Imagine this Viking-like tribe coming to Britain and finding only ruins left by the Romans: giant buildings, paved roads, stone arches, mosaics, things unimaginable to Anglo-Saxons with their wooden architecture. Moreover, his kingdom is based on the historical Anglo-Saxons, a culture whose worldview was fatalistic and nearly post-apocalyptic. As an aging king with a dead heir and a weakened, sidelined kingdom, Théoden embodies Middle-earth’s poignant sense of loss. Theoden could even be the incarnation of Lord of the Rings’ elegiac atmosphere. It all clicked for me then: the student was right! In fact, Théoden is not just one example of this response the king is the story’s best example. He said Théoden’s arc shows an example of how people act in an elegiac world.

One of my students unlocked this for me, in his recent paper about LOTR’s elegiac tone. Rohan has no representative in the Fellowship. Théoden’s kingdom of Rohan is not a major-player nation in the War of the Ring. Whatever deep meaning I sensed in that scene, Tolkien clearly felt the same way. After the Battle of Pelennor Fields, Tolkien dwells with long and loving detail on Théoden’s funeral, fit for a hero. Jokes aside, I actually don’t think I’m alone in being moved by the king’s death. So what suddenly moved me so much?Īt the time I joked that it was my pregnancy’s fault. I knew the scene by heart, and had never cried before. A few read-throughs ago, during Théoden King’s last ride, I found myself weeping. Théoden plays a more central role than we thoughtįirst, as a personal anecdote, we skip forward to The Return of the King.

But to experience the theme’s full richness, I’ll draw from the source: all three volumes of Tolkien’s story. This theme comes from both book and film versions. Thankfully, Tolkien gives us not only a relatable world, but also something to hope for.

2 Such loss forces itself onto everyone’s attention. We need not look far to see many losses over the past two years. The Lord of the Rings has always shown this theme of loss, yet this theme has become freshly relevant in 2021, twenty years after The Lord of the Rings film director Peter Jackson renewed wider interest in Tolkien’s books.įor two years my kids have been asking me, “Will they ever give out cookies at the grocery store again?” My answer is not as poetic as Tolkien’s, yet draws from the same well: The world has changed-morally, politically, and socially. The ruins of Amon Hen, Amon Sul, and Osgiliath. Tolkien’s world is haunted by this sense of loss, and these markers of mourning lie as thick as the ruins Tolkien’s heroes are constantly passing. Much that once was is lost, for none now live who remember it.” 1 The film begins fittingly with these words: “The world is changed. This week fans celebrate the twentieth anniversary of The Fellowship of the Ring movie’s theatrical release on Dec.

Grief by Shannon Stewart