Free to follow every thread. No paywall, no dead ends.
The Fellowship of the Ring | HearLore
— Ch. 1 · Publication History And Structure —
The Fellowship of the Ring.
~5 min read · Ch. 1 of 6
The first edition of The Fellowship of the Ring appeared on the 29th of July 1954 in the United Kingdom. J. R. R. Tolkien had originally envisioned his epic as a single volume divided into six sections he called books, along with extensive appendices. His publisher decided to split the work into three parts instead. Before this decision, Tolkien had hoped to publish the novel in one volume, possibly combined with The Silmarillion. He had proposed titles for the six books that make up the novel. Of the two books that comprise what became The Fellowship of the Ring, the first was to be called The First Journey or The Ring Sets Out. The name of the second was The Journey of the Nine Companions or The Ring Goes South. These names were used in the Millennium edition.
Prologue And Hobbit Origins
In the prologue, the narrative explains that the work is largely concerned with hobbits and their origins in a migration from the east. It details how they smoke pipe-weed and how their homeland the Shire is organized. The story follows on from The Hobbit, where Bilbo Baggins finds the One Ring after it had been in the possession of Gollum. Bilbo celebrates his eleventy-first birthday and leaves the Shire suddenly, passing the Ring to Frodo Baggins, his cousin and heir. Neither Hobbit is aware of the Ring's origin, but Gandalf suspects it is a Ring of Power. Seventeen years later, in The Shadow of the Past, Gandalf confirms to Frodo that the Ring is the powerfully seductive Ruling Ring lost by the Dark Lord Sauron long ago. He counsels Frodo to take it away from the Shire.
When was the first edition of The Fellowship of the Ring published?
The first edition of The Fellowship of the Ring appeared on the 29th of July 1954 in the United Kingdom. J. R. R. Tolkien had originally envisioned his epic as a single volume divided into six sections he called books, along with extensive appendices.
Who are the nine members of the Fellowship formed at the Council of Elrond?
The Fellowship consists of nine walkers: Frodo Baggins, Sam Gamgee, Merry Brandybuck, Pippin Took, Gandalf, Aragorn, Boromir son of the Steward of Gondor, Legolas the Elf, and Gimli the Dwarf. These companions were chosen by Elrond to accompany Frodo on his quest to destroy the One Ring.
What titles did J. R. R. Tolkien propose for the two books that became The Fellowship of the Ring?
Of the two books that comprise what became The Fellowship of the Ring, the first was to be called The First Journey or The Ring Sets Out. The name of the second was The Journey of the Nine Companions or The Ring Goes South.
How does Tom Shippey explain the alternation between adventure and recuperation in The Lord of the Rings?
Tom Shippey suggested that the text gives the impression not of a moment of inspiration followed by careful invention, but of a lengthy period of laborious invention searching for some kind of inspiration. He noted that Tolkien indulged in self-plagiarism by repurposing and expanding his own earlier inventions from the poem The Adventures of Tom Bombadil which he wrote in 1934.
Which critics praised The Fellowship of the Ring and which criticized it upon release?
The poet W. H. Auden wrote a positive review in The New York Times praising the excitement while the literary critic Edmund Wilson wrote an unflattering review entitled Oo Those Awful Orcs! calling Tolkien's work juvenile trash. Naomi Mitchison also praised the work in The New Statesman and Nation stating above all it is a story magnificently told with every kind of color and movement and greatness.
Frodo sets out on foot, offering a cover story of moving to a little house in the village of Crickhollow. He is accompanied by his gardener Sam Gamgee and his cousin Pippin Took. They are pursued by mysterious Black Riders but meet a passing group of Elves led by Gildor Inglorion. Their singing to Elbereth wards off the Riders. The Hobbits spend the night with them, then take an evasive shortcut the next day. They arrive at the farm of Farmer Maggot, who takes them to Bucklebury Ferry. There they meet their friend Merry Brandybuck. When they reach the house at Crickhollow, Merry and Pippin reveal they know about the Ring and insist on traveling with Frodo and Sam. They decide to try to shake off the Black Riders by cutting through the Old Forest. Merry and Pippin are trapped by Old Man Willow, an ancient tree-spirit who controls much of the forest. They are rescued by Tom Bombadil. Leaving the refuge of Tom's house, they get lost in a fog and are caught by a barrow-wight in a barrow on the downs. Frodo, awakening from the barrow-wight's spell, calls Tom Bombadil, who frees them and equips them with ancient swords from the hoard.
The Council Of Elrond And Fellowship Formation
Frodo recovers in Rivendell under Elrond's care. Gandalf informs Frodo that the Black Riders are the Nazgûl, Men from ancient times enslaved by Rings of Power to serve Sauron. The Council of Elrond discusses the history of Sauron and the Ring. Strider is revealed to be Aragorn, the heir of Isildur. Isildur had cut the One Ring from Sauron's hand in the battle ending the Second Age but refused to destroy it, claiming it for himself. The Ring had been lost when Isildur was killed, finally ending up in Bilbo's possession after his meeting with Gollum. Gandalf reports that the chief wizard, Saruman, has betrayed them and is now working to become a power in his own right. Gandalf was captured by him but escaped, explaining why he had failed to return to meet Frodo as promised. The Council decides that the Ring must be destroyed only by sending it to the fire of Mount Doom in Mordor where it was forged. Frodo takes this task upon himself. Elrond chooses companions for him. The Fellowship consists of nine walkers: Frodo Baggins, Sam Gamgee, Merry Brandybuck, Pippin Took, Gandalf, Aragorn, Boromir son of the Steward of Gondor, Legolas the Elf, and Gimli the Dwarf.
Narrative Cycles And Homely Houses
In 1982, the Tolkien scholar Tom Shippey noticed the alternation at the start of The Lord of the Rings between moments of dangerous adventure and recuperation. He proposed four explanations of how Tolkien might naturally have created such material. Shippey suggested first that the text gives the impression not of a moment of inspiration followed by careful invention, but of a lengthy period of laborious invention searching for some kind of inspiration. Tolkien would write and invent characters, places, and events. He would then naturally run into complications when different story elements collide. These led at last to an inspiration. Shippey comments that the work gave the impression that Tolkien, despite much reworking, had been initially groping for a story and keeping himself going with a sort of travelogue. In search of material, Tolkien indulged in self-plagiarism, repurposing and expanding his own earlier inventions from the poem The Adventures of Tom Bombadil which he wrote in 1934. This gave him the characters Tom Bombadil, Old Man Willow, and the Barrow-wight. Tolkien's professional knowledge of philology aided him with careful concern for places and placenames starting in the rather English Shire and moving outside it.
Critical Reception And Early Reviews
The poet W. H. Auden wrote a positive review in The New York Times praising the excitement. He said Tolkien's invention is unflagging and on the primitive level of wanting to know what happens next, The Fellowship of the Ring is at least as good as The Thirty-Nine Steps. However, he noted that the light humor in the beginning was not Tolkien's forte. The scholar Loren Eiseley wrote in the New York Herald Tribune that Tolkien's was a major creative act constructing a great tapestry rich with all manner of invention and symbols of the peculiar ethnology of a created world. This transcended the primary or Baconian world and would outlive the artist. The literary critic Edmund Wilson wrote an unflattering review entitled Oo Those Awful Orcs! calling Tolkien's work juvenile trash. He stated Dr. Tolkien has little skill at narrative and no instinct for literary form. The novelist Naomi Mitchison praised the work in The New Statesman and Nation stating above all it is a story magnificently told with every kind of color and movement and greatness.