TCG Letter #404 / Carpenter Letter #156

From

J.R.R. Tolkien

Father Robert Murray

Date

4 November 1954

Type

Draft

Transcript

Partial

Tolkien addresses several topics related to The Lord of the Rings. Tolkien discusses the characters Smeagol and Gandalf (including the nature of the Istari), the mythology of the Valar, Númenor's downfall, and the concept of 'immortality' among Elves, Men, and Númenóreans. Tolkien concludes by explaining his choice of English names for mythical creatures and clarifying the nature of dwarves and wizards in his legendarium.

Tags

Authority

Valar

Istari

Wizards

Religion

Gollum

White Tree

Dwarfs

Dwarves

The Lord of the Rings

Shakespeare

Greek

Númenor

Middle-earth

References

The Letters of J. R. R. Tolkien: Revised and Expanded ed. (HarperCollins, UK), pp. 297-304, p. 624 (Carpenter notes)

The Letters of J.R.R. Tolkien (1981), pp. 200-07, p. 445 (Carpenter notes)

The J.R.R. Tolkien Companion and Guide - Chronology (2017), p. 467

Pity, Power, and Tolkien's Ring: To Rule the Fate of Many, pp. 45, 272n7, 283n17

Silke Anzinger, "Von Troja nach Gondor.Tolkiens „The Lord of the Rings“ als Epos in vergilischer Tradition," in Vestigia Vergiliana: Vergil-Rezeption in der Neuzeit edited by Thorsten Burkard , Markus Schauer and Claudia Wiener. (2010) pp. 363-401. p. 371 note 28

ἀγγελος [with acute γ] > ἄγγελος [A typo since 1981 _Letters_]. or which > of which p. 302 fn.

Marco Cristini "The Fall of Two Cities: Troy and Gondolin." Thersites 15 (2022), p. 8 note 28

J.R.R. Tolkien A Descriptive Bibliography, Di1, p. 350

Cartas de J.R.R. Tolkien, pp. 307-15, p. 635 (notas de Carpenter)

Michael Livingston, "Troy and the Rings:Tolkien and the Medieval Myth of England," Mythlore 32.1 (2013), p. 79, citation from p. 201 ['Letters', 1981].

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