Death and the Knight

Death sheathed his sword. Its worn grip formed perfectly to his hand. Rainwater washed pools of dark blood and broken teeth across the stony ground, while crows picked flesh from […]

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A Passage to Something Better

He [Tolkien] folded into his work something fresh and unexpected, something vital and important: a tear drop from his own flesh and blood. From one perspective, the change was minor, […]

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Death, Grief, and Hope in Pearl

There is one commonality among every person born. Each will die. Even though this is known to be true with absolute certainty, it still seems to come as a shock.  […]

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Excerpt from Note to Self

Under the weight of regret, I hit my knees and leaned onto my hands, digging my fingers into the soft earth. There was a small puddle settled just between my […]

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To J. R. R. Tolkien

On a day when Fall’s first leaves were flying And the wind was howling and geese were crying And clouds were black and the sun was hiding, Word first came, […]

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Courage at the Crossroad: Death and Immortality in The Lord of the Rings

In a letter from 1958, J.R.R. Tolkien noted that his fantasy epic, The Lord of the Rings, was “mainly concerned with Death, and Immortality.”[1] Although Middle-earth is full of vast […]

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A Passage to Something Better

It is mainly concerned with Death, and Immortality. J.R.R. Tolkien, commenting on The Lord of the Rings in a letter, October 14, 1958. Here are beauties which pierce like swords […]

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The Lord of the Rings and Consolation Concerning Death

Along with the fear of heights and of public speaking, thanatophobia — the fear of death — usually makes most Top Ten Fears lists. Given the grim statistic that one […]

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