The Silmarillion (Masterplots II: British and Commonwealth Fiction Series)
At a glance:
- Author: J. R. R. Tolkien
- First Published: 1977
- Type of Work: Fantasy
- Time of Work: The mythical past
- Setting: Valinor and Middle-earth, in the world of Arda
- Principal Characters: Iluvatar (Eru), Manwe, Melkor (Morgoth), Sauron, Thingol, Grey-Cloak (Elwe), Feanor, Earendil the Mariner, Ar-Pharazon, Elrond Half-Elven, Gandalf the Grey (Mithrandir), Cirdan, Frodo Baggins
- Genres: Long fiction, Fantasy
- Subjects: Mythology or myths, Supernatural, Other worlds, Religion, Eighteenth century, Good and evil, Rulers, Gods or goddesses, Mysteries, Science fiction, Trees, Russia or Russian people, Precious metals or stones, Gems, Talisman or magical object
- Locales: Middle-earth (mythic), Arda (mythic), Valinor (mythic)
The Novel
The Silmarillion is not a traditional, single-text novel, but a collection of five separately titled texts, the “Ainulindale,” “Valaquenta,” “Quenta Silmarillion,” “Akallabeth,” and “Of the Rings of Power and the Third Age.” These texts are the distillation of decades of imaginative work and mountains of notes accumulated by J. R. R. Tolkien in a fantasy which stretches from the birth of a universe through its mythical age and the departure from the created world of its visible supernatural and immortal denizens. The work which the reader sees is...
[The entire page is 4545 words long]
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