The Hobbit #6
Tolkien wrote in one of his letters, "What I think is a primary ‘fact’ about my work, that it is all of a piece, and fundamentally linguistic in inspiration. [. . .] It is not a ‘hobby’, in the sense of something quite different from one’s work, taken up as a relief-outlet. The invention of languages is the foundation. The ‘stories’ were made rather to provide a world for the languages than the reverse. To me a name comes first and the story follows. I should have preferred to write in ‘Elvish’. But, of course, such a work as The Lord of the Rings has been edited and only as much ‘language’ has been left in as I thought would be stomached by readers. (I now find that many would have liked more.) [. . .] It is to me, anyway, largely an essay in ‘linguistic aesthetic’, as I sometimes say to people who ask me ‘what is it all about’." It is interesting to read this quote from Tolkien, because I would have never thought that the names came first and the story followed. I am amazed that he created whole languages just for a few books. Tolkien’s pursuit for knowledge and his imagination are what make his pieces so unique. It is evident that Tolkien enjoyed and was invested in writing these novels. Tolkien writes creatively, yet it is evident that much time and planning went into the stories to make them believeable. “Mellonnen! Mo evínedh?” is used by Lord Elrond to great Gandalf. The element of a made up language makes the story that much more interesting and real.