Hoobits

Hobbits and Other Creatures

The major theme of The Hobbit is the quest, one of the oldest themes in literature. As a scholar of ancient languages and literatures, Tolkien would have known thetheme well through Greek and Norse myth and Old- and Middle-English poetry. The quest theme is central to the story of Beowulf, the Old-English epic about which Tolkien published an essay of lastingscholarly significance in 1937. The quest story best known to modern readers is probably the Arthurian legend of the Holy Grail, in which a knight ventures forth in search of a sacred cup (the Grail) thathe brings back to restore power to his king and, thus, improve the welfare of the kingdom. The Grail story is an important sub-plot in the middle English poem Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, whichTolkien edited with his friend E. V. Gordon and published in 1925. Given that a cup and the Grail are similar objects, it is interesting that it is a cup that Bilbo Baggins steals from the dragon'streasure when he first descends to Smaug's lair in Chapter 12.
Overview
Published as a novel in 1936, J.R.R. Tolkien's The Hobbit is a fantasy novel, beloved by readers of all ages. Tolkien introducesus to the world of Middle-Earth, where men, dwarves, hobbits and all manner of other creatures interact in a fantastical adventure.
Description
Title: The Hobbit, or There and Back Again
Author:J.R.R. Tolkien
Type of Work & Genre: Adventure Novel; Hero Story; Fantasy; Satire.
Time & Place (Setting): Middle-Earth.
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin.
Publication Date: September 21, 1937.Narrator: Anonymous.
Protagonist: Bilbo Baggins.
Point of View: Third person.
Basics
Great English fantasy classic
One of J.R.R. Tolkien's most famous works
Challenged
How It Fits In the Hobbitwas the first novel by J.R.R. Tolkien. The novel has been challenged in schools and libraries, but it also helped to popularize the fantasy genre. The book is compelling partly because of its...