by Jack Merridew

Created on: June 27, 2009   Last Updated: May 31, 2011

The Lord of the Rings trilogy, penned by J.R.R. Tolkien could in fact be a direct allegory. Riddle me this: In what other famous literary work do you find such wicked, damnable, atrocious evil facing the judgement of the righteous, humbled, and brave? Search closely: in what suspenseful saga are the denizens of the Earth blatantly lied to by a malevolent leader, leading to a climactic final battle? Delve deeper: in what dramatic tale does a king return to his faithful washing away the stain of the immoral, and ushering in a lasting peace? To explore what could have influenced Tolkien's crown jewel, and what it could be an allegory of, we must explore who he was.

Suspicion of allegory in Tolkien's work is usually drawn from his involvement in World War I. His years before were spent in school, creating bands of like-minded socialite friends, and falling in love with literature. One of his literary rivals evolved into his lifetime best friend: C.S. Lewis, author of the Chronicles of Narnia. Tolkien dabbled in poetry, and lived a cultured English collegiate existence; and above all he stayed true to his Catholic faith, to which he believed his mother (who died amid his childhood) was martyred. He joined the Great war in the summer of 1916 on the English side. Later in October of the same year he was deemed unfit for battle after contracting trench flu, a virus spread by lice found in the trenches of World War I France. Lord of the Rings was drafted between 1937 and 1949, the primary years of World War II, and the rebuilding after it's apocalyptic effect. Some claim this is the culprit of the trilogy's allegory, but Tolkien has rebutted this, stating in essence that the war he was actually involved in was equally horrific. Tolkien died in 1973 leaving behind a set of tales unmatched in their beauty, and perhaps, latent allegory.

C.S. Lewis, though antipodal in religious faith to Tolkien (a matter of great debate between them), was and is one of only a few writers in Tolkien's time to achieve Tolkien's notoriety. Both, in their novels explore unbelievable worlds suffering from cataclysmic doom on the horizon, with little time allotted to the heroes to impede it; and both penned sagas that compete for fame even to this day. Could there be a significant similarity between these aforementioned texts and another famous read? Perhaps the most groundbreaking story of all?

For this we turn to the Bible, most specifically the gospels of John, Mark, Matthew, Luke, and the

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