The Lord of the Rings is one of the greatest pieces of literature ever written and one that has withstood the test of time as the most enduring work within the legendarium of J.R.R. Tolkien. The Hobbit had been a hugely successful book that Tolkien’s publishers begged to have a sequel for, but his plans for another adventure set in Middle-earth lead him down a far more ambitious path that collided with events in the real world. Written throughout World War II, The Lord of the Rings was heavily inspired by the experiences of the young men who had given their lives to face off against the ultimate evil; the notion of the different nations coming together amidst their differences to form the Allied Forces can be seen within the alliance between men, elves, and dwarves to defeat the Dark Lord Sauron. However, there is not a strict basis in metaphor that offers a one-to-one explanation within history for everything that Tolkien came up with. Christian mythology is also a major component, as the three Christ figures in the priest, the prince, and the prophet can be seen within the three main characters of Gandalf, Aargorn, and Frodo.
The Lord of the Rings is the masterpiece of Tolkien’s lifetime and his most complete text because it expanded upon the ideas introduced in the Hobbit and did a tremendous amount of worldbuilding to flesh out the entire universe. The degree of invention that Tolkien put into the books is extraordinary, and it can be glimpsed in part in the appendixes that offer details about the languages, creatures, maps, culture, and further timeline of the entire history of Middle-earth. Academics have scoured the text for decades to examine its meaning, and it continues to be a relevant piece of inspirational fiction today. Tolkien could not have anticipated the powerful ways in which the rings themselves would represent the nuclear arms race in the decades after the series was published; they were also reflective of Tolkien’s progressive views, as The Lord of the Rings features no blatant discrimination and created proactive female characters in Eowyn, Galadriel, and Arwen.
Ranking the entries in The Lord of the Rings series might seem like a fool’s errand because Tolkien hadn’t intended for it to be a trilogy, but had to split up his masterwork on release because of its exorbitant length. Much of the narrativization that is associated with individual installments is based on the perception of Peter Jackson’s film series; although The Lord of the Rings cinematic editions is perhaps the most perfect film trilogy of all-time, there were changes made to the flow of the story that was necessary to adjust to the new medium. The point is that The Lord of the Rings is a feat of imagination and wisdom that everyone deserves to read at least once in their lifetime, regardless of how they feel about the films, show, and other media that has been inspired by it.
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‘The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers’ (1954)
The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers only ranks last among the three classics because of necessary narrative divisions when it comes to the separation of the main characters. Tolkien’s writing is often at its best when the core members of the Fellowship are unified, and The Two Towers sees them stripped apart because of the fissure that happened after Boromir’s fall. However, there are a plethora of new characters introduced that help expand the world of Middle-earth and explain how it is reacting to the War of the Ring. Faramir serves as an interesting counterpoint to his brother Boromir, as he is willing to give up his personal desire for respect and heroism for the sake of protecting Frodo in his quest to Mordor. The presence of Gollum is also one of the most chaotic aspects of the entire series, given that Tolkien does show some sympathy for a character who cannot help but fall under the spell of the One Ring and its corrupting power.
The Two Towers does have some necessary developments within the mythology that are critical to reaching the thematic depths that Tolkien was intending, but might feel haphazard on a first read. The transformation of Gandalf the Grey into Gandalf the White is far better explained in the books than it is in the films, but it still does rob the character of some of the whimsy he had in The Hobbit. There’s also a few aspects that Jackson changed for the better in the film; his idea of having Merry and Pippin be the ones to connect with Treebeard and the Ents before the sacking of Isengard was a smart way to divert the central group, as it gave Gandalf more time to help free King Theodin from the spell that was put on him by the sycophant Gríma Wormtongue. Nonetheless, The Two Towers does conclude with the greatest cliffhanger Tolkien ever wrote, as Sam has to sneak into Mordor after learning that Frodo is still alive.
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‘The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring’ (1954)
The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring is one of the most ambitious works of fantasy ever created and a novel that contains far more nuance than what would typically be in the first entry in a series. Even though it exists as part of a trilogy, The Fellowship of the Ring essentially exists as two distinct segments; the first tracks Frodo and the Hobbits as they make their way from the Shire and venture to the Council of Elrond, and the latter half shows how the Fellowship is destroyed when they are pressured by Sauron’s forces. It’s fascinating that the Fellowship itself is merely an idea that does not ever complete its mission, despite setting up the three leads in the appropriate positions to culminate their legacies; Frodo learns of the importance of his innocence because he is not corrupted by the One Ring, Gandolf makes the sacrifice to the Balrog which causes him to take a new form, and Aragorn begins to show the leadership skills that make him the rightful King of Men.
The Fellowship of the Ring is able to smartly develop each of the nine main members of the Fellowship while tying into the events of The Hobbit in a smart way that takes advantage of the existing empathy for Bilbo. Rewriting Bilbo’s history from The Hobbit by making him the one who discovered the One Ring was a brilliant creative choice, and the time spent in the Shire is important because it is a reminder of what the Fellowship is actually fighting for. There’s also more humor in The Fellowship of the Ring than there is in the sequels, as it explores the Hobbits at a more innocent time before they were burdened by the costs of war (another allusion to the PTSD suffered by soldiers after World War II).
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‘The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King’ (1955)
The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King is ironically the shortest book in the series when it comes to the story, even if it does become the longest when it comes to the appendices included within the ending. Although the story is slightly more straightforward because the armies of Rohan have already been assembled in order to protect Gondor against Sauron’s armada, Tolkien pays off everything that was necessary in order to conclude the trilogy in a satisfying manner. Although the book was originally titled as The War of the Ring (partially not to spoil the ending), the title of Return of the King is appropriate because it is really Aragoron’s story, in the same way that The Fellowship of the Ring is Frodo’s and The Two Towers is Gandalf’s. Aragorn’s bravery and selflessness in not desiring the throne, despite being destined to inherit it, is the most direct allusion to the Bible within the entire series, but it’s also an essentially component of all “hero’s journey” stories that is reflected in everything from Star Wars and Dune to Game of Thrones and Harry Potter.
The Return of the King pays off the emotional relationships, with the most powerful being that of Frodo and Sam. Although the film adaptation was somewhat criticized for its supposed “multiple endings,” the wrap-up in the book is even more complex because it deals with the journey of the Hobbits back to the Shire where they see the costs of war; it also offered a different (and more satisfying) ending to Saruman than the one that had appeared in the books. The Return of the King would not be the last novel set within Middle-earth that Tolkien wrote, as he would go on to do The Silmarillion and Bilbo’s Last Song, which were both released posthumously. However, The Return of the King is the last entry in the series’ chronology, as it’s as perfect of an ending as could be imagined.