Listen&Learn: The Lord of the Rings

Learn about the books that inspire fantasy writers to this day

Pre-listening vocabulary

• fantasy: a genre of stories about magic and imaginary worlds
• prequel: a story that takes place before the main series
• volume: a single book in a series
• influential: inspiring or affecting many people
• folklore: stories and legends that are important to a culture
• principle: an idea that is part of a belief system
• allegory: a story that has a second meaning under the literal meaning

Listening activity

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 1:07 — 1.0MB)

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Gapfill exercise

The Lord of the Rings is a of fantasy novels by English author J. R. R. Tolkien. Tolkien wrote the series after the success of his original fantasy novel, The Hobbit, which is now described as a prequel. The series has three volumes, which Tolkien began writing in 1937 and in 1954. The books are known for their extensive worldbuilding. They contain invented and centuries of fictional history. For this reason, Tolkien’s stories are some of the most and influential works in the fantasy . Tolkien was inspired by Germanic folklore, as well as the principles of Catholicism. The stories can be read as religious allegories. 

Comprehension questions

See answers below

1. The Lord of the Rings is a
   a. fantasy series
   b. mystery series
   c. religious text
   
2. The Hobbit is
   a. the first volume in the series
   b. a prequel to the series
   c. a sequel to the series
   
3. Tolkien’s writing contains allegories for the principles of
   a. Catholicism
   b. Judaism
   c. Anglicanism

Discussion/essay questions

1. Do you enjoy fantasy stories? Why or why not? What do you think makes them popular?

Transcript

The Lord of the Rings is a series of fantasy novels by English author J. R. R. Tolkien. Tolkien wrote the series after the success of his original fantasy novel, The Hobbit, which is now described as a prequel. The series has three volumes, which Tolkien began writing in 1937 and published in 1954. The books are known for their extensive worldbuilding. They contain invented languages and centuries of fictional history. For this reason, Tolkien’s stories are some of the most popular and influential works in the fantasy genre. Tolkien was inspired by Germanic folklore, as well as the principles of Catholicism. The stories can be read as religious allegories. 

Answers to comprehension questions

1a 2b 3a