considers Gondor his property. The Tolkien scholar Jane Chance contrasts Denethor both with another "Germanic king", Théoden , and with

Pippin Took - Misplaced Pages Continue

3712-760: Is not the original author, but merely the translator of part of an ancient document, the Red Book of Westmarch . That book is modelled on the real Red Book of Hergest , which similarly presents an older mythology. Various details of the frame story appear in the Prologue, its "Note on Shire Records", and in the Appendices, notably Appendix F. In this frame story, the Red Book is the purported source of Tolkien's other works relating to Middle-earth : The Hobbit , The Silmarillion , and The Adventures of Tom Bombadil . Although

3828-514: Is pursued by dangerous enemies including Orcs , Trolls , and a Balrog . The Company recuperates in Lothlórien ; Pippin is given a brooch by the elf-queen Galadriel . The Company goes downriver on the Anduin to Parth Galen, where Merry and Pippin are captured by Orcs . While held captive, he purposefully drops his elven brooch as a sign for Aragorn , Legolas , and Gimli , who are in pursuit. During

3944-558: Is small, and binds him with a formal oath, whereas Theoden, King of Rohan, treats Merry with love, which the hobbit responds to. The Tolkien scholar Tom Shippey notes that Tolkien uses the two hobbits and their low simple humour as foils for the much higher romance to which he was aspiring with the more heroic and kingly figures of Théoden, Denethor, and Aragorn : an unfamiliar and old-fashioned writing style that might otherwise, Shippey writes, have lost his readers entirely. He notes that Pippin and Merry serve, too, as guides to introduce

4060-555: Is to rule in my stead, to stand behind every throne, north, south, or west... So! With the left hand thou wouldst use me for a little while as a shield against Mordor, and with the right bring up this Ranger of the North to supplant me. But I say to thee, Gandalf Mithrandir, I will not be thy tool! I am Steward of the House of Anarion. I will not step down to be the dotard chamberlain of an upstart. Even were his claim proved to me, still he comes but of

4176-546: The Emyn Muil . They realize they are being tracked; on a moonlit night they capture Gollum, who has followed them from Moria. Frodo makes Gollum swear to serve him, as Ringbearer, and asks him to guide them to Mordor. Gollum leads them across the Dead Marshes . Sam overhears Gollum debating with his alter ego, Sméagol, whether to steal the Ring. The Black Gate of Mordor is too well guarded, so they travel south through Ithilien to

4292-818: The Misty Mountains , the Fellowship risk the path through the Mines of Moria . They learn that Balin and his Dwarves, who had attempted to regain possession of Moria, were killed by Orcs . They are attacked by Orcs and a Balrog , a fire demon. Gandalf confronts the Balrog: both fall into an abyss. The others escape to the Elvish forest of Lothlórien , where the Lady Galadriel tests their loyalty, and gives them magical gifts. She allows Frodo and Sam to look into her vision-giving fountain,

4408-500: The Nazgûl , Men enslaved by Rings of Power to serve Sauron. The Council of Elrond discusses what to do with the Ring. Strider is revealed to be Aragorn, the heir of Isildur who had cut the Ring from Sauron's hand in the Second Age, but claimed it for himself. The Ring was lost when Isildur was killed; it passed to Gollum and then to Bilbo. Gandalf reports that the chief wizard, Saruman ,

4524-548: The One Ring . Pippin joins the Company of the Ring . He and Merry become separated from the rest of the group at the breaking of the Fellowship and spend much of The Two Towers with their own storyline. Impetuous and curious, Pippin enlists as a soldier in the army of Gondor and fights in the Battle of the Morannon . With the other hobbits, he returns home, helps to lead the Scouring of

4640-469: The Phial of Galadriel , which holds the light of Eärendil 's star: it drives Shelob back. Frodo cuts through a giant web using his sword Sting . Shelob attacks again, and Frodo falls to her venom. Sam picks up Sting and the Phial . He wounds the monster. Believing Frodo to be dead, Sam takes the Ring to continue the quest alone. Orcs take Frodo; Sam overhears them saying that Frodo is still alive. Sauron sends

4756-534: The literary critic Edmund Wilson wrote a review entitled "Oo, Those Awful Orcs!", calling Tolkien's work "juvenile trash", and saying "Dr. Tolkien has little skill at narrative and no instinct for literary form." Within Tolkien's literary group, The Inklings , the work had a mixed reception. Hugo Dyson complained loudly at its readings, whereas C. S. Lewis had very different feelings, writing, "here are beauties which pierce like swords or burn like cold iron. Here

Pippin Took - Misplaced Pages Continue

4872-484: The palantír in his hands. Faramir is saved from the flames by Gandalf. Denethor's madness and despair has been compared to that of Shakespeare's King Lear . Both men are first outraged when their children (Faramir and Cordelia, respectively) refuse to aid them, but then grieve upon their children's death – which is only perceived in the case of Faramir. According to Michael D. C. Drout , both Denethor and Lear "despair of God's mercy", something extremely dangerous in

4988-514: The warning beacons of Gondor to be lit, and summons forces from Gondor's provinces and from Rohan , while the people of Minas Tirith are sent away to safety. Denethor orders his son Faramir to take his men to defend the river crossing at Osgiliath and the great wall of the Rammas Echor . Faramir is wounded, apparently mortally; his body is carried back to the city. 'Hope on then!' laughed Denethor. 'Do I not know thee, Mithrandir? Thy hope

5104-513: The " finger of Providence " can be glimpsed: "All are filling roles written for them by the same great playwright." For Amy Amendt-Raduege, Pippin's "simple optimism" touches Beregond. That change in mood is enough to cause Beregond to react swiftly some days later, when Pippin tells him of Denethor's intention to burn Faramir alive. Pippin's decisiveness in fetching Gandalf completes the rescue of Faramir. Gregory Bassham and Eric Bronson's The Hobbit and Philosophy notes that Pippin, who starts out on

5220-507: The "Christian lord" Aragorn. In her opinion, Denethor "fails as a father, a master, a steward, and a rational man," giving in to despair, whereas Aragorn is brave in battle and gentle with his people, and has the Christlike attribute of healing. Shippey makes the same comparison, extending it to numerous elements of the two Men's stories, writing that Théoden lives by a theory of Northern courage, and dies through Denethor's despair. Denethor

5336-467: The "true king" of Gondor, Aragorn. In Chance's view, Theoden represents good, Denethor evil; she notes that their names are almost anagrams , and that where Theoden welcomes the Hobbit Merry Brandybuck into his service with loving friendship, Denethor accepts Merry's friend Pippin Took with a harsh contract of fealty . Chance writes that Tolkien further sets both Theoden and Denethor against

5452-522: The 1960s, particularly on college campuses" across America. Tolkien drew on a wide array of influences including language, Christianity, mythology and Germanic heroic legend including the Norse Völsunga saga , archaeology , especially at the Temple of Nodens , ancient and modern literature, like Finnish 19th-century epic poetry The Kalevala by Elias Lönnrot , and personal experience. He

5568-555: The 2003 " Big Read " survey conducted in Britain by the BBC, The Lord of the Rings was found to be the "Nation's best-loved book". In similar 2004 polls both Germany and Australia chose The Lord of the Rings as their favourite book. In a 1999 poll of Amazon.com customers, The Lord of the Rings was judged to be their favourite "book of the millennium". In 2019, the BBC News listed The Lord of

5684-561: The Balrog; he too was killed in the fight, but was sent back to Middle-earth. He is now Gandalf the White, replacing Saruman as chief of the wizards. They ride to Edoras , capital of Rohan. Gandalf frees King Théoden from the influence of Saruman's spy Gríma Wormtongue . Théoden musters his army and rides to the fortress of Helm's Deep ; Gandalf departs to seek help from Treebeard. The Ents destroy Isengard , Saruman's stronghold, and flood it, trapping

5800-486: The Company. Pippin, without asking permission, takes the stone from the sleeping Wizard Gandalf , looks into it, and sees Sauron himself. To keep Pippin safe from Sauron's forces, Gandalf takes him to the city of Minas Tirith , capital of Gondor , separating him from his friends. Sauron wrongly, and disastrously, assumes that Pippin is the hobbit with the One Ring , and that he is Saruman's prisoner. In Minas Tirith, Pippin

5916-489: The Fellowship. Boromir tries to protect Merry and Pippin from the Orcs, but they kill him and capture the two Hobbits. Aragorn, Gimli and Legolas decide to pursue the Orcs. The Orcs are killed by Riders of Rohan , led by Éomer . The Hobbits escape into Fangorn Forest, where they are befriended by the Ent Treebeard . Aragorn, Gimli and Legolas track the hobbits to Fangorn, where they meet Gandalf: he explains that he killed

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6032-483: The Free Peoples of Middle-earth against Sauron's armies and give Frodo a chance to destroy the One Ring in the fires of Mount Doom . Although often called a trilogy, the work was intended by Tolkien to be a single volume in a two-volume set, along with The Silmarillion . For economic reasons, it was first published over the course of a year, from 29 July 1954 to 20 October 1955, in three volumes rather than one, under

6148-584: The J. R. R. Tolkien Collection at Marquette University . Unusually for 20th century novels, the prose narrative is supplemented throughout by over 60 pieces of poetry . These include verse and songs of many genres: for wandering, marching to war , drinking , and having a bath; narrating ancient myths, riddles , prophecies , and magical incantations; and of praise and lament ( elegy ). Some, such as riddles, charms, elegies, and narrating heroic actions are found in Old English poetry . Scholars have stated that

6264-607: The King (2003). All three parts won multiple Academy Awards , including consecutive Best Picture nominations. The final instalment of this trilogy was the second film to break the one-billion-dollar barrier and won a total of 11 Oscars (something only two other films in history, Ben-Hur and Titanic , have accomplished), including Best Picture , Best Director and Best Adapted Screenplay . Commentators including Tolkien scholars, literary critics and film critics are divided on how faithfully Jackson adapted Tolkien's work, or whether

6380-466: The King , believing it gave away too much of the storyline, but deferred to his publisher's preference. Tolkien wrote that the title The Two Towers "can be left ambiguous", but considered naming the two as Orthanc and Barad-dûr , Minas Tirith and Barad-dûr, or Orthanc and the Tower of Cirith Ungol . However, a month later he wrote a note published at the end of The Fellowship of the Ring and later drew

6496-616: The Mirror of Galadriel. Frodo offers her the Ring: she refuses, knowing that it would master her. Galadriel's husband Celeborn gives the Fellowship boats, cloaks, and waybread. They travel down the River Anduin . At Amon Hen, Boromir tries to take the Ring, but Frodo puts on the Ring and disappears. Frodo chooses to cross the river and go alone to Mordor, but Sam, guessing what he intends, intercepts him. A party of Orcs sent by Saruman and Sauron attack

6612-506: The Morannon , his army is vastly outnumbered. Sam rescues Frodo from the tower of Cirith Ungol. They set out across Mordor. When they reach the edge of the Cracks of Doom , Frodo cannot resist the Ring any longer: he claims it for himself and puts it on. Gollum reappears. He bites off Frodo's Ring finger. Celebrating wildly, Gollum loses his footing and falls into the Fire, taking the Ring with him. When

6728-452: The Ring and insist on joining Frodo on his journey. They try to shake off the Black Riders by cutting through the Old Forest . Merry and Pippin are trapped by the malign Old Man Willow , but are rescued by Tom Bombadil . Leaving Tom's house, they are caught by a barrow-wight . Frodo, awakening from the barrow-wight's spell, calls Tom Bombadil, who frees them and gives them ancient swords from

6844-464: The Ring and its powers and thought that would be a better focus for the new work. As the story progressed, he brought in elements from The Silmarillion mythology. Writing was slow, because Tolkien had a full-time academic position, marked exams to bring in a little extra income, and wrote many drafts. Tolkien abandoned The Lord of the Rings during most of 1943 and only restarted it in April 1944, as

6960-508: The Ring is destroyed, Sauron loses his power. All he created collapses, the Nazgûl perish, and Aragorn wins the battle of the Morannon. Aragorn is crowned King, and weds Arwen , Elrond's daughter. Théoden is buried; Éomer is crowned King of Rohan. His sister Éowyn is engaged to Faramir, now Steward of Gondor and Prince of Ithilien. Galadriel, Celeborn, and Gandalf say farewell to Treebeard, and to Aragorn. The four hobbits travel home, only to find it has been taken over by Saruman's men. Merry raises

7076-635: The Rings film trilogy, Pippin is played by the Scottish actor Billy Boyd . The casting of the production has been called "pitch-perfect". The Lord of the Rings The Lord of the Rings is an epic high fantasy novel by the English author and scholar J. R. R. Tolkien . Set in Middle-earth , the story began as a sequel to Tolkien's 1937 children's book The Hobbit , but eventually developed into

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7192-526: The Rings have been made for radio , theatre , and film . It was named Britain's best-loved novel of all time in a 2003 poll by the BBC called The Big Read . Bilbo Baggins celebrates his birthday and leaves the Ring to Frodo , his heir. Gandalf (a wizard ) suspects it is a Ring of Power ; seventeen years later, he confirms it was lost by the Dark Lord Sauron and counsels Frodo to take it away from

7308-456: The Rings was broadcast in the United States and subsequently issued on tape and CD. In 1981, the BBC broadcast The Lord of the Rings , a new dramatization in 26 half-hour instalments. A variety of filmmakers considered adapting Tolkien's book, among them Stanley Kubrick , who thought it unfilmable , Michelangelo Antonioni , Jim Henson , Heinz Edelmann , and John Boorman . A Swedish live action television film, Sagan om ringen ,

7424-598: The Rings is considered one of the greatest fantasy books ever written, and it has helped to create and shape the modern fantasy genre. Since release, it has been reprinted many times and translated into at least 38 languages . Its enduring popularity has led to numerous references in popular culture, the founding of many societies by fans of Tolkien's works , and the publication of many books about Tolkien and his works. It has inspired many derivative works , including paintings, music, films , television, video games , and board games. Award-winning adaptations of The Lord of

7540-404: The Rings itself "urgently wanted cutting", Tolkien eventually demanded that they publish the book in 1952. Collins did not; and so Tolkien wrote to Allen and Unwin, saying, "I would gladly consider the publication of any part of the stuff", fearing his work would never see the light of day. For publication, the work was divided into three volumes to minimize any potential financial loss due to

7656-446: The Rings on its list of the 100 most influential novels . The Lord of the Rings has been adapted into various media, including radio, stage, motion pictures, and videogames. The book has been adapted for radio four times. In 1955 and 1956, the BBC broadcast The Lord of the Rings , a 13-part radio adaptation of the story. In the 1960s radio station WBAI produced a short radio adaptation . A 1979 dramatization of The Lord of

7772-447: The Rings was awarded the International Fantasy Award . Despite its numerous detractors, the publication of the Ace Books and Ballantine paperbacks helped The Lord of the Rings become immensely popular in the United States in the 1960s. The book has remained so ever since, ranking as the most popular works of fiction of the twentieth century, judged by all of three different measures: sales, library borrowings, and reader surveys. In

7888-428: The Rings , read by the British actor Rob Inglis . A large-scale musical theatre adaptation, The Lord of the Rings , was first staged in Toronto, Ontario, Canada in 2006 and opened in London in June 2007; it was a commercial failure. Denethor Denethor is depicted as embittered and despairing as the forces of Mordor close in on Gondor . Critics have noted the contrast between Denethor and both Théoden ,

8004-404: The Rings , Pippin was voiced by Dominic Guard . In the 1980 Rankin/Bass animated version of The Return of the King , made for television, the character was voiced by Sonny Melendrez . In the 1981 BBC radio serial of The Lord of the Rings , Pippin was played by John McAndrew. Jari Pehkonen played Peregrin Took in the 1993 Finnish miniseries Hobitit . In Peter Jackson 's The Lord of

8120-411: The Rings , with a flashback to Bilbo's encounter with Gollum in The Hobbit . A far more successful adaptation was Peter Jackson 's live action The Lord of the Rings film trilogy , produced by New Line Cinema and released in three instalments as The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001), The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (2002), and The Lord of the Rings: The Return of

8236-414: The Sea to find peace. Extensive appendices outline more details of the history, cultures, genealogies , and languages that Tolkien imagined for the peoples of Middle-earth. In antiquarian style , they provide background details for the narrative, with much detail for Tolkien fans who want to know more about the stories. Tolkien presents The Lord of the Rings within a fictional frame story where he

8352-412: The Shire , a hobbit land reminiscent of the English countryside, the story ranges across Middle-earth, following the quest to destroy the One Ring, seen mainly through the eyes of the hobbits Frodo , Sam , Merry , and Pippin . Aiding the hobbits are the wizard Gandalf , the men Aragorn and Boromir , the elf Legolas , and the dwarf Gimli , who unite as the Company of the Ring in order to rally

8468-453: The Shire , and becomes Thain , or hereditary leader of the land. Commentators have noted that the actions of Merry and Pippin serve to throw light on the characters of the good and bad lords Théoden of Rohan and Denethor of Gondor, while their simple humour acts as a foil for the higher romance involving kings and the heroic Aragorn . Pippin is the only son and heir of Paladin Took II,

8584-484: The Shire . Like Merry, he is buried as a hero alongside King Aragorn in Gondor. The critic Jane Chance discusses the role of Pippin and his friend Merry, another hobbit, in illuminating the contrast between what she calls the "good and bad Germanic lords Théoden and Denethor ". She writes that the two leaders receive the allegiance of a hobbit, but very differently: Denethor, Steward of Gondor, undervalues Pippin because he

8700-456: The Shire. Gandalf leaves, promising to return, but fails to do so. Frodo sets out on foot with his cousin Pippin Took and gardener Sam Gamgee . They are pursued by Black Riders , but meet some Elves , whose singing to Elbereth wards off the Riders. The Hobbits take an evasive shortcut to Bucklebury Ferry, where they meet their friend Merry Brandybuck . Merry and Pippin reveal they know about

8816-547: The Third Age . However, these individual book titles were dropped, and after pressure from his publishers, Tolkien suggested the volume titles: Vol. 1, The Shadow Grows ; Vol. 2, The Ring in the Shadow ; Vol. 3, The War of the Ring or The Return of the King . Because the three-volume binding was so widely distributed, the work is often referred to as the Lord of the Rings "trilogy". In

8932-532: The United Kingdom. In the United States, Houghton Mifflin published The Fellowship of the Ring on 21 October 1954, The Two Towers on 21 April 1955, and The Return of the King on 5 January 1956. The Return of the King was especially delayed as Tolkien revised the ending and prepared appendices (some of which had to be left out because of space constraints). Tolkien did not like the title The Return of

9048-697: The achievement of John Milton 's Paradise Lost . Kenneth F. Slater wrote in Nebula Science Fiction , April 1955, "... if you don't read it, you have missed one of the finest books of its type ever to appear". On the other hand, in 1955, the Scottish poet Edwin Muir attacked The Return of the King , writing that "All the characters are boys masquerading as adult heroes ... and will never come to puberty ... Hardly one of them knows anything about women", causing Tolkien to complain angrily to his publisher. In 1956,

9164-435: The addictive danger of power , and various aspects of Christianity such as the presence of three Christ figures, for prophet, priest, and king , as well as elements like hope and redemptive suffering . There is a common theme throughout the work of language , its sound , and its relationship to peoples and places, along with hints of providence in descriptions of weather and landscape. Out of these, Tolkien stated that

9280-523: The aristocratic and independent Thain of the Shire , who farms at Whitwell near the Three Farthing Stone in the Tookland, and his wife Eglantine Banks. He has three older sisters, Pearl Took, Pimpernel Took, and Pervinca Took. His best friend Meriadoc (Merry) Brandybuck , is his cousin; another good friend is Frodo Baggins . Pippin is the youngest of the four Hobbits who set out from the Shire, and

9396-484: The author's original intent. Tolkien's work, after an initially mixed reception by the literary establishment, has been the subject of extensive analysis of its themes , literary devices , and origins. Influences on this earlier work, and on the story of The Lord of the Rings , include philology , mythology, Christianity , earlier fantasy works , and his own experiences in the First World War . The Lord of

9512-495: The books had broken even, after which he would take a large share of the profits. It has ultimately become one of the best-selling novels ever written, with at least 50 million copies sold by 2003 and over 150 million copies sold by 2007. The work was published in the UK by Allen & Unwin until 1990, when the publisher and its assets were acquired by HarperCollins . In the early 1960s Donald A. Wollheim , science fiction editor of

9628-439: The central theme is death and immortality. To those who supposed that the book was an allegory of events in the 20th century, Tolkien replied in the foreword to the Second Edition that it was not, saying he preferred "history, true or feigned, with its varied applicability to the thought and experience of readers." Some commentators have criticized the book for being a story about men for boys, with no significant women; or about

9744-483: The coming of the long-expected storm as the forces of Minas Morgul assault the city. Rutledge comments that this "creates a remarkable mood. One might even think of Jesus with his disciples at the Last Supper". Indeed, very soon all who cannot fight leave the city, it grows cold, and a Nazgûl flies ominously across the sun; Rutledge remarks on the biblical echoes. In Ralph Bakshi 's 1978 animated version of The Lord of

9860-464: The domination of Sauron... [while] Denethor remained steadfast in his rejection of Sauron, but was made to believe that his defeat was inevitable, and so fell into despair. The reasons for this difference were no doubt that in the first place Denethor was a man of great strength of will and maintained the integrity of his personality until the final blow of the (apparently) mortal wound of his only surviving son. As invasion becomes certain, Denethor orders

9976-422: The editors and submitted by readers. Yet more corrections were made in the 60th Anniversary Edition in 2014. Several editions, including the 50th Anniversary Edition, print the whole work in one volume, with the result that pagination varies widely over the various editions. From 1988 to 1992 Christopher Tolkien published the surviving drafts of The Lord of the Rings , chronicling and illuminating with commentary

10092-478: The forces of Mordor arrive at the gates of Minas Tirith, at which point he loses all hope. In the published essay on the palantíri , Tolkien wrote: He [Denethor] must have guessed that the Ithil -stone [Sauron's palantír ] was in evil hands, and risked contact with it, trusting his strength. His trust was not entirely unjustified. Sauron failed to dominate him and could only influence him by deceits. Saruman fell under

10208-442: The good king of Rohan , and Aragorn , the true king of Gondor. Others have likened Denethor to Shakespeare's King Lear , both rulers falling into dangerous despair. In The Lord of the Rings film trilogy , Peter Jackson chose to depict Denethor, played by John Noble , as greedy and self-indulgent, quite unlike Tolkien's powerful leader . In Tolkien's Middle-earth , Denethor is the first son and third child of Ecthelion II,

10324-421: The high cost of type-setting and modest anticipated sales: The Fellowship of the Ring (Books I and II), The Two Towers (Books III and IV), and The Return of the King (Books V and VI plus six appendices). Delays in producing appendices, maps and especially an index led to the volumes being published later than originally hoped – on 29 July 1954, on 11 November 1954 and on 20 October 1955 respectively in

10440-541: The hordes of Mordor approach Minas Tirith . A fourth purpose, notes the Tolkien scholar Paul Kocher , is given by Tolkien himself, in the words of the wizard Gandalf : "the young hobbits ... were brought to Fangorn, and their coming was like the falling of small stones that starts an avalanche in the mountains." Kocher observes that Tolkien is describing Merry and Pippin's role in the same terms as he spells out Gollum 's purpose and Gandalf 's "reincarnation"; in Kocher's words,

10556-520: The interplay between English and the invented nomenclature of the English work, and gave several examples along with general guidance. Early reviews of the work were mixed . The initial review in the Sunday Telegraph described it as "among the greatest works of imaginative fiction of the twentieth century". The Sunday Times echoed this sentiment, stating that "the English-speaking world

10672-468: The line of Isildur . I will not bow to such a one, last of a ragged house long bereft of lordship and dignity.' Denethor, grief-struck by the apparent loss of his son, orders his servants to burn him alive on a funeral pyre prepared for himself and Faramir in Rath Dínen. He breaks the white rod of his office over his knee, casting the pieces into the flames. He lies down on the pyre and so dies, clasping

10788-421: The literary establishment disliked The Lord of the Rings , and the work's subtlety, themes, and merits, including the impression of depth that it conveys. The scholar of humanities Brian Rosebury analysed Tolkien's prose style in detail, showing that it was generally quite plain, varying to suit the voices of the different characters, and rising to a heroic register for special moments. In 1957, The Lord of

10904-418: The measure of those days, and strong willed, confident in his own powers, and dauntless. (...) He was proud, but this was by no means personal: he loved Gondor and its people, and deemed himself appointed by destiny to lead them in this desperate time. Shippey commented that where Tolkien's Denethor is a cold ruler doing his best for his country, Jackson's is made to look greedy and self-indulgent; Shippey calls

11020-420: The militarization and industrialization inspired the character of Sauron and his forces. The Orcs represented the worst of it as workers that have been tortured and brutalized by the war and industry. Scholars and critics have identified many themes in the book with its complex interlaced narrative , including a reversed quest , the struggle of good and evil , death and immortality , fate and free will,

11136-410: The only one who has not yet come of age. At Rivendell , Elrond reluctantly chooses Merry and Pippin as the last two members of the Company of the Ring . While crossing the Misty Mountains through the tunnels of Moria , Pippin decides to drop a stone down a deep hole. It seems to waken something far below, which signals by tapping with a hammer; Gandalf calls Pippin a "fool of a Took". The Company

11252-604: The paperback publisher Ace Books , claimed that The Lord of the Rings was not protected in the United States under American copyright law because Houghton Mifflin, the US hardcover publisher, had neglected to copyright the work in the United States. Then, in 1965, Ace Books proceeded to publish an edition, unauthorized by Tolkien and without paying royalties to him. Tolkien took issue with this and quickly notified his fans of this objection. Grass-roots pressure from these fans became so great that Ace Books withdrew their edition and made

11368-399: The poetry is essential for the fiction to work aesthetically and thematically, as it adds information not given in the prose, and it brings out characters and their backgrounds. The poetry has been judged to be of high technical skill, reflected in Tolkien's prose; for instance, he wrote much of Tom Bombadil 's speech in metre. Tolkien worked on the text using his maps of Middle-earth as

11484-618: The quest playful and childish, is radically, and in their view unusually for Tolkien rapidly, altered by his experience of seeing Sauron in the palantír : before it he is "thoughtless and immature"; the "terrifying encounter" shocks him into a "rapid ethical makeover". Fleming Rutledge compares one event to the Last Supper , the feast commemorated by the Eucharist. Pippin has a sunlit morning meal with his friend Beregond in Minas Tirith just before

11600-404: The reader to seeing the various non-human characters, letting the reader know that an ent looks like an old tree stump or "almost like the figure of some gnarled old man". The two apparently minor hobbits have another role, too, Shippey writes: it is to remain of good courage when even strong men start to doubt whether victory is possible, as when Pippin comforts the soldier of Gondor, Beregond, as

11716-782: The same fate. Aragorn, accompanied by Legolas, Gimli, and the Rangers of the North , takes the Paths of the Dead to recruit the Dead Men of Dunharrow, oathbreakers who will have no rest until they fight for the King of Gondor. Aragorn unleashes the Army of the Dead on the Corsairs of Umbar invading southern Gondor. He and men of southern Gondor sail in the Corsairs' ships up the Anduin , reaching Minas Tirith just in time to turn

11832-473: The scene where he gobbles a meal, while his son Faramir has been sent out in a hopeless fight, a "blatant [use] of cinematic suggestion". Christianity Today wrote that the films "missed the moral and religious depths " of the book, such as when they turned "the awful subtlety and complexity of evil" into something trivially obvious. It gave as an instance the caricaturing of the powerful Steward of Gondor, Denethor as "a snarling and drooling oaf rather than

11948-479: The stages of the text's development, in volumes 6–9 of his History of Middle-earth series. The four volumes carry the titles The Return of the Shadow , The Treason of Isengard , The War of the Ring , and Sauron Defeated . The work has been translated, with varying degrees of success, into at least 38, and reportedly at least 70, languages. Tolkien, an expert in philology , examined many of these translations, and made comments on each that reflect both

12064-431: The story of the One Ring emerged. The idea for the first chapter ("A Long-Expected Party") arrived fully formed, although the reasons behind Bilbo's disappearance, the significance of the Ring, and the title The Lord of the Rings did not come until the spring of 1938. Originally, he planned to write a story in which Bilbo had used up all his treasure and was looking for another adventure to gain more; however, he remembered

12180-536: The street of tombs, Rath Dínen, Pippin fetches Gandalf and Beregond. This saves Faramir's life, but takes Gandalf away from the Battle of the Pelennor Fields at a crucial moment. Pippin is the only hobbit to join the Army of the West, led by Aragorn , as it assaults the Black Gate of Mordor , in a feint to distract Sauron from the One Ring's journey towards Mount Doom . During the resulting battle , Pippin kills

12296-459: The tide of battle. Théoden's niece Éowyn , who joined the army in disguise, kills the Lord of the Nazgûl with help from Merry; both are wounded. Gondor and Rohan defeat Sauron's army in the Battle of the Pelennor Fields , but Théoden is killed. Aragorn enters Minas Tirith and heals the sick. He leads an army through Ithilien to the Black Gate to distract Sauron from his true danger. At the Battle of

12412-421: The titles The Fellowship of the Ring , The Two Towers , and The Return of the King ; The Silmarillion appeared only after the author's death. The work is divided internally into six books, two per volume, with several appendices of chronologies, genealogies, and linguistic information. These three volumes were later published as a boxed set in 1957, and even finally as a single volume in 1968, following

12528-656: The translation process and his work. As he was unhappy with some choices made by early translators, such as the Swedish translation by Åke Ohlmarks , Tolkien wrote a " Guide to the Names in The Lord of the Rings " (1967). Because The Lord of the Rings purports to be a translation of the fictitious Red Book of Westmarch , using the English language to represent the Westron of the "original", Tolkien suggested that translators attempt to capture

12644-407: The wight's hoard. The Hobbits reach the village of Bree , where they meet Strider , a Ranger . The innkeeper gives Frodo an old letter from Gandalf, which identifies Strider as a friend. Knowing the Black Riders will attempt to seize the Ring, Strider guides the group toward the Elvish sanctuary of Rivendell . At Weathertop , they are attacked by five Black Riders. Their leader wounds Frodo with

12760-520: The wizard in the tower of Orthanc . Gandalf convinces Treebeard to send an army of Huorns to Théoden's aid. He brings an army of Riders of Rohan to Helm's Deep. They defeat the Orcs, who flee into the forest of Huorns and are destroyed. Gandalf, Théoden, Aragorn, Legolas, and Gimli ride to Isengard, where they find Merry and Pippin relaxing amidst the ruins. Gandalf offers Saruman a chance to turn away from evil. When Saruman refuses, Gandalf strips him of his rank and most of his powers. Wormtongue throws down

12876-522: The work as holding unquestioning devotion to a traditional hierarchical social structure. In his essay " Epic Pooh ", fantasy author Michael Moorcock critiques the world-view displayed by the book as deeply conservative, in both the " paternalism " of the narrative voice and the power structures in the narrative. Tom Shippey , like Tolkien an English philologist, notes the wide gulf between Tolkien's supporters, both popular and academic, and his literary detractors, and attempts to explain in detail both why

12992-481: Was a major influence, and Tolkien undoubtedly made use of some real place-names, such as Bag End, the name of his aunt's home. Tolkien stated, too, that he had been influenced by his childhood experiences of the English countryside of Worcestershire near Sarehole Mill , and its urbanization by the growth of Birmingham , and his personal experience of fighting in the trenches of the First World War . Moreover,

13108-413: Was broadcast in 1971. In 1978, Ralph Bakshi made an animated film version covering The Fellowship of the Ring and part of The Two Towers , to mixed reviews. In 1980, Rankin/Bass released an animated TV special based on the closing chapters of The Return of the King , gaining mixed reviews. In Finland, a live action television miniseries, Hobitit , was broadcast in 1993 based on The Lord of

13224-589: Was inspired primarily by his profession, philology ; his work centred on the study of Old English literature, especially Beowulf , and he acknowledged its importance to his writings . He was a gifted linguist, influenced by Celtic, Finnish, Slavic, and Greek language and mythology. Commentators have attempted to identify literary and topological antecedents for characters, places and events in Tolkien's writings; he acknowledged that he had enjoyed adventure stories by authors such as John Buchan and Rider Haggard . The Arts and Crafts polymath William Morris

13340-508: Was printed in October that year, selling a quarter of a million copies within ten months. On 4 September 1966, the novel debuted on The New York Times ' s Paperback Bestsellers list as number three, and was number one by 4 December, a position it held for eight weeks. Houghton Mifflin editions after 1994 consolidate variant revisions by Tolkien, and corrections supervised by Christopher Tolkien , which resulted, after some initial glitches, in

13456-637: Was voiced by William Conrad in Rankin/Bass 's 1980 animated adaptation of The Return of the King , and by Peter Vaughan in BBC Radio 's 1981 serialization . Denethor is played by John Noble in Peter Jackson 's film The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King . The film portrays Denethor far more negatively than the novel. Tolkien calls Denethor a masterful man, both wise and learned beyond

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