(urth) Gummed-Up Works or Got Lives?

[David Stockhoff]

On 12/16/2011 2:48 PM, Lee Berman wrote:
>> Andrew Mason: West is certainly a good direction. North less so - in the first age
>> material the North is the seat of evil (and it's not Tolkien's fault that wasn't published
>> first). By the time of LOTR the region has been devastated.
> Good observation, Andrew! Yes, the Silmarillion is quite clear about the history of the North.
> Some have likened Sauron as allegory to the Germans (both WWI and II I guess). Is it possible
> the Silmarillion stuff was inspired in part by the devastation of the Norse barbarians to the
> British Isles? They did more damage there than the Germans ever did. (okay, 'fess up. Who here
> is a red head ;- )) 		 	   		

I discount any connection of LOTR to WW2, but it simply is not possible 
to ignore the direct impact of WW1 on English literature. And since the 
devastation visited upon northern France in that war was probably much 
worse---visibly, at least, as well as in casualties over a small 
area---than any other devastation aside from that of Stalingrad, the 
nuked Japanese cities, and endgame Nazi Germany itself, I think that is 
sufficient to inspire visions of Thangorodrim!

The Hobbit, OTOH, goes no further than the "satanic mills" of the 
goblins. Very Victorian and MacDonaldian.