At school one of the classes I teach has me reading through J.R.R. Tolkien‘s Lord of the Rings trilogy. I’ve never been a fan of fantasy as a genre but over the course of our class I have truly come to appreciate Tolkien’s works as art in the aesthetic sense.
Tolkien wasn’t shy in admitting he was trying to craft an excellent tale for the purpose of delighting readers in a story well told. From the forward to The Fellowship of the Ring:
I should like to say something here with reference to the many opinions or guesses that I have received or have read concerning the motives and meaning of the tale. The prime motive was the desire of a tale-teller to try his hand at a really long story that would hold the attention of readers, amuse them, delight them, and at times maybe excite them or deeply move them.
I, along with more readers than can be numbered, have felt deeply the accomplishment of Tolkien’s stated purpose.
One other aspect of writing his trilogy that Tolkien discusses in the preface to The Lord of the Rings is his distaste for all things allegory.
I cordially dislike allegory in all its manifestations, and always have done so since I grew old and wary enough to detect its presence. I much prefer history, true or feigned, with its varied applicability to the thought and experience of readers.
As a result the reader of Tolkien can see themes in his work which strongly reflect the narrative of Bible – itself the greatest story ever told – but you won’t find the overt Christian symbolism found in his friend C.S. Lewis’ Chronicles of Narnia series. Nonetheless, the most powerful passages in Tolkien’s trilogy can’t help but reflect the truths of Christianity. It is precisely the correspondence of Tolkien’s writings with the Great Story of what God has done in Christ that gives The Lord of the Rings it’s power and enduring significance.
One of the most delightful examples of the power of Tolkien’s writing to echo the goodness of God’s work in Christ comes in chapter four of book six (found in The Return of the King). The scene centers on Samwise Gamgee waking up after he was nearly killed assisting Frodo in destroying the One Ring and it’s malevolent creator Sauron.
When Sam awoke, he found that he was lying on some soft bed, but over him gently swayed wide beechen boughs, and through their young leaves sunlight glimmered, green and gold. All the air was full of a sweet mingled scent.
He remembered that smell: the fragrance of Ithilien. ‘Bless me!’ he mused. ‘How long have I been asleep?’ For the scent had borne him back to the day when he had lit his little fire under the sunny bank; and for the moment all else between was out of waking memory. He stretched and drew a deep breath. ‘Why, what a dream I’ve had!’ he muttered. ‘I am glad to wake!’ He sat up and then he saw that Frodo was lying beside him, and slept peacefully, one hand behind his head, and the other resting upon the coverlet. It was the right hand, and the third finger was missing.
Full memory flooded back, and Sam cried aloud: ‘It wasn’t a dream! Then where are we?’
And a voice spoke softly behind him: ‘In the land of Ithilien, and in the keeping of the King; and he awaits you.’ With that Gandalf stood before him, robed in white, his beard now gleaming like pure snow in the twinkling of the leafy sunlight. ‘Well, Master Samwise, how do you feel?’ he said.
But Sam lay back, and stared with open mouth, and for a moment, between bewilderment and great joy, he could not answer. At last he gasped: ‘Gandalf! I thought you were dead! But then I thought I was dead myself. Is everything sad going to come untrue? What’s happened to the world?’
“Is everything sad coming untrue?” What a beautiful phrase to express joy at unanticipated delights.
In the context of the story the big bad guy (Sauron) has been defeated but there is yet much more work to be done. One of the most important tasks is to liberate the Shire (the idyllic rural home of the Hobbits) from the despotism of Saruman (one of the henchmen of Sauron). Saruman’s overthrow is at this point assured in that the strength which empowered him has already been destroyed yet it remained for the heroes to execute the inevitable.
Remember that Gandalf asked Sam how he felt upon awakening.
‘How do I feel?’ he cried. ‘Well, I don’t know how to say it. I feel, I feel’ – he waved his arms in the air – ‘I feel like spring after winter, and sun on the leaves; and like trumpets and harps and all the songs I have ever heard!’
Isn’t that rich? ”Like spring after winter…”
I know I’m not the first to have this thought but isn’t that whole scene a near-perfect representation of the bliss created by Jesus’ death and subsequent resurrection?
The enemy has been defeated. It only remains for our Hero to do some final mopping up (see Hebrews 2:6-9). In the meantime all the shades, all the facades, all the empty enemies of our Lord are coming apart in front of our eyes. Pain, sorrow, Death – all of these sad things are coming untrue before our very eyes.
One of the marks of great literature is it’s ability to stir the most human elements within us. Reading Sam as expressing delight so closely to my own when I consider the accomplishments of Christ was deeply gratifying. Sam’s exuberance puts me in mind of Revelation 21:1-5 and I’ll leave you with that passage. It’s author is a masterful story teller and knows how to deliver a wonderful ending.
Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, the dwelling place[a] of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.
And he who was seated on the throne said, “Behold, I am making all things new.”
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Addendum: If you haven’t read The Lord of the Rings and think you would be interested in doing so you can find them at the following links. I commend them to your reading.
Book 1: The Fellowship of the Ring
Book 2: The Two Towers
Book 3: The Return of the King
