Showing posts with label #J.R.R. Tolkien. Show all posts
Showing posts with label #J.R.R. Tolkien. Show all posts

Wednesday, March 6, 2019

J. R. R. Tolkien

J. R. R. Tolkien:

“father of modern fantasy literature”

Christina Weigand


John Ronald Reuel Tolkien was born on January 3, 1892 in Bloemfontein South Africa. His parents, Arthur Reuel and Mabel Tolkien had left England when Arthur was promoted to head of the bank that he worked for. Tolkien had one sibling, a younger brother, Hilary Arthur Reuel Tolkien.

At the age of three Tolkien, his mother and brother went on a lengthy family visit to England. Unfortunately his father died of rheumatic fever in South Africa before he was able to join the family. Mabel, took her two sons to live with her parents in Birmingham. Tolkien enjoyed exploring the surrounding countryside, which would later inspire scenes in his books.

Mabel taught the children at home and Tolkien was known as a keen pupil. She taught him about botany which awakened a love for the look and feel of plants. Languages were by far his favorite subject and his mother taught him Latin very early in his life. Some of his favorite books were Phantastes by George MacDonald and the “Fairy Books” of Andrew Lang. Their influence can be seen in some of his later writings.

Tolkien’s mother died when he was 12 years old and Fr. Francis Xavier Morgan took over guardianship of the boys. Tolkien then attended King Edward’s School in Birmingham and later St. Philip’s School. While at King Edward’s School he joined the Officers Training Corps and helped line the route for the coronation parade of King George V.

During his early teens he had his first encounter with a constructed language, Animalic, that his cousins had invented. After his interest in this died he continued to invent new and more complex languages. Naffarin was the next constructed language and was his own invention. He also learned and wrote a book in Esperanto, The Book of the Foxrook where some of his invented languages appeared.

He also during this time met up with three young men and formed a secret society called the Tea Club and Barrovian Society (T.C.B.S). Through this group Tolkien developed a strong dedication to writing poetry.

After a trip to Switzerland, he began studying at Exeter College, Oxford. He started out studying classics, later changing to English Language and Literature. His travels through Switzerland were reflected in Bilbo’s journey across the Misty Mountains.


When he was 16 Tolkien met Edith, the woman who would one day become his wife. His guardian disapproved of the relationship and forbid Tolkien to have any contact with her until he turned 21. Tolkien obeyed the prohibition and the day he turned 21 he wrote a letter to Edith proposing marriage. After some rearranging of her life she accepted his proposal and they married three years later.
Following completing his finals and wedding they lived in lodgings near a training camp as WWI had started and he had been commissioned as a second lieutenant. He was sent to France. While waiting to be summoned to his unit he composed a poem, The Lonely Isle, which had been inspired by his feelings during the sea crossing to Calais. While fighting in the Battle of the Somme he came down with trench fever and was sent back to England. During his recovery he began to write The Book of Lost Tales.


The first of four children was born to John and Edith and he continued to serve between recurrences of his illness in the military. It was also during this time that the idea of Beren and Luthien came to be.



After the war he worked on the Oxford English Dictionary and took the post as reader in English language at the University of Leeds. He privately tutored young women undergraduates in a couple of women’s colleges. Writing of The Hobbit and the first two volumes of The Lord of the Rings happened during this time.



He undertook a translation of Beowulf which he never published. Tolkien gave lectures on Beowulf that changed some of the perceptions of the work.



After WWII he moved to Merton College and became a professor of English Language and Literature. While here he completed The Lord of the Rings.

After his retirement in 1959 he became increasingly disillusioned with his fame and took his phone number from the phone directory. Eventually he and Edith moved to a seaside resort. Tolkien desperately missed C. S. Lewis who he had befriended as well as the Inklings, but stayed with Edith as she was quite content with their new living situation.

In 1971 Edith died. Tolkien returned to Merton College and lived there until his death, September 2, 1973.

After his death, his son Christopher published many of Tolkien’s works based on the extensive notes his father had left behind.
Tolkien’s success with The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings led to resurgence in high fantasy literature. Tolkien became referred to as the “father of modern fantasy literature.”

The Times ranked Tolkien sixth on a list of “The 50 greatest British writers since 1945”. Forbes ranked him the 5th top-earning “dead celebrity” in 2009.

J.R.R. Tolkien’s many novels and poems were inspired by his many life adventures. His legacy leaves us many fantasies to lose ourselves in.

Wednesday, February 6, 2019

Owen Barfield; First and Last Inkling


Owen Barfield: First and Last Inkling

Christina Weigand

Owen Barfield has been known as “the first and last Inkling”. In spite of this he is one of the lesser known Inklings. I had trouble finding information about him or his life, but I will share what I found.

Owen Barfield was born in London to Elizabeth and Arthur Barfield on November 9, 1898 and had three older siblings. He received his education at Highgate School and Wadham College where he received a first class degree in English language and literature in 1920. After achieving his degree he was a dedicated poet and author for over ten years. In 1934 he became a solicitor in London from which he retired in 1959. Thereafter he served as a Visiting Professor in North America. He also published numerous essays, books and articles before his death on December 14, 1997 at 99 years old.

One interesting fact that stood out in his life was his influence on C.S. Lewis with his books The Silver Trumpet and Poetic Diction (dedicated to Lewis). Barfield met Lewis in 1919 as students at Oxford University and they remained close friends for 44 years. Lewis claimed that his friendship with Barfield was one of the most important in his life. He even dedicated his book Allegory of Love to Barfield. When Lewis wrote The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe was written for and dedicated to Barfield’s daughter. The Voyage of the Dawn Treader was for Barfield’s son Geoffrey.  Barfield was influential in converting Lewis from Atheism to Christianity.

Besides being an influence on Lewis with his books, he also influenced J.R.R. Tolkien. It wasn’t quite the same as the influence that was had on Lewis, but the influence came out in the language used in The Hobbit and later in Lord of the Rings as well as lectures Tolkien gave.

Barfield is characterized as a Christian writer as well as an anti-reductionist author. All of his books are available in new additions including; Worlds Apart, The Silver Trumpet, Saving the Appearances: A Study in Idolatry, History in English Words, and Poetic Diction.



 Worlds Apart is a fictional account of a dialogue between a physicist, a biologist, a lawyer-philologist, a linguistic analyst, a theologian, a retired Waldorf School teacher and a young man employed at a rocket research station. During a three day period they discuss and debate first principles.
  Saving the Appearances covers three thousand years of history of the human consciousness.



 The Silver Trumpet is a children’s book where he strives to show “the importance of the romantic element in relations between a man and a woman….And more widely than that, the importance of the feeling element in life.” (Owen Barfield, 1984)This was first published as a fantasy book by an Inkling. 
 Poetic Diction explores the theory of poetic diction as well as the theory of poetry and theory of knowledge.


 History in English Words explores the history through the English language.

Owen Barfield may not be as well-known as some of the other Inklings, but he did make a huge impression on a few of them. His numerous works of fiction, nonfiction and poetry continue to influence us today.


Quotes from Owen Barfield Literary Estate: http://www.owenbarfield.org/



To see more of my posts on dragons, characters and authors go 

Thank you for visiting our blog!
Enjoy our past and present blog posts



 
 
 

Wednesday, January 9, 2019

Charles Williams and the Inklings


Charles Williams and the Inklings  

Christina Weigand



Now that the holidays are past it’s time to return to the Author series. I know I have been promising to get to Tolkien, but alas not yet. Today I am going to take a look at another Inkling. But first for those who don’t recognize that term I’ll tell you a little about them, then it is on to Charles Williams.

The Inklings were a group of writers that included the likes of C.S. Lewis and J.R.R Tolkien. They met at The Eagle and Child pub weekly and would share readings from what they were currently working on. Different forms of this group still meet today in the U.K. and U.S.


Charles Williams was born in London in 1886 to Walter and Mary Williams. He had one sister, Edith born in 1889. In 1894 the family moved to St. Albans in Hertfordshire where Charles attended St. Albans School. He received a scholarship to University College London, but left the school without getting his degree.



He went to work at Oxford University Press as a proofreading assistant and eventually rose to the position of editor. He Williams married Florence Conway in 1917 and their son Michael was born in 1922. He died in 1945 in Oxford, England.

During his lifetime he wrote novels, poetry, plays and literary criticisms. Some of his notable works:
War in Heaven


The Place of the Lion


The Greater Trumps


Descent into Hell.



His works like Tolkien and Lewis was largely fantasy, but unlike them his was contemporary fantasy. T.S. Eliot described his work as “supernatural thrillers” because they explored the sacramental intersection of the physical with the spiritual while also examining the ways in which power can corrupt.

Williams became close friends with Lewis after reading one of Lewis’s books and sending him a letter of congratulations. At the same time Lewis had read one of Williams’s books and sent a similar note of congratulations. The letters crossed in the mail and led to an enduring friendship.

Love letters to Florence during WWII were eventually published. During this time he also joined Lewis and Tolkien in the Inklings where he was able to read and improve his final published novel; All Hallows’ Eve. He gave lectures on other authors at Oxford and received an honorary M.A. degree.

He is buried in Holywell Cemetery in Oxford and his headstone says “Poet” followed by the words: “Under the Mercy” a phrase often used by Williams.



As of yet I have not read any of Charles Williams’ books, but now they are definitely on my t.b.r list.

To see more of the Author series posts go here:





To see posts from the other authors in the Small Gang of Authors go here:


COMMENTS

Erika M Szabo via Google+

3 weeks ago  -  Shared publicly
 
Today Christina talks about Charles Williams, one of the writers of the group called Inklings at #OurAuthorGang
+
1
2
1
 
 · 
Reply
 
Thank you

Ruth de Jauregui via Google+

3 weeks ago  -  Shared publicly
 
Chris Weigand shares a fascinating post on a little-known member of the Inklings, the writers group that included Tolkien and Lewis. Stop by #OurAuthorGang and check it out!
 
 · 
Reply

Ruth de Jauregui

3 weeks ago  -  Shared publicly
 
Wow, I really need to learn more about the Inklings! Thank you so much Chris for posting this. More books for my list!
 
 · 
Reply
 
Thanks Ruth. I was unaware of the other members of the Inklings, I am so glad I started researching them and found more of them

Tricia Drammeh shared this via Google+

3 weeks ago  -  Shared publicly
 
 
 · 
Reply
 
Thank you

Chris Weigand via Google+

3 weeks ago  -  Shared publicly
 
Meet one of the lesser known Inklings
+
1
2
1
 
 · 
Reply

Toi Thomas via Google+

3 weeks ago  -  Shared publicly
 
Today, Christina Weigand discusses Charles Williams and the Inklings. #OurAuthorGang
 
 · 
Reply
 
Thank you.

Cindy Smith

3 weeks ago  -  Shared publicly
 
Wow I had never heard of this author but his works sound amazing!  Thank your for opening my eyes to his literary contributions.
 
 · 
Reply
 
Your welcome and thank you.

Cindy Smith shared this via Google+

3 weeks ago  -  Shared publicly
 
 
 · 
Reply
 
Thank you.

Rick Haynes

3 weeks ago  -  Shared publicly
 
An interesting read about a man, that alas, I'd never heard of. Thank you.
 

Eva Pasco

3 weeks ago  -  Shared publicly
 
Thank you for shedding light on this inner circle of commiserating writers.
+
1
2
1
 
 · 
Reply
 
Your welcome. They are a fascinating group.

Lorraine Carey

3 weeks ago  -  Shared publicly
 
Thank you, Chris for enlightening with this most talented circle of authors.Going to check out Williams' books for sure.
+
1
2
1
 
 · 
Reply
 
Definitely a talented group. Thank you.
 
I'd surely say so.

Joe Bonadonna

3 weeks ago  -  Shared publicly
 
Great post, Chris. I read "War in Heaven" years ago and liked it a lot. A few weeks ago there was a PBS special on The Inklings. Boy, to have been a fly on the wall in those days!
+
1
2
1
 
 · 
Reply
 
Don't you know it. I just ordered two of his books The Place of the Lion and All Hallows Eve. I can't wait for them to get here so I can read them.

Joe Bonadonna via Google+

3 weeks ago  -  Shared publicly
 
Today on #OurAuthorGang, Chris Weigand​ talks about author Charles Williams, who was one of The Inklings along with C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien.
+
2
3
2
 
 · 
Reply
 
Thank you.
 
+Chris Weigand - you're welcome.

Stephanie Collins via Google+

3 weeks ago  -  Shared publicly
Erika M Szabo originally shared this
 
Today Christina talks about Charles Williams, one of the writers of the group called Inklings at #OurAuthorGang
+
1
2
1
 
 · 
Reply
 
Thank you.

Featured Post

Online Magazines