The Lord of the Rings Foreword: Difference between revisions

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In the Foreword to the first edition of ''The Lord of the Rings'',<ref group=note>Reprinted in "greater part" in ''[[The Peoples of Middle-earth]]'' (pp. 25-6), and in its entirety in ''[[The Lord of the Rings: A Reader's Companion]]'' (pp. lxviii-lxx).</ref> Tolkien imposes himself as merely translator and editor of the text to come, thus sharing the [[legendarium|in-universe]] character of the 1951 [[The Hobbit Preface|prefatory note]] to the second edition of ''[[The Hobbit]]''.
In the Foreword to the first edition of ''The Lord of the Rings'',<ref group=note>Reprinted in "greater part" in ''[[The Peoples of Middle-earth]]'' (pp. 25-6), and in its entirety in ''[[The Lord of the Rings: A Reader's Companion]]'' (pp. lxviii-lxx).</ref> Tolkien imposes himself as merely translator and editor of the text to come, thus sharing the [[legendarium|in-universe]] character of the 1951 [[The Hobbit Preface|prefatory note]] to the second edition of ''[[The Hobbit]]''.


In the Foreword to the second edition of ''The Lord of the Rings'', first published in 1965,<ref group=note>The second edition Foreword first appeared in the 1965 edition of ''The Lord of the Rings'' published by [[Ballantine Books]], partly in in response to the [[Ace Books]] controversy.</ref> Tolkien possibly revised the in-universe perspective,<ref>{{HM|RC}}, pp. lxviii-lxx</ref> after having pondered that he wishes the first edition Foreword "in any case to cancel" since "[c]onfusing (as it does) real personal matters with the 'machinery' of the Tale is a serious mistake".<ref>{{PM|II}}, p. 26</ref>
In the Foreword to the second edition of ''The Lord of the Rings'', first published in 1965,<ref group=note>The second edition Foreword first appeared in the 1965 edition of ''The Lord of the Rings'' published by [[Ballantine Books]], partly in response to the [[Ace Books]] controversy.</ref> Tolkien possibly revised the in-universe perspective,<ref>{{HM|RC}}, pp. lxviii-lxx</ref> after having pondered that he wishes the first edition Foreword "in any case to cancel" since "[c]onfusing (as it does) real personal matters with the 'machinery' of the Tale is a serious mistake".<ref>{{PM|II}}, p. 26</ref>


==See also==
==See also==

Revision as of 11:51, 22 January 2018

The Foreword is the very first section appearing in The Lord of the Rings.

In the Foreword to the first edition of The Lord of the Rings,[note 1] Tolkien imposes himself as merely translator and editor of the text to come, thus sharing the in-universe character of the 1951 prefatory note to the second edition of The Hobbit.

In the Foreword to the second edition of The Lord of the Rings, first published in 1965,[note 2] Tolkien possibly revised the in-universe perspective,[1] after having pondered that he wishes the first edition Foreword "in any case to cancel" since "[c]onfusing (as it does) real personal matters with the 'machinery' of the Tale is a serious mistake".[2]

See also

Notes

  1. Reprinted in "greater part" in The Peoples of Middle-earth (pp. 25-6), and in its entirety in The Lord of the Rings: A Reader's Companion (pp. lxviii-lxx).
  2. The second edition Foreword first appeared in the 1965 edition of The Lord of the Rings published by Ballantine Books, partly in response to the Ace Books controversy.

References


The Lord of the Rings
Foreword · Prologue · The Fellowship of the Ring · The Two Towers · The Return of the King · Appendices · Index