— Ch. 1 · Tolkien's Aesthetic Intent —
Impression of depth in The Lord of the Rings.
~5 min read · Ch. 1 of 8
J. R. R. Tolkien set out to create a specific feeling in his readers. He wanted them to sense that the story had deep roots in the past. This goal was not accidental but a deliberate aesthetic choice. In an essay, he praised the 14th-century English chivalric romance Sir Gawain and the Green Knight for its deep roots in the past. He believed this quality allowed such works to survive as set texts for students. The author felt these stories deserved close and detailed attention followed by careful consideration. He noted that achieving this effect would be difficult unless new unattainable vistas were revealed again. Many older legends are purely mythological and nearly all are grim and tragic according to his view.
Medieval Literary Antecedents
Scholars have identified several medieval texts that influenced Tolkien's narrative techniques. He found this quality of depth especially in Beowulf. Other admired works included Virgil's Aeneid and Shakespeare's Macbeth. Sir Orfeo and Grimms' Fairy Tales also provided strong impressions of depth. Scholars like Gergely Nagy identified Thomas Malory's Le Morte d'Arthur and Geoffrey Chaucer's Troilus and Criseyde as well-known sources. Beowulf contains numerous digressions into other stories which function differently than advancing the main plot. Adrien Bonjour described how these elements render the background of the poem extraordinarily alive. They provide contrasts and examples that repeatedly illuminate key points of the story. Tolkien stated in The Monsters and the Critics that these features were essential to the work's power.Four Factors Of Depth
Tolkien alluded to the first factor with the phrase vast backclochs. The backdrop to The Lord of the Rings encompassed cosmological myths on a grand scale. His maps provided repeated implicit assurances of the existence of things they labeled. They also assured readers of their nature and history too. The mention of objects like the prized Silmarils appeared through characters such as Sam Gamgee. People from past ages like the Elven-smith Celebrimbor were described by the Elf-lord Elrond. All these mentions made use of existing but at the time unpublished texts. The lady of Rohan, Éowyn, gave Merry Brandybuck an ancient silver horn from the Hoard of Scatha the Worm. These references made the reader feel Middle-earth was far larger than parts described in the story. It had a deep history much older than the War of