"A Short-Cut To Mushrooms" is nearly over. *sniffle* We've had such a great time planning this and making our plans a reality, and we hope that you've enjoyed it as much as we have. It's been a marvelous experience for both of us (although we do have a list as long as the road to Mordor of things to do "after NaNo, after the blog party" :P).
But wait! It's not quiiiiiite over yet. It's now time to unveil the "special surprise" we've been telling you about! You see, we discovered that we have the same music book: a book of violin pieces from the LotR movies, with piano accompaniments (we both play violin, and Eowyn plays piano as well). So we got this crazy idea of putting one of the pieces together, and, somehow, we managed to work it out. Eowyn recorded the piano and sent it to Jane, who recorded the violin and sent it back. Then Eowyn made a video to match it.
So without further ado, may we present "In Dreams" by Miss Jane Bennet and Eowyn!
And now, we really are saying good-bye, so we'll close this with one of the most gorgeous quotes in the entire trilogy.
“And the ship went out into the High Sea and passed into the West, until
at last on a night of rain Frodo smelled a sweet fragrance on the air
and heard the sound of singing that came over the water. And then it
seemed to him that as in his dream in the house of Bombadil, the grey
rain-curtain turned all to silver glass and was rolled back, and he
beheld white shores and beyond them a far green country under a swift
sunrise.”
―
J.R.R. Tolkien,
The Return of the King Personal message from Jane to Eowyn:
First of all, thank you soooooooo much for doing this with me; your enthusiastic emails and brilliant ideas made many gloomy days brighter, and I've just had an amazing time. I really, really appreciate the opportunity of holding a blog party with you, as well as just trading emails, calls, snippets, and random fun moments. Your capital-letter fangirling has made my day many times, and I've learned a lot from you as well.
This has been a wonderful journey for me, and I hope and pray that it won't end for many years yet. I really have been changed--for the better--and I am so thankful for your friendship.
CONGRATULATIONS ON BECOMING A SUPERGIRL, MY DARLING SKYE!!!!
Well. Today is the 13th of
December, the day which LotR fans, Hobbit geeks, Tolkiendils, and
fantasy lovers have been waiting for since...since birth. (Sorry! ;))
Actually, since December 14th, 2012, when The Hobbit:
An Unexpected Journey came out.
Yes, today is the day on which The
Hobbit: Desolation of Smaug is
coming out, and we are both tremendously excited. As in,
TREMENDOUSLY EXCITED!!!
This is what we're doing right now. For a different reason, of course. ;)
Neither
of us are getting to see it right away (Eowyn has to wait until later today, and Miss Jane has to wait a WEEK ;P), but we're still
celebrating today because that's when it's coming out and available
to watch. We'll both be keeping out an eager eye for reviews.
We're
enthusiastic about Benedict Cumberbatch as Smaug in particular, and
about seeing (hearing?) him and Martin Freeman interact, because
we've been watching some of Sherlock
recently. And if he demands silence in any way, shape or form, we're
going to be thrilled to tears.
Martin
Freeman we KNOW will be good, so we certainly don't need to worry
about him, but we're super excited (we need a thesaurus ;)) about him
as well.
Eowyn
loved and was enraptured by the first Hobbit movie; Miss Jane took
some persuading, seeing as she wasn't too interested in LotR (Note from Jane: Don't kill me! Please! ;P) when
Journey came out. But
now, we're both practically hyperventilating over the awesomeness of
it all; this has fulfilled 364 days of waiting, and we're hoping that
it will live up to our expectations (it WILL. It's just not possible
for this movie to not be good.), and we're already looking forward to
the third movie next year...
So
happy Hobbit-release day!! :)
Who's
going to see the premiere? What are your thoughts on it?
We had seven entries in the giveaway this week, and we have results and a winner! The scores are as follows:
Serena: 17
Carissa Horton: 22
AnElvenPrincess: 22
Kiri Liz: 23
Bea: 16
Frankie: 16
Arwen: 15
And our winner is Kiri Liz! Congratulations, Kiri! Email us at miss.anne.elliot27 [at] gmail [dot] com within the next week to receive your prize!
Thank you to everyone who participated!
“There's a road calling you to stray.” -
'The Road Goes On,' The Lord of the Rings: The
Musical
When I tell my friends that there's a LotR musical, nine times out of ten,
they say, “Wait, WHAT?! How can you even have a LotR
musical?! It's impossible!”
Actually, no, it's quite possible. It's been done. And it's amazing.
(Note: I've only listened to the soundtrack, which is the foundation of
this review.)
The Story
Act I
The half-Elven maiden Arwen sings the
prologue, urging those to whom she sings to trust their instincts ("Prologue"
('Lasto i lamath')). In the region of Middle-earth known as the Shire, Bilbo
Baggins, an eccentric and wealthy Hobbit, celebrates his one hundred eleventh
birthday by vanishing from his birthday party, leaving his greatest treasure, a
mysterious magic Ring, to his young relative Frodo Baggins ("Springle Ring") .
The Ring is greatly desired by the Dark Lord Sauron, who could use it to conquer
the world, and must be destroyed in the fires of Mount Doom in Sauron's country
of Mordor. Frodo and his friends Samwise Gamgee, Merry Brandybuck and Pippin
Took set out along the road that leads out of the Shire ("The Road Goes On").
Meanwhile, the corrupt wizard Saruman also desires the Ring ("Saruman").
At the Inn of the Prancing Pony in the village of Bree, Frodo and his
friends sing and dance for their fellow guests ("The Cat and the Moon"). With
the assistance of the Ranger Strider, the four Hobbits escape pursuit by the
Black Riders, servants of Sauron, and safely reach the Ford of Bruinen ("Flight
to the Ford"). Awaiting them at the Elven settlement of Rivendell is Arwen, the
beloved of Strider, whose true name is Aragorn, heir to the kingship of the
Lands of Men ("The Song of Hope"). Arwen's father, Lord Elrond, calls a Council
of Elves, Men and Dwarves at which it is decided that Frodo will carry the Ring
to Mordor. The Fellowship of the Ring sets out from Rivendell: Frodo and his
three fellow Hobbits, Aragorn, the human warrior Boromir, the Elf Legolas, the
Dwarf Gimli, and the great wizard Gandalf the Grey. Arwen and the people of
Rivendell invoke the holy power of the star Eärendil to protect and guide the
Fellowship on its journey ("Star of Eärendil"). In the ancient, ruined
Dwarf-mines of Moria, Gandalf confronts a Balrog, a monstrous creature of evil,
and falls into the darkness.
Act II
The Fellowship takes refuge in
Lothlórien, the mystical realm of Galadriel, an Elven lady of great power and
wisdom ("The Golden Wood", "Lothlórien"). As their journey south continues,
Boromir attempts to take the Ring from Frodo; Frodo and Sam flee from the rest
of the Fellowship, and Boromir falls in battle. Gandalf returns in time to
intervene at the Siege of the City of Kings, where the Lands of Men are under
attack by the forces of Saruman and the Orcs of Mordor ("The Siege of the City
of Kings"). Meanwhile, Frodo and Sam are joined on their journey by Gollum, a
twisted creature who long possessed the Ring and desires to have it for his own
again. As they approach Mordor, Frodo and Sam sing to each other about the power
of stories ("Now and for Always"). Gollum is moved by their song, but the evil
side of his personality asserts itself and he plans to betray the Hobbits
("Gollum/Sméagol").
Act III
If Aragorn can defeat the forces of evil
and reclaim the kingship of Men, he will receive Arwen's hand in marriage ("The
Song of Hope" (Duet)). Galadriel casts spells to protect the forces of good in
the final battle ("Wonder", "The Final Battle"). Frodo, Sam and Gollum reach
Mount Doom, where the Ring is destroyed when Gollum takes it from Frodo and
falls into the fire with it. Aragorn becomes King and marries Arwen ("City of
Kings"), but Frodo, wearied by his quest, and the great Elves must leave
Middle-earth forever and sail to the lands of the West ("Epilogue (Farewells)").
Bidding farewell to their friend, Sam, Merry and Pippin resume their lives in
the Shire ("Finale"). (from Wikipedia)
As you can see,
LotRM follows the book and, in some cases, is more true to
it than the movie trilogy. In some ways, however, it's a little different. For
instance, there is no Eowyn character (or Faramir – and all the Faramir Fans
say, “Nooooooo!”), and the roles of Theoden and Denathor have been combined. (I
know, right?) However, other than that, the story is the same. It's really
amazing how they pulled it off on stage, in front of a live audience, for 492
performances.Unfortunately, the musical tanked due to money and budgeting issues and a
few minor accidents on set. As one reviewer put it, “Stripping away the beautiful sets, lavish staging,
seventeen lifts and three revolves, LotRM was at its base
level a confused, plodding, dull selection of scenes from the books – with the
occasional moment of brilliance, just as a reminder of how good the show
could have been. The challenge of adapting all three books
(over nine hours worth of film) into one three hour long stage show
(incorporating songs and circus style staging) was simply too great – and the
result was plain for all to see.” It was a huge job to
undertake, and I think everyone involved should be commended for their
efforts.
The Music
I discovered LotRM in early 2008, bought the
soundtrack soon afterward, and have been hooked on it ever since. The tunes get
stuck in my head – which is delightful – and I've been trying to master the many
fiddle solos in 'The Cat and the Moon' ever since. My sister and I bought
several highlights from the album, which I will review below. If you only have a
short amount of time to “try out” this musical, I'd recommend these songs.
'The Road Goes On' is one of the first songs in the musical. It starts out
with Frodo and Sam, then Merry and Pippin join in, then the Elves and Rangers
join in, and it just gets bigger and bigger.
'The Cat and the Moon' is the song that Frodo and the other hobbits sing at
The Prancing Pony, and it's one of the most toe-tapping songs I've ever heard.
My siblings and I have done many a jig to this song, and my brother and I have
even played it and danced around a fire once. It's that kind of song.
'Lothlorien' is another favorite. Legolas starts it, then he is joined by
the other elves. Galadriel (wonderfully played by Laura Michelle Kelly, of
Mary Poppins: The Musical fame) comes in for a solo in the
beginning of the second verse. (The first day I was able to hit all of her high
notes, I nearly jumped for joy!)
'Now and For Always' is arguably my favorite song in the entire soundtrack.
It depicts the friendship between Frodo and Sam to
perfection.
'Star of Earendil' is one of my new favorites. It wasn't among the
“highlights” that my sister and I bought, but it definitely should have been.
It's Arwen's solo and quite beautiful.
'Wonder' is the last of my favorites. It's one of Galadriel's solos and
such a pretty song. (It's one of my go-to songs when I feel like I need to sing
something big and powerful.) 'Shine forever, beacon of light! Blaze in
the air, vanquishing night!'
In Conclusion
Although the musical didn't do very
well, I commend everyone's efforts. Ever since I first heard about the musical,
I've wanted to see it. When it officially closed in 2008, I was heartbroken.
However, now that it's
being revived for a world tour, I'm looking forward to seeing it!
(WOOT!!)
This musical is highly, highly recommended and I think every true
Tolkiendil should see it – or, at the very least, listen to the music.
Who is Aragorn? Aragorn is a slightly awesome (well, okay,
completely awesome) character. He also goes by the name of
Strider and happens to be the true king of all Middle-Earth.
This by itself is pretty exciting and if that was all there was to
Aragorn, I would probably still like him. But there’s so much
more to his character.
For one thing, he’s wise and powerful. He has an amazing
elfin sword, he knows the Elven tongue and he has a very large amount
of knowledge at his command. Plus, he knows the ways of battle
and he’s a good strategist.
For another, he has a sense of humor. Who can deny that with
this quote? Gimli: It's true you don't see many dwarf women.
And in fact, they are so alike in voice and appearance, that they are
often mistaken for dwarf men. Aragorn: [whispering] It's the
beards.
-The Two Towers (2002)
I knowww...Aragorn can smile?! ;P
One of the most admirable aspects of his character, in my opinion
anyway, is the way he treats Eowyn. He’s not oblivious to her
love (like Marius), nor does he prattle on about his love in her
presence (again, like Marius). Instead, he delicately lets her
know that his heart is engaged elsewhere. Also, he feels for
her, as he says himself:
“Few other griefs amid the ill chances of this world have
more bitterness and shame for a man's heart than to behold the love
of a lady so fair and brave that cannot be returned.” -Aragorn, The Return of the King
But he’s not completely faraway from all things material- he
loves Arwen with all his heart. He tries to urge her not to
give up her immortality for him, but when she does it anyway, I know
that he’ll do his best to protect and provide for her as long as
they both live.
He's extremely brave, even in the face of death or disgrace. When
his little armies are faced by the huge forces of Sauron, he goes
forward anyway, after doing his best to make sure the women and
children of Gondor are protected. He's willing to sacrifice anything
for the safety and peace of Middle-Earth.
However, he’s not exactly perfect either. He makes mistakes and
can be reckless and foolhardy. He doesn’t always make the
best choices and he’s slow to trust. He can be proud and
disdainful of help.
“My friends. You bow to no one.” -The Return of the King (2003)
Aragorn can also be humble, and he always respects true worth.
For example, when he is crowned King of Middle-Earth, he could have
easily forgotten the Fellowship of the Ring. Instead, he honors and
praises them, and he actually kneels down before Frodo and Sam
because of what they've done.
“If by my life or death I can protect you, I will. ” -J.R.R. Tolkien, The
Fellowship of the Ring
He's loyal; he'd give up his life for
any member of the fellowship. He'd prevent evil from befalling
anyone in Middle-Earth if he could, which brings me to another aspect
of his character: he's self-sacrificing. He would-- and does-- try
to protect any random stranger he happened to meet if they were in
danger (assuming, of course, that they aren't a minion of Sauron),
and he'd be prepared to lay down his life for them. Although he's
reserved, he can also be warm and friendly, and easily wins people's
hearts (including mine, obviously).
Aragorn is one of my favorite characters in LotR. He's a very
worthy king and man, with a good heart and a keen mind. He always
tries to protect the people he loves and destroy evil. He's tactful
and chivalrous as well as merciful.
Merry and Pippin have one of my
favorite friendships ever. They're an amazing team and provide a lot
of humor and good plain hobbit-sense. How? Well, I'm going to do as
Eowyn did in her earlier post and take a
look at them both individually and together.
Merry is cool-headed, experienced,
rather wise, and not afraid to speak his mind if it needs to be said.
He can be somewhat cold and cautious on occasion, but more often
than not he turns out to be right.
He's loyal, brave, responsible
and has a lot of character and willpower, as well as being very sensible. (His
real name also happens to be Meriadoc, which I find rather fun.)
Pippin is pretty much the opposite of
Merry. He's naïve (well, not always), somewhat reckless, gives into
temptation easily, and tries to stay on everyone's good side.
However, he definitely isn't all bad, or even part bad! He's smart,
quick-thinking, humorous, and always optimistic. For example, his
“group” is facing the entire army of Sauron, and this is what he
says:
“We’ve got the White Wizard –
that’s got to count for something!”
And of course, he's
right- he's never unreasonably cheerful, and he can recognize the
gravity of a situation most of the time.
Now, how do they do
both together? Extremely well, providing a mixture of comic relief
and impressive bravery. They're very different; Merry plans ahead
and Pippin takes things as they come, Merry doesn't like to take
chances but Pippin doesn't think about odds, &c.&c. But this
difference makes them a very good team. Merry keeps Pippin from rash
schemes and scolds him when he does something that could endanger
them (like the Palantir incident), and Pippin lightens up Merry and
gets them out of several tricky situations.
They also care
about each other deeply, like brothers. When Merry is badly injured
while helping Eowyn fight the Witch King, Pippin finds him on the
battlefield and, deeply concerned, immediately takes him to the
Houses of Healing with no thought for his own danger.
However, it isn't
all great acts of heroism and moral lessons. They can be hilarious
too- their way of
pointing out the obvious, easy solution to a
problem and their different views on the same subject always makes me
laugh, as well as their ability to sit down and joke (and smoke a
pipe) in the midst of danger and distress.
One of the things
that illustrates their friendship extremely well in in The Return
of the King. Merry has sworn himself to the King of Rohan
(Theoden), and Pippin has promised loyalty to the Steward of Gondor
(Denethor). The two leaders are somewhat on opposite sides, but
Merry and Pippin, while still remaining loyal to their respective
masters, remain friends. They tease each other about protecting
their lords from the other hobbit, but inside, they know that they'll
always be friends, no matter what happens.
Which leads to an
interesting question (and off on a tangent...sorry!): if Merry and
Pippin were in opposing armies, what would they do? Would they avoid
fighting each other and just attack the rest of the army? Would they
quit? Would they do something amazingly heroic and manage to stop
the whole war (my personal opinion, hehe...)? I'm not really sure what
they'd do, exactly, but I do know that they would never battle each
other like that, because relationships matter a lot to them.
So that's why I
like and admire Merry and Pippin and their friendship. They're
willing to make huge sacrifices for each other and the other people
they care about. They are a wonderful team, restraining and yet
encouraging each other, but they're also brave and valiant when by
themselves. I find this especially admirable, that although they
want to get back to their hobbit-holes and tobacco, they're both
willing to go through hardships and suffering for the cause of a
friend.
Hey,
everyone! This is Kiri Liz, Christian and homeschooled bloggeress at Lianne Taimenlore, consumer of gingerbread, avid reader of Dickens, and an
ultimate fan of all things Tolkien! When Eowyn asked me to guest post about
magic in Lord of the Rings for this party, my immediate response was "YES!!" And
that was followed immediately by, "Great bow of the Galadhrim, I don't know
enough about the magic to guest post!" But I promise I'll do my
best.
First off, I
realize that many people stay away from Lord of the Rings because of the fact
that there is magic within the stories, and I respect that. I don't want to
contradict your beliefs, opinions, or convictions. I am only writing down what I
have researched and what God has led me to believe. These are my honest
opinions, and why I can truly enjoy reading and watching
LOTR.
When looking
at magic, one of the first things you need to consider is the source of the
magic. Where does it come from? You never exactly find that out in LOTR, I'm
sorry to say, but there's much to be found on that topic in another of Tolkien's
books, The Silmarillion. If you haven't already read that, I
highly recommend it for all Middle-Earth fans.
The magic in
LOTR (and The Hobbit, for that matter) comes from a higher being, a god figure,
named Iluvatar, meaning "Father of All." Whether Tolkien
meant this or not, he modeled Middle-Earth muchly after our own world, with a
higher being that is mighty and amazing, a lord who is without description.
Iluvatar is the one God and creator of Middle-Earth, and he is the one who gives
the magic to his servants, namely Gandalf and Saruman.
With this
magic, the wizards are instructed to do good and help people, and the
consequences of neglecting that charge and using the magic for their own good
are horrible. For example, Gandalf uses his power to aid Frodo, and later
Theoden and Aragorn, to accomplish goals that are for the good of all men,
dwarves, elves, hobbits, etc. The Grey Pilgrim's staff helps keep the Moria orcs
and the Balrog at bay while the Fellowship flees the mountain, and then the
White Wizard breaks the spell that keeps Theoden in its dark hold. In the end,
Gandalf is rewarded with passage on the last ship sailing out of the Grey
Havens.
In contrast,
Saruman uses his power to contact Sauron and form an alliance with him. His keen
mind of metal soon aids him to build a strong force of Uruk-Hai with which he
plans to destroy the people of Rohan. However, he did not foresee his losing the
fight, and the Ents becoming another ally against him. His denouement is
ultimately death, and all at his own hand, because he misused the magic that
Iluvatar gave him, intending for him to use it for good, rather than for
personal gain.
So, who uses
magic in LOTR? Mainly, we're looking at Gandalf and Saruman. These two wizards
are part of an elite group known as the Istari, bluntly meaning
messengers. The Istari were given power from Iluvatar, again,
to benefit others, but even while men call them wizards, they
do not call themselves by that name. When the Istari first appeared in
Middle-Earth, the people were so confused by their existence, as the power these
messengers had was not something they could comprehend. It was unlike anything
they had ever seen before. And it was these men who, in their ignorance, gave
the Istari the name of wizards.
At this
point, you may be madly jumping up and down and waving your hand, yelling,
"Kiri! Kiri! What about the Elves? Don't they use magic?" Well, let me tell you.
The Elves, in fact, do not use magic. Now that's a little
dumbfounding, but it's true. What we would describe as "magic" Tolkien described
as the Elves' natural ability. A talent, if you will, not connected to anything
supernatural at all. Tolkien himself disliked using the word
magic as a definition, but there was nothing else that would
have been close enough to even begin describing that talent. They build amazing
structures and dwellings, craft beautiful weaponry and paraphernalia, can see
long distances, and are gifted with incredible hearing, yet that is all just
their natural ability. Again, we fall back on the blunt understanding of men.
They could not describe it, so they dubbed it
magic.
One thing
that I greatly admire about the magic in LOTR is that it is distinctly set apart
as magic of a fantasy world. You have to realize, folks, that magic is real, and
it's a dangerous thing. We should not allow ourselves to partake in it, and we
must understand that sorcery and witchcraft are evil. Yet, the magic in LOTR, I
already explained, is not some dark power that people use whenever they wish.
The ones gifted with the talent of being able to wield it are given specific
instructions on how to use it, and it is clearly not their own power, but the
power of a supreme being who is set up as the one true god figure. The Creator
gave them that magic, and they, in turn, can only use it for its intended
purpose.
And how does
this tie in with my post? Well, you see when readers get their hands on a book
that they absolutely enjoy, they want to do everything exactly as the characters
do it. When reading books that contain witchcraft, that becomes a dangerous
desire as the lead characters promote the use of such sorceries. However, when a
thick line is drawn between our world and the world inside a storybook, readers
better understand that some things cannot be copied, and thus the magic that
happens in Middle-Earth cannot be conjured up by some avid fan. No, the power
there, my friends, can only be granted by a higher being, and nothing we can do
by ourselves can alter that.
Now I realize that was perhaps a lot to digest all in one post,
but I thank you all for reading. This topic has long been of great interest to
myself, and it's one that I did rather a lot of research on it in the summer of
2012 (you can read my original post here,
also in which I contrast the magic in LOTR with the magick in Harry Potter).
Thank you so
much, Eowyn, for inviting me to guest post! I had a lot of
fun!
Kiri Liz is the rambling author of Lianne Taimenloreand a couple other blogs which she does her best to
remember that she has. A homeschool graduate of 2011, she likes to spend her
days madly typing at random stories on her laptop (which her family has kindly
dubbed "Precious"), pounding away HTTYD and Pirates of the Caribbean songs on
the piano, singing as many Disney songs as she can recall as loudly as she can,
sewing medieval costumes from her own design and people's old T-shirts, and
spending time with her wonderful parents and siblings, the latter of which she
happens to be number two of six. She currently lives under a maple tree, hoping
one day to be a real, published author, and waiting anxiously for the release of
The Hobbit: Desolation of
Smaug.
There are many amazing heroes in Lord
of the Rings, among them Aragorn, Frodo, Bilbo, Eomer, and, of
course, the awesomeness that is FARAMIR. But heroes must fight
against something, and there are some exceptionally good villains in
LotR and The Hobbit.
First and foremost is Sauron, the Big
Bad Guy who pulls all the evil strings in Middle-earth (actually,
he’s commanded by Melkor from The Silmarillion, but we won’t
go into that now). It’s never fully explained what sort of
creature he is, but it’s made pretty clear that he’s very
powerful. He controls most of the dark forces in Middle-earth, and
of course, he has the One Ring, which is what causes the whole
trouble. With this ring, he has the power to do pretty much
anything, but the ring was lost, luckily for Middle-earth. And when
it’s found again, it’s put into the capable hands of hobbits.
Sauron expends a lot of his energy trying to get the ring, but
SPOILERS of course he fails. END OF SPOILERS.
Sauron's most powerful minions are
probably the Ringwraiths (or Nazgul, or Black Riders): nine men (we
think they're men, anyway – as Strider tells us, they're “neither
living nor dead.”) who have been twisted into Sauron's service and
given special powers. They were created especially to track down the
nine Rings, and are one of Frodo's chief problems. Their leader, the
Witch-king of Angmar, is cruel and powerful, and cannot be killed by
any man. In one of the most amazing scenes in Return of the King
(both movie and book), he attacks Theoden and kills him (or rather,
causes his horse Snowmane to crush him), but is then slain by Eowyn
with the help of Merry. None of the other Ringwraiths are
given specific histories or names, but they all have great capacity
for evil by themselves and are doubly dangerous (nine times as
dangerous?) when they're together.
Saruman is one of
the turned-to-the-dark-side kind of villain; he was originally the
head of the Istari, a “White Wizard”, but at some point (it's
never revealed exactly when or how) he becomes corrupted by Sauron
and switches sides, while still remaining in a position of trust.
This makes him one of the most dangerous forces in Middle-earth.
When it is revealed where his allegiance truly lies, he is, of
course, deposed, but he goes and takes refuge in Orthanc with his
slimy assistant, Grima Wormtongue. In The Return of the King,
his stronghold is attacked by Ents. In the movie, he is killed then;
in the book, he survives and is reduced to a beggar, along with
Wormtongue.
In Cirith Ungol lives one of the most
creepy villains ever dreamed up:
Shelob. She's a giant spider who
feeds on the blood of any who pass by her lair, whether they're orcs,
men, dwarves, or whatever. She stings them just enough to knock them
unconscious, before wrapping them completely up in her sticky web
and...are you shivering in revulsion yet?
A bit on her history: she has an
ancestor, Ungoliant, who appears in The Silmarillion,
a just-as-huge arachnid who does Melkor's bidding, but later nearly
kills him, showing just how powerful she is.
Also,
Shelob's name is “She + lob,” lob
being an old English word for spider. Thus, “she-spider.”
Other notable
villains are Wormtongue (who is Saruman's pawn and does a lot to
corrupt King Theoden's mind), Gollum/Smeagol (the “misunderstood”
villain – every movie has one of these!), and the orcs (which are
the evil minions Saruman basically made).
The major characters of a book are
often more interesting than the minor characters, although, of
course, there are exceptions. This makes complete sense, at first
thought. You see, the hero and/or heroine is usually extensively
developed, given a background and a future and a full description,
while we are only given a glimpse of secondary characters. Words
here, a glance there, are all we get of their character in most
cases, leaving them free to our own imaginations and interpretations.
However, this is not so with Tolkien.
While he doesn’t often describe his characters’ physiques, he
does give us an unusually extensive look at their personalities, and
thanks to the handy Appendices of The Lord of the Rings
(not to mention the many other books he wrote about Middle-earth), we
know a lot about their pasts and what happens to them as well. Minor
characters in The Lord of the Rings
are well-developed flourishes that add depth and context to the
story, and this is one of the reasons why The Lord of the
Rings is such a good book.
One of the most popular minor
characters is, of course, Legolas the Elf. This may be mostly due to
Orlando Bloom’s portrayal of the character in the film version
(which, while not exactly canon in some places, was still admirable
no matter whether or not you like Legolas), but Miss Jane likes
Legolas’s character in the book as well. (Eowyn does not agree. ;))
Being an Elf, Legolas is otherworldly, seemingly impervious to cold,
hunger and wounds. In the movie, he is represented as being an
unstoppable fighter, although Tolkien actually doesn’t say anything
about Legolas’s prowess in battle. Although Legolas is an Old
Solemn Elf (he’s far older than Aragorn, who is eighty-seven!), he
has quick wit and a sense of humor, as well as being extremely loyal
to his friends.
Gimli is also
another one of the popular minor characters, although not as well
known as Legolas or Boromir. Gimli
is a Dwarf, and highly proud of it. He boasts about what his cousin,
Balin, can do for the Fellowship in the Mines of Moria, however, he's
the most reluctant one to go into The Paths of the Dead. Throughout
the book, Gimli is a fighter, unable to stop until justice is done.
He is, for some reason unbeknownst to the less-enlightened
movie-watchers-only, at odds with Legolas for most of the trilogy.
(For the Less Enlightened – see The Hobbit.
The movie or book will do.) By the end of Return,
Legolas and Gimli have struck up an unlikely friendship that carries
on until they die. This friendship is greatly expounded on in the
film, but we love it nevertheless. Gimli has quite a few memorable
lines in the movie, too, the most-quoted being, “But it only counts
as one!”
Boromir is quite a character. While
not nearly as awesome as his younger brother (Miss Jane says, “But
then, who is?” To which Eowyn replies with a hearty and
resounding, “AMEN!”), he has many fine qualities, including
honor, loyalty, courage, and caution. But he is also stubborn,
headstrong, prideful, somewhat spoiled, and endowed of a hasty
temper. These flaws all cause him to nearly destroy the quest to
destroy the Ring. He is angry that he doesn't get to have command of
the Ring, and wants it taken to Minas Tirith to be used instead of
being thrown into Mount Doom. When neither of these wishes are
gratified, he keeps working for them, trying first persuasion, then
force against Frodo to get the Ring. Frodo flees from Boromir, and
Merry and Pippin immediately run off to find him when they discover
that he is gone. Aragorn commands Boromir to follow Merry and Pippin
and protect them. Boromir obeys, and redeems himself for his past
actions by sacrificing himself in battle when Orcs attack Merry and
Pippin.
Theoden, the King of Rohan, is the
“good King” of sorts, compared to Denethor. In his prime, he was
The Two Towers, he initially
refuses them. Finally, Gandalf reveals what Wormtongue really is and
Theoden banishes him from Rohan, after which he leads his country
into battle against Saruman, proving his valor several times. He
challenges the Witch-king to battle, but is killed when his horse,
Snowmane, falls on top of him.
vigorous and healthy, respected and loved by everyone. However, when
he gets a new advisor, Grima Wormtongue, he gradually comes under the
power of Wormtongue (who secretly works for Saruman), and falls into
depression and decay. When Gandalf and Co. come to ask for help in
Note: this Theoden
is book-Theoden. The Theoden of the movie is quite different in
several ways (he is actually possessed by Saruman, he is aware of
Eowyn's presence at his death, and he has to be convinced to lead
Rohan into battle by Eomer, to name three), and while still an
interesting character, we don't find him to be quite as heroic or
admirable as he is in the book.
Eomer is next on the list of minor characters. (Eowyn has recently
fallen in love with him, but this is partially due to her love for
Star Trek and finding out that he and Bones are both played by
the same actor, Karl Urban.) He wasn't fleshed-out as much in the
movie as he is in the book, which makes his character still likeable,
but less awesome. Eomer is the nephew of Theoden and the brother of
Eowyn. Eomer is known for his passion of the fight and his
willingness to do anything to see justice served. He is banished
from Rohan by Theoden, yet still comes to fight after Theoden is back
in his right mind. The scene in Return when Eomer found his
father and Eowyn on the battlefield, dead and dying, and starts
sobbing is one of the most heart-wrenching scenes in the entire
trilogy, in Eowyn's opinion. Not much more about his character is
shown after Aragorn is crowned king, but he is once again made the
head of the Riders of Rohan and, we assume, lived a happy life.
Yes, this is a random picture of Faramir, because Beregond wasn't in the movie. ;)
Beregond is one of Miss Jane's favorite characters, despite the
scarcity of scenes with him in them
(this may or may not have to do
with the fact that he saved Faramir's life at the risk of his
own...*cough* He is highly valued in Eowyn's eyes.). He's a
valiant, brave warrior who forms a deep friendship with Pippin, and
he's a good, affectionate father. He's loyal to his leader
(Faramir), and would be willing to follow him into death. He fights
alongside Pippin in the final battle and, although he ends up
severely injured, wreaks a fair amount of havoc in the enemy lines.
Sadly, both he and his elder son, Bergil, were left out of the movie,
but he's a pretty amazing guy in the book.
And, of course, there's Figwit. Who is Figwit, you ask? See
below.
(Figwit shows up around 1:48)
Figwit (which stands for Frodo Is Great, Who Is That?) was played by
Bret McKenzie and, apparently, got sooo much of a fandom that he was
brought back for The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey. We don't
really know why he's so awesome, but we'll join in the fandom anyway,
because, hey, it's Lord of the Rings!
Special Guest
Paragraph from Eowyn's sister:
Well, my sister asked me to tell ya'll about Haldir. He is awesome.
Elrond was against helping Theoden with protection. But the 'high
elves'(Aka; Galadriel and whatever the other bored elf's name is.) He
honors the long ago alliance between men and elves. To quote the
minor, but still amazing character “An Alliance once existed
between Elves and Men. We are here to honor that Allegiance.” In
his small bit of screen time he was able to insult Gimli, a fact
which makes him pretty awesome, 'cause Gimli isn't my favorite. He is
also a pretty good shot. *Spoiler Alert* Sadly this character meets
his death in the battle that he so readily assisted. Helm's Deep was
where the noble elf met his death. I have just now looked in the
Appendix to see if Haldir was related to anyone special. But as far
as I can tell he's not. If someone knows better I'd love to know.
Just comment below, and I'll read it sometime. All in all I think
that Haldir isn't really a random little character, as Eowyn thinks.
He is rather a good character who honors old ways and dies fighting
for what he thinks is right.(That is a 'good' way to die.) Of course
he wouldn't have died if that wretched orc hadn't attacked him..FROM
BEHIND! Oh, I cried when he died. Little characters can make a big
impact especially when they die... can't they? Well...I can't really
think of anything more to say about him, sooo... that's all!
I've heard a lot of people voice their opinion about
the theatrical release of Fellowship of the Ring,
Two Towers,and Return of the
King. They mainly say, “Why would I want to watch a longer
version of the same movie? The extended versions are, like, forty-five
minutes longer than the other versions! I can't last that
long.”
To which I say, “Why on EARTH would you NOT want
forty-five more minutes of the AWESOMENESS that is the Extended
Editions?!”
Ahem. Sorry about that. You've heard my
opinion. I'll turn my caps-lock off now.
In preparing to write this post, I've decided that it
would be best to not say things like, “Oh, well, there's three new shots in this
one scene in Fellowship, and then the next scene has, uhhh...
two more shots....”
Instead, I'm going to pick two or three of my
favorite completely new scenes from each movie. Hopefully, by the end, I
will have converted you into an Extended Release junkie. :
)
Enjoy the ride.
The Fellowship of the Ring has six
new scenes. The first one, probably my favorite in the Extended Release,
is called 'Concerning Hobbits.' The hard-core Tolkiendils will be pleased
to know that a lot of the dialogue from this scene is taken from the book – from
the introduction, appendices, or the chapter in the book entitled 'A
Long-Expected Party.' This scene gives you a deeper look into Hobbits and
their lifestyle. I think it should have been kept in because it shows you
a further explanation of why Frodo wants to stay in the Shire.
The second of my favorite new scenes is called 'The
Departure of the Fellowship,' which is pretty self-explanatory. Basically,
the newly-formed Fellowship is leaving Rivendell and Frodo is leading the
way. He's completely clueless and scared and whispers to Gandalf, who is
walking right behind him, “Which way do I go?” Gandalf points him in the right
direction and they embark on their quest.
The Two Towers has an incredible
fifteen new scenes. I've narrowed it down to three of
my favorites. The first I'd like to mention is called 'Sons of the
Steward.' It's a flashback of Faramir and Boromir, after Boromir has
swooped in and saved the day (once again) after Faramir, Captain of Gondor, was
losing a battle. Boromir came to his rescue and conquered the bad guys –
for now, at least. This scene depicts the aftermath – when Faramir and
Boromir are celebrating. YESTERDAY, I told you a little of why this scene
is so great, but I really like it because it gives Boromir and Faramir a deeper
relationship. In the theatrical releases, it's mentioned a few times that
they're brothers. In the extended release – this scene particularly – it
shows how close they were, even though they weren't very much
alike.
The second of my favorite scenes is a
muchly-appreciated lighthearted scene after all of the fighting – the flooding
of Isengard and Helm's Deep, to be exact. Merry and Pippin have just seen
the Ents flood Isengard. Pippin is lamenting the fact that they don't have
any food, meanwhile, Merry spies an apple floating in the water. They turn and
see more food, all leading into Saruman's storeroom. They enjoy a well-earned
meal. (This, by the way, is the “The salted pork is particularly good”
scene from the very beginning of Return of the
King.)
The third scene I'll mention is called 'Farewell to
Faramir.' (Yes, there's a reason that I'm picking all these FARAMIR
scenes. Hush.) It contains one of my favorite lines from The Two
Towers. The entire movie, Sam has been a little wary of Faramir,
mainly because he's trying to protect Frodo and is already on edge because of
creepy old Smeagol. In this scene, Sam apologizes to Faramir and says,
“Captain Faramir, you have shown your quality, sir – the very highest.” To
which Faramir replies, “The Shire must truly be a great realm, Master Gamgee,
where gardeners are held in high honor.” (I basically melted at that
point!)
The Return of the King has fifteen
new scenes, too. I've picked four favorite scenes from this
movie.
The first of my favorite is called 'The Corsairs of
Umbar.' I love this scene because it's in the book and it has a hint
towards Gimli and Legolas' growing friendship. Also, Peter Jackson has a
cameo role in this scene. And it also makes more sense when put with the
'The Paths of the Dead' scene.
'Merry's Simple Courage' is my next favorite scene,
due to this amazing line by Merry, “My lady. You are fair and brave and
have much to live for and many who love you. I know it is too late to turn
aside. I know there is not much point now in hoping. If I were a
knight of Rohan capable of great deeds... but I'm not. I'm a Hobbit.
And I know I can't save Middle Earth. I just want to help my friends;
Frodo, Sam... Pippin. More than anything, I wish I could see them
again.”
I also love 'The Houses of Healing,' which is also in
the book. This scene was cut out of the movie and I have no idea
why. It's short, but shows yet another reason why Aragorn is
awesome. And the look between Faramir and Eowyn at the end is just...
sighhhhh.
The last of my favorite scenes from The
Return of the King is 'The Captain and the White Lady.' Eowyn +
Faramir = Happiness for all lovers of Faramir. It's not nearly as long as
the scene(s) from the book, but it'll do. : )
And that's the Extended Edition. Awesomeness
sauce and highly, highly better than the theatrical
release. The. End.
When I first became interested in LotR,
one of the first questions I asked was, “Did anyone make a movie of
this?” When I discovered that not only had there been made movies
of it, but that those movies were three hours long and very good, I
was extremely excited.
Considering the movies are three hours
long, they put in a lot of details and made it very close to the
book. However, there are some differences.
One of the bigger differences I noticed
(I think this is only in the Extended Version, though) is the fate of
Saruman. In the book, he and Wormtongue are reduced to beggars on
the road; in the movie,
he and Wormtongue are both killed at Orthanc.
I prefer the book because I think it's a good allegory for happens
when you misuse gifts God has given you, whereas in the movie Saruman
is just another bad guy to be killed.
Another big difference is the romance
between Aragorn and Arwen. In the movie, she and Aragorn seem to be
closer, but she comes nearer to leaving him behind. In the book, you
don't get to see too much of the interaction between them, but she's
more certain about staying with him instead of going with the rest of
the elves. I think I actually like the movie's portrayal best
because you can see more of their feelings towards each other.
The third difference is in the Ents.
The “slow and steady” aspect of their character is mostly cut out
of the movie. Now, of course you can't spend an hour of the movie on
the Ents' meeting, but I think they could have been portrayed better
than they were. Also, I would have liked it if they'd included the
Entwives. So (obviously) I prefer the book.
The last difference, and the only one
that can be really annoying sometimes, is Faramir. You may have
gathered that both Eowyn and I are humongous fans of FARAMIR. (In
fact, we've even made a pact to- oops. Penderwick Family Honor. :P)
In the movie, he's basically just a wiser version of
Boromir, and a
lot of his story is cut out. Not to mention the romance between him
and Eowyn, which is shown in just a few clips and not given the
development of Aragorn and Arwen. (Unless you're watching the
Extended Version- I believe there are a lot more scenes between them
in the EV.) Predictably, I much prefer the book here too.
Of course, there are many other
differences, large and small. However, this is overall an extremely
faithful adaptation of LotR and I love it very much.
One thing that isn’t talked about too
often when people are discussing Tolkien is the romance he puts in
his books. We praise his wit, his characters, his settings—but his
love stories aren’t usually mentioned. This may be because there
aren’t a lot of grand romance plot-lines throughout the book. Most
of the time, Tolkien usually just says something along the lines of
“so-and-so married so-and-so, and they had great affection for each
other all their lives.” He doesn’t have many stories in which
the hero is courting the damsel in distress or the heroine’s
devotion is shown. However, there are two amazing romances in Lord
of the Rings: Faramir and Eowyn’s, and Aragorn and Arwen’s.
Our favorite is, of course, the romance
between Faramir and Eowyn. Who doesn’t love this wonderful couple?
Tolkien does a marvelous job subtly showing their growing affection
for each other throughout Return of the King, and while Peter
Jackson doesn’t include their story as much, he adds in uses little
glimpses of it during RotK that always make us melt. (Here again, we
would like to shout from the rooftops, “EXTENDED EDITION!!!!”)
When they first meet each other in the
Houses of Healing, neither of them notices the other much. Besides
the obvious reasons (seeing as they’re both recovering from serious
injuries and illness), Eowyn also takes no notice of Faramir because
she loves—or thinks she loves—Aragorn. All she wants now is an
honorable death in battle.
Faramir pretty much ignores her at
first, as well, because he longs for the approval of his father and
has just discovered that Denethor is dead. (Interesting tidbit: In
the Commentary for the Extended RotK,
David Wenham [who plays Faramir] mentions something about the fact
that the only thing Faramir really wants is to get back in the
battle. We don't know if we agree with this or not....) Faramir
quickly learns the error of his ways as he spends more time with her,
and eventually falls in love with the melancholy shieldmaiden.
It takes her awhile to warm up to him;
he pays her attentions and she rebuffs him because she doesn’t
think that she cares about anything but Aragorn. However, no one can
help loving FARAMIR, and when he continues to court her, she realizes
the true state of her heart and confesses her love to him in a
gorgeous passage in the book:
“Then Faramir came and sought
her, and once more they stood on the walls together; and he said to
her: 'Eowyn, why do you tarry here, and do not go to the rejoicing in
Cormallen beyond Cair Andros, where your brother awaits you?'
And
she said: 'Do you not know?'
But he answered: 'Two reasons
there may be, but which is true, I do not know.'
And she said:
'I do not wish to play at riddles. Speak plainer!'
'Then if
you will have it so, lady,' he said: 'You do not go, because only
your brother called for you, and to look on the Lord Aragorn,
Elendil's heir, in his triumph would now bring you no joy. Or because
I do not go, and you desire still to be near me. And maybe for both
these reasons, and you yourself cannot choose between them. Eowyn, do
you not love me, or will you not?'
'I wished to be loved by
another,' she answered. 'But I desire no man's pity.'
'That I
know,' he said. 'You desired to have the love of the Lord Aragorn.
Because he was high and puissant, and you wished to have renown and
glory and to be lifted far above the mean things that crawl on the
earth. And as a great captain may to a young soldier he seemed to you
admirable. For so he is, a lord among men, the greatest that now is.
But when he gave you only understanding and pity, then you desired to
have nothing, unless a brave death in battle. Look at me,
Eowyn!'
And Eowyn looked at Faramir long and steadily; and
Faramir said: 'Do not scorn pity that is the gift of a gentle heart,
Eowyn! But I do not offer you my pity. For you are a lady high and
valiant and have yourself won renown that shall not be forgotten; and
you are a lady beautiful, I deem, beyond even the words of the
Elven-tongue to tell. And I love you. Once I pitied your sorrow. But
now, were you sorrowless, without fear or any lack, were you the
blissful Queen of Gondor, still I would love you. Eowyn, do you not
love me?'
Then the heart of Eowyn changed, or else at last she
understood it. And suddenly her winter passed, and the sun shone on
her.
'I stand in Minas Anor, the Tower of the Sun,' she said;
'and behold! the Shadow has departed! I will be a shieldmaiden no
longer, nor vie with the great Riders, nor take joy only in the songs
of slaying. I will be a healer, and love all things that grow and are
not barren.' And again she looked at Faramir. 'No longer do I desire
to be a queen,' she said.
Then Faramir laughed merrily. 'That
is well,' he said; 'for I am not a king. Yet I will wed with the
White Lady of Rohan, if it be her will. And if she will, then let us
cross the River and in happier days let us dwell in fair Ithilien and
there make a garden. All things will grow with joy there, if the
White Lady comes.'
'Then must I leave my own people, man of
Gondor?' she said. 'And would you have you proud folk say to you:
"There goes a lord who tamed a wild shieldmaiden of the North!
Was there no woman of the race of Numenor to choose?" '
'I
would,' said Faramir. And he took her in his arms and kissed her
under the sunlit sky, and he cared not that they stood high upon the
walls in the sight of many. And many indeed saw them and the light
that shone about them as they came down from the walls and went hand
in hand to the Houses of Healing.
And to the Warden of the
Houses Faramir said: 'Here is the Lady Eowyn of Rohan, and now she is
healed.'”
See? See what we mean about this being
absolutely gorgeous? We thought so. ;)
Their engagement announcement and
wedding isn’t given too much time, although the little descriptions
that Tolkien gives are both amazingly romantic. However, we’ll
take what we can get, and I think we can safely say that Eowyn and
Faramir had a very happily-ever-after.
Aragorn and Arwen, on the other hand,
have a completely different story. It's funny – it's as if Peter
Jackson put a magnifying glass to their relationship – told almost
exclusively in the Appendices – and expounded on it (sometimes a
little too much, in our humble opinions). It's as if he took away
from Faramir and Eowyn so that he could give some time for Aragorn
and Arwen! Even so, this makes sense. After all, Aragorn is the
king and he deserves to have his love story fleshed out and expounded
upon.
Aragorn
and his mother, Gilraen, lived in Rivendell for quite some time, and
we suspect that's when he started noticing Arwen. Some time later,
he joins the Rangers and takes on the name Strider so that he can
keep watch over his kingdom. He
and Arwen are distant for quite a while, but they still think of each
other often. During this time, their love for each other grows.
In
the book, it's Aragorn
who brings Frodo to
Rivendell. In the movie, however, Arwen mysteriously shows up and
takes him, turning it into this long chase scene with horse-shaped
water at the climax.
When various
Highly Ranked people are called to Rivendell for The Council of
Elrond – Aragorn included – Arwen enjoys having a moment with
Aragorn. (In the movie, that is.) At this time, Arwen gives Aragorn
her necklace, which basically means that she's giving up her Elven
heritage and choosing to be mortal – all for him. (Everybody say,
“Awwww....”)
In
the book, Arwen isn't heard of much until the veeeery end, when
Aragorn mentions to the Fellowship that he and Arwen are going to be
wed. In the movie, Arwen is much more involved. We see her almost
leave for the Gray Havens, change her mind after seeing a vision of
her son – being held by Aragorn, of all people – and head back to
her father, telling him that she loves Aragorn and is willing to die
if it'll mean that she can love him. In the end of Return, there's a
great scene when Arwen comes back and totally blows Aragorn away by
her beauty. : )
These two romances
aren't the only ones in the book or movie, however. What about Sam
and Rosie? It's safe to say that we think every romantic-at-heart
cried at their sweet wedding. Also, what about the love of the Ents
for their Entwives? It's sad that this didn't make the final cut of
the film.
While
romance may not be Tolkien's strong suit (it seems he wanted to
describe the Buckleberry Ferry more than he wanted to describe how
Aragorn and Arwen fell in love!), we can honestly say that,
nevertheless, he was a great writer. We love the romance he adds
into The Lord of the
Rings,
how ever little there may be.
