This blog is the first of a short series of articles about the most popular epic fantasy writers, and what makes their work magic. I believe there is much that epic fantasy writers can learn from the classics.
Of course, Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings had to come first. This collection of three works is huge - and it would take a lengthy blog to explore every aspect of Tolkien's work. Instead, I have chosen my three favourite scenes and delved into why they contribute to making Tolkien stand out as the 'grandfather' of epic fantasy.
Like most LOTR fans, I love the whole work - even the long, rambling parts that drag on a bit! The sense of being on the same journey as the characters is so great that, like many, I felt a sense of loss when I turned the last page. I never wanted the story to end; I wanted to linger in Middle Earth and head off on new adventures. There are so many classic moments in The Lord of the Rings, that it would be a small novel in itself to detail them all here - instead I challenged myself to come up with my three favourite scenes. This meant I had to distill the book into three defining moments; a real challenge! After a bit of thought I came up with the following:
SCENE ONE: (Fellowship of the Ring - Chapter VIII: Fog on the Barrow-Downs)
This scene never made it into the movie, and although I can understand why - for it doesn't move the plot along but rather provides an exciting interlude - it still ranks as my favourite scene in The Fellowship of the Ring. In this episode, the four hobbits: Frodo, Sam, Merry and Pippin leave Tom Bombadil's house and take the road through the Barrow-Downs - a magical, sinister place that is nearly their undoing. I loved the description of the downs:
"...and he saw that on that side the hills were higher and looked down upon them; and all those hills were crowned with green mounds, and on some were standing stones, pointing upwards like jagged teeth out of green gums".At dusk, completely unaware of the danger they're in, the hobbits get lost in fog and Frodo is separated from his friends. He searches for them and climbs a hill to a great barrow where a voice "deep and cold" calls to him "Here... I am waiting for you!". Frodo is taken by a Barrow-wight - an evil spirit that dwells within the barrow, waiting for hapless travellers. What follows is a creepy, chilling scene when Frodo awakes inside the barrow. He sees his friends in the "pale, greenish light", laying on their backs dressed in white, all wearing circlets on their heads, gold chains about their waists and many rings on their fingers - across each of their naked necks lies "one naked sword". Then a cold, haunting song begins:
"Cold be hand and heart and bone,Frodo spies a long arm "groping, walking on its fingers towards Sam", and realises he is about to lose his friends. Moments later, the hobbits are saved by Tom Bombadil.
and cold be sleep under stone:
never more to wake on stony bed,
never, till the Sun fails and the Moon is dead.
In the black wind the stars shall die,
and still on gold here let them lie,
till the dark lord lifts his hand
over dead sea and withered land".
This scene begins with an innocent journey and becomes something far more sinister, blending high fantasy with a touch of horror. Any epic fantasy writer who can encapsulate such atmosphere into his/her writing is going to catch the reader's attention, and keep it.
SCENE TWO: (Return of the King: Book Six, Chapter I: The Tower of Cirith Ungol)
Sam was easily my favourite character in The Lord of the Rings - he begins the tale as a bit of a forelock-tugging buffoon but undergoes massive character development over the journey. For me, he was always more interesting than Frodo, especially once Frodo gets taken over by the Ring. Sam's greatest hour is when he awakes after Frodo has been taken by orcs to the Tower of Cirith Ungol. Sam finds himself "utterly alone" for the first time, but knowing that Frodo is not dead, he must somehow get into the tower and free him. The orc tower is menacing: "its narrow window lights stared out like small red eyes". Using the Ring to slip past the orcs unseen, Sam soon realizes that the orcs have started to fight amongst themselves: "Shagrat and Gorbag had come to blows".
Wearing the Ring is risky for Sam, and he is tempted by it, as it gnaws "at his will and reason". Yet, it is his love for and loyalty to Frodo that saves him, as well as his strength of character:
"In that hour of trial it was the love of his master that helped most to hold him firm; but also deep down in him lived still unconquered his plain hobbit-sense: he knew in the core of his heart that he was not large enough to bear such a burden, even if such visions were not a mere cheat to betray him. The one small garden of a free gardener was all his need and due, not a garden swollen to a realm; his own hands to use, not the hands of others to command".Sam goes on to climb the tower and rescue Frodo. He witnesses brutal scenes of the orcs "grappling, stabbing, throttling and biting" each other. He walks over "stones were slippery with dark blood"; the tower is filled with a "hideous brooding uncertainty" after the massacre. This is a wonderful scene; despite Sam's terror and uncertainty, he is displays a warrior's strength and courage.This scene is worth noting for epic fantasy writers because, if we can strive to create a character that the reader truly cares about - and one that grows over the course of the story - that character will live on in their memory, long after they finish the book!
SCENE THREE: (Return of the King: Book Six, Chapter V: The Steward and the King)
Maybe it is just because I am a romantic, but the love story between Faramir and Eowyn is one of my favourite episodes of Return of the King. I think it is the subtlety of their romance that I enjoyed. We know both these characters well by the time they meet. We know of Faramir's courage, and his sadness that his father preferred his elder brother to him. We know that Eowyn yearns to die in battle, reckless after Aragorn spurned her. They are in many ways, polar opposites: one gentle the other fierce.
Eorwyn visits Faramir in anger, determined to be given permission to ride to the Black Gate and aid their army. The warden brings Eorwyn to Faramir, who is walking alone in the garden of the Houses of Healing, his heart heavy. Eorwyn does not mince words: "I cannot lie in sloth, idle, caged. I looked for death in battle. But I have not died, and battle still goes on". I love Tolkien's description of their first impressions of each other:
"He looked at her, and being a man whom pity deeply stirred, it seemed to him that her loveliness amid her grief would pierce his heart. And she looked at him and saw the grave tenderness in his eyes, and yet knew, for she was bred among men of war, that here was one whom no Rider of the Mark would outmatch in battle."Something in Faramir's manner makes Eorwyn doubt her reason for coming to see him, and she worries that he will think her a "wayward child". Faramir manages to convince Eorwyn to remain and continue her healing; he also asks Eorwyn if he may spend time with her. What follows is a beautifully written episode, during which Faramir and Eorwyn slowly get to know each other. They stand on the walls together as the "Dark Tower is thrown down" and the city rejoices.
After the fall of Sauron, Eorwyn's brother sends word, asking her to come to the field at Cormallen, but she does not go. Faramir notices that "her face grew pale again, and it seemed that in all the City she only was ailing and sorrowful". Faramir asks Eorwyn if she does not go to the battlefield because she desires to stay with him, or because she is still in love with Aragorn, and is waiting for him to call her to his side. She answers that she desires "no man's pity" and Faramir responds by frankly admitting his love for her. His words make Eorwyn realise that she too has fallen in love with him. She decides to throw aside her old life as a warrior maiden and become a healer instead. Here is the final scene between them:
"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."
Sigh...sometimes the best love stories the ones gently told. I believe that any epic fantasy writer who wishes to incorporate a love story or romance into their plot could learn from Tolkien's portrayal of Eorwyn and Faramir: when it comes to romance, choose your words carefully.
These are just three memorable scenes from The Lord of the Rings - and there are many more that have moved countless readers. These scenes have stayed with me due to the emotions they represent. The encounter with the barrow wight is the first moment (apart from Frodo's lucky escape from the Black Riders earlier), when the hobbits find themselves in mortal danger. Sam's rescue of Frodo from the Tower of Cirith Ungol is Sam's defining moment - he sees the wasteland of Mordor for the first time and overcomes incredible odds to resist the power of the Ring and save his friend. The last of the three scenes, the developing love story between Faramir and Eorwyn, brings two despairing people together: Faramir has just lost his father, who had never hidden his preference for his eldest son, and Eorwyn is bitter and fatalistic since Aragorn's rejection of her. Their meeting brings love and hope into their lives.
Writers of epic fantasy must inject some of this same emotion into our own writing. Epic fantasy deals with huge themes such as danger, fear, hope, courage, despair and love - so make your writing epic! Tolkien knew how to speak to his readers' souls, and if we are to truly engage with those who love epic fantasy, we need to do the same.
