How World War One Helped Inspire Lord Of The Rings
A real-life fellowship in Mordor
Some years ago Peter Jackson revived the Lord of the Rings trilogy and The Hobbit to the big screen with much fanfare.
Strangely, one of his next projects was a documentary on World War I, which most might consider an odd leap. However, the jump isn’t as strange as you think. Despite J.R.R. Tolkien’s stories being wrapped in fantasy, there was an ugly reality which likely influenced him.
Tolkien served in the Great War and happened to be stationed at one of the worst battles imaginable. The visions of human walls of men charging into battle and falling wasn’t imagined in his case. Moreover, he may have written about a Fellowship of the Ring, but also took part in a fellowship itself tested by war.
As you review his stories with the war in mind, it’s hard not to see inspiration for some of the terrible images he created. The Dead Marshes, Mordor, and fortified citadels really existed. They weren’t special features of Middle Earth; they existed on our very own earth. Moreover, some have even gone as far to find examples of shell shock or PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder) in the chapters of his book.
Today the world classifies this work in the category of fantasy, and many might think it geared towards…
