Img Src: WallpaperCave

“One Ring to rule them all,
    One Ring to find them,
        One Ring to bring them all and in the darkness bind them”

This might just be one of the most iconic lines in cinema history and not to miss, a timeless piece of fantasy literature. 

John Ronald Reuel Tolkien (usually known as J. R. R. Tolkien) was born on 3rd January 1892, in Bloemfontein, South Africa. A veteran of the Great War in the 1910s, Tolkien later embarked on a career in academics and was known as one of the most exceptional Philologists. He is better known to the modern age as the creator of “The Hobbit” & “The Lord of the Rings” and the life-giver to Middle-Earth.  

    Tolkien was a man of sheer dedication, which is distinctly shown throughout his accomplishments. Creating a world, multiple races of people, one of the vastest lore of all time and even a fictional language for his works, does NOT seem like a joke to me. The depth of character in his works is astonishing. It truly amazes any reader who decides to take off into his world. Let’s just say, he has his world, with his god and deities, own races of people, and their languages. That IS god’s work basically if you ask me. Despite his immortalized works, life outside of fantasy could not provide him with enough time to complete everything he had in that beautiful mind. He died on September 2, 1973, due to health complications. Fortunately, his son Christopher Tolkien, compiled, edited, and published many books after his father’s death. Books like, “the Silmarillion”—which is a prequel to the Lord of the Rings, “The Children of Húrin”, “Beren and Lúthien”, “The Fall of Gondolín” and many other unfinished tales of John were revived by Chris Tolkien. His romantic life was some sort of fantasy too, and it is said that the aforementioned book “Beren and Lúthien” was inspired by his story with his lovely wife, Edith. Later fantasy writers like George R. R. Martin and J. K. Rowling were inspired heavily through the projects of Tolkien. If that was not enough, even musical artists like David Arkenstone, Blind Guardian, Bo Hansson, and even the great Led Zepellin were inspired and have incorporated ideas into their songs. Songs from Led Zepellin like, “The Battle of Evermore” and “Ramble On” revolve around Middle-Earth. His colleague and creator of The Chronicles of Narnia, C. S. Lewis, had this to say for Tolkien’s creations, “Like lightning from a clear sky...heroic romance, gorgeous, elegant and unashamed.”

    It is also mentioned that Tolkien used to share the story of the Hobbit as a bedtime story to his sons Chris and Michael. But when Chris started critiquing his story and went on about his loopholes, Tolkien was exasperated and decided to pick up a pen and do his story some justice. And the rest, as they say, is history.