The tale of Beren and Lúthien became a turning point within the mythology of Tolkien’s imagined world. From its beginnings, Tolkien worked and reworked the story many times, over the course of his whole life. Later, when Tolkien passed, his children had “Beren” inscribed on their headstone. When his wife Edith passed away, Tolkien had “Lúthien” inscribed below her own name on the headstone. One of his personal favorite stories-the Beren and Lúthien tales written and rewritten over his life-is an allegory of his own life in a way, though Tolkien is careful to maintain it as a story in and of itself so that it is, most fundamentally, applicable to his life and everyone’s.Īs evidence for the claim that this story was one of Tolkien’s personal favorite tales, he first conceptualized Lúthien and her tale as he watched his wife dancing in a forest of hemlocks while on sick leave during his service in World War I (C. The ability of writing to reflect every reader’s experience is more important to Tolkien than any allegorical meaning (Beal 6). (Beal 5)Īn allegory, if too direct, can take away some of the personal experience of reading. I think that many confuse applicability with allegory, but the one resides in the freedom of the reader, and the other in the purposed domination of the author. I much prefer history – true or feigned – with its varied applicability to the thought and experience of readers. I cordially dislike allegory in all its manifestations, and always have done so since I grew old and wary enough to detect its presence. Tolkien disagreed with the practice of allegory for the most part as he states in a forward to the Fellowship of the Rings: She is a senior in high school and gave permission to her father, regular blogger Jesse Hake, to post this paper that she wrote for a school assignment. Author note: we are grateful for this post by guest blogger Nessa Hake.

Luthien and beren