Tolkien Blog Party Tag

Hamlette is hosting a Tolkien Blog Party over at The Edge of the Precipice, and today I'm here to fill out the fun tag that she has put together! I'm listening to the soundtracks right now to get in the mood. ;)

(Just so you know, I'm not a Tolkien expert by any means! I've read The Hobbit twice, and I only just read the LotR trilogy for the very first time over the summer. But I've fallen completely in love with these stories and with Tolkien's incredible writing, so I'm excited to answer these questions nonetheless! :))

1.  What's your favorite Middle-earth story/book?

I think my favorite is The Return of the King, although I also really enjoyed The Fellowship of the Ring.

2.  Do you have a favorite subplot?

I love Sam's character development. He's an incredibly loyal, steadfast friend, and he just gets better and better as the story progresses. 

I also enjoy the lighthearted, ongoing rivalry between Legolas and Gimli.

3.  What's your favorite theme in Tolkien's books?  (Can be in one specific story, or overall.)

I love how prevalent the themes of hope and perseverance are in both The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings. No matter how incredibly hard things are, the characters nevertheless press on and fight for what they believe in.

4.  Do you have a favorite weapon from Middle-earth?

I'm going to go with Anduril, simply because I love the name. "Anduril, Flame of the West."

5.  Would you like to be a hobbit?

Well, if I couldn't be an elf, then I think I might like to be a hobbit. The Shire is very beautiful, after all, and I love the hobbits' simple, slow-paced lifestyle.

However, I imagine it might feel too slow-paced and isolated from everything else after a while. I would have to be one of those rare, "strange" hobbits who enjoy reading, traveling, and going on adventures every now and then. :)

A colored pencil sketch I did while reading The Fellowship of the Ring.

6.  Do you have a favorite romance/couple?

Eowyn and Faramir, without a doubt. Aside from each of them being two of my very favorite LotR characters, they have also quickly become one of my new favorite literary couples. I love how in the midst of terrible suffering and sorrow, they find comfort, healing, and love in one another. They truly are such a beautiful couple, and for that reason, "The Steward and the King" might just be my favorite chapter in the trilogy. (Of course the most romantic chapter would be my fave, haha. ;P)

7.  What's your favorite Middle-earth creature?  (Can be "real" or "imaginary.")

I'm going to go with Shadowfax. :)

8.  What character do you look the most like?

Hmm... I honestly don't know! I'm tempted to say Eowyn, since we both have blonde hair and blue eyes (does she have blue eyes?). But I wouldn't necessarily say that I resemble her much otherwise.
(Alas, I don't have her beautiful, long locks!)

9.  Are there any books about Middle-earth or Professor Tolkien (but not written by him) you recommend?

I recommend "A Hobbit Devotional: Bilbo Baggins and the Bible" by Ed Strauss. This is such an enjoyable, insightful read. Each chapter discusses a certain event or theme in The Hobbit and relates it to a lesson found in Scripture. It's very well-written and I got a lot out of it! 

10.  List up to ten of your favorite lines/quotations from the Middle-earth books and/or movies.

"The Road goes ever on and on,

Down from the door where it began,

Now far ahead the Road has gone,

And I must follow, if I can,

Pursuing it with eager feet,

Until it joins some larger way

Where many paths and errands meet.

And whither then? I can not say."

-The Fellowship of the Ring

"It must often be so, Sam, when things are in danger: some one has to give them up, lose them, so that others may keep them." - The Return of the King

"...We put the thought of all that we love into all that we make." - an elf of Lorien in The Fellowship of the Ring

"'What do you fear, lady?' 

'A cage,' she said. 'To stay behind bars, until use and old age accept them, and all chance of doing great deeds is gone beyond recall or desire.'" - The Return of the King

"All that is gold does not glitter,

Not all those who wander are lost;

The old that is strong does not wither;

Deep roots are not reached by the frost.

From the ashes, a fire shall be woken,

A light from the shadows shall spring;

Renewed shall be blade that was broken,

The crownless again shall be king."

- The Fellowship of the Ring

"'I didn't think it would end this way.'"

'End? No, the journey doesn't end here. Death is just another path, one that we all must take. The grey rain-curtain of this world rolls back, and all turns to silver glass, and then you see it.' 

'What? Gandalf? See what?'

'White shores, and beyond, a far green country under a swift sunrise.'"

- The Return of the King (movie)

"He read the hearts of men as shrewdly as his father, but what he read moved him sooner to pity than to scorn. He was gentle in bearing, and a lover of lore and of music, and therefore by many in those days his courage was judged less than his brother's. But it was not so, except that he did not seek glory in danger without a purpose." - The Return of the King

"If more of us valued food and cheer and song above hoarded gold, it would be a merrier world." - The Hobbit

"'For you are a lady high and valiant and have yourself won renown that shall not be forgotten; and you are a lady beautiful, I deem, beyond even the words of the Elven-tongue to tell. And I love you. Once I pitied your sorrow. But now, were you sorrowless, without fear or any lack, were you the blissful Queen of Gondor, still I would love you. Eowyn, do you not love me?'

Then the heart of Eowyn changed, or else at last she understood it. And suddenly her winter passed, and the sun shone on her...

'No longer do I desire to be a queen,' she said.

Then Faramir laughed merrily. 'That is well,' he said; 'for I am not a king.'" - The Return of the King

A sketch that I did of Eowyn and Faramir, inspired by this drawing. :)

"'And would you have your proud folk say of you: "There goes a lord who tamed a wild shieldmaiden of the North! Was there no woman of the race of Numenor to choose?"'

'I would,' said Faramir. And he took her in his arms and kissed her under the sunlit sky, and he cared not that they stood high upon the walls in the sight of many. And many indeed saw them and the light that shone about them as they came down from the walls and went hand in hand to the Houses of Healing." - The Return of the King

I had such an awesome time filling out this tag! Thanks so much for putting it together, Hamlette. Now I'm really in the mood for rewatching the movies and rereading the books! ;) 

Much love,

Molly