Podcast - Tolkien: The Ring

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After World War I, Tolkien was looking to find his footing. He looked for jobs and ached for another fellowship of friends like he'd had before. He found both in the 1920s when he landed a job at Oxford teaching English literature. It was during this great season of his life that his major works began. Soon, he would be working on his masterpiece, The Lord of the Rings.

At Oxford, Tolkien was enlisted to help with the Oxford English Dictionary. This dictionary was primarily a source to trace the etymology and first uses of words, not simply a definition. This required a high level of scholarship and knowledge by all who contributed. When Tolkien joined the project, they were working on the letter “W.” 

Working on the Oxford English Dictionary was his first step in his career after World War I. His teaching at Oxford would come a bit later which would last him for twenty years. It was in these twenty years he wrote The Hobbit, most of The Lord of the Rings, and his translation of Beowulf. 

He continued to pursue strong friendships during this time and eventually met C.S. Lewis in 1926 which would expand into The Inklings. They shared a love for literature, mythology, and languages. Tolkien attributed a lot in his life to the influence of Lewis. Lewis often had to push Tolkien to finish the writing he started. 

The Ring

In The Lord of the Rings, Tolkien crafts the Ring almost as another character in the plot. The Ring has a will and wants to get back to its master. It destroyed and left Gollum and found Bilbo and eventually Frodo. The Ring has a corrupting power to whoever uses it. Throughout the series, the wise distance themselves from the Ring and the foolish pursue it because they have something to gain. 

Evil is perhaps more up-front in this story. Good is more subtle. Yet good is destined to win.

Brittany Proffitt lives in Dallas and is a writer and content manager for So We Speak.