Tolkien's Lost Speech Gives You the True Meaning of The One Ring

Karloff

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Oct 19, 2009
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Tolkien's Lost Speech Gives You the True Meaning of The One Ring


A self-styled Smaug had the tapes hidden away, but thankfully someone persuaded him Tolkien's speech shouldn't stay lost.

Back in 1958 J.R.R. Tolkien attended a dinner in his honor, hosted by devoted fans in Rotterdam. A packed and breathless hall heard the creator, in his own words, describe the "poor thing, but my own" that had delighted them, and would delight so many more in the years to follow. Some scraps of his speech survived in transcripts by Christopher Tolkien, but it was thought that the speech itself was lost forever. Not so, and now the complete recording is being prepared for release by the Middle Earth Network and Legendarium.

So where were the tapes? Hidden away in a Dutch collector's hoard. "Like Smaug I am guarding my treasure, hissing at any collector who comes near," jokes René van Rossenberg, a Tolkien expert who found the tapes in 1993. Jay Johnstone of Beowulf [http://legendarium.mymiddleearth.com/2014/05/22/lost-tolkien-audio-recording-discovered/] launch party.

Anyone who ever wanted to know what Tolkien was trying to do with his narrative needs to listen to the whole recording; personally, I'm waiting with bated breath. Tolkien didn't think the assembled partygoers would really be interested in a potted autobiography, so he kicks things off with a discussion of the stories. Everything from the One Ring - Tolkien says it's just a mechanism that "sets the clock ticking fast" - to a plain description of what, in his view, all the books are supposed to be about, plus ruminations on current events and what they might mean for the future. Tolkien never got another chance to speak as plainly; this was the last time he spoke at a party held in his honor.

This is the sort of thing fans dream of, and it looks as if those dreams are about to come true. If you're interested in learning more, better head over here [http://thelostpoem.mymiddleearth.com/].

Source: Huffington Post [http://thelostpoem.mymiddleearth.com/]


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Barbas

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Oct 28, 2013
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I am flabbergasted. This is amazing; I await the updates with bated breath!
 

PhoenixUp

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Mar 9, 2010
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I may or may not need to change my pants.

But seriously, I am forwarding this page to pretty much everyone I know.
Beyond stoked for this!
 

alxtronic

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Dec 8, 2012
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I hope they clean up the audio. It was difficult to understand what he was saying when the subtitles stopped.
 

Johnny Novgorod

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I hope they put on subtitles when they release it. Tolkien is notoriously hard to figure out when he speaks. From what few recordings I've seen.
 

Grimh

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Feb 11, 2009
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That's pretty cool that he stopped being selfish. Smaug was kind of a colossal douche, just saiyan.

But oh well, what's done is done. I am happy for all the huge LoTR nerds out there.
I'm kind of interested as a casual fan so I can't even imagine the hype those guys are feeling right now.
 

nevarran

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Apr 6, 2010
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Are we ever going to hear/see something interesting, without first having a tease, then an announcement, then a sneak-peak, then a preview event, then...
 

erbi79

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Apr 21, 2013
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Oh wow, this is probabloy the best news in ... ever ^^ can't wait to hear the whole thing :)
 

Hero in a half shell

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Dec 30, 2009
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alxtronic said:
I hope they clean up the audio. It was difficult to understand what he was saying when the subtitles stopped.
And remove the floaty background music. That will get old real fast.
 

Arnoxthe1

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Dec 25, 2010
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MFW I hear the recording and find out the One Ring is actually a metaphor for ice cream trucks or something equally lame.

 

TravelerSF

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Nov 13, 2012
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Would I be wrong to say that this is one of the biggest discoveries in the history of geek culture?
 

Lyri

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Dec 8, 2008
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This is amazing!

I lived in the area Tolkein based the Shire on so this will be fantastic!
 

Wanicochil

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Mar 3, 2012
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Can some one do me a favor and write down what he says after the subtitles finished?

I already have bad ears so the other sounds completely and utterly overpowered his voice and I couldn't hear a thing
 

RedDeadFred

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May 13, 2009
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Arnoxthe1 said:
MFW I hear the recording and find out the One Ring is actually a metaphor for ice cream trucks or something equally lame.

It was the one flavor to rule them all!

OT: I am extremely excited for this. I wonder what additional insights he'll bring to these books that have already been thoroughly dissected.
 
Apr 5, 2008
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How exciting! This is really incredible and I'm absolutely looking forward to hearing that in full. What an opportunity to get ultimate insight into the story whose cultural impact can still be felt decades later.
 

Strazdas

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May 28, 2011
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alxtronic said:
I hope they clean up the audio. It was difficult to understand what he was saying when the subtitles stopped.
this.
without the s ubtitles i did not udnerstand what he was saying, the audio quality was quite poor. which is udnerstandable, but not presentable.
 

zumbledum

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Nov 13, 2011
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well its not exactly like he was shy of talking about middle earth so i doubt there will be any revelations in these tapes but sill its a really nice thing to find, looking forward to hearing it
 

Olas

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Dec 24, 2011
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I don't know, a part of me doesn't necessarily want a full explanation of Tolkein's work. It could take away from the mystery and interpretive nature of it. Perhaps I'm overreacting.