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The '''Foreword''' is the very first section appearing in '''''[[The Lord of the Rings]]'''''.
The '''Foreword''' is the very first section appearing in '''''[[The Lord of the Rings]]'''''.
The Foreword is infamous for introducing minor spoilers that concern much later events in the story, as if they are well-known facts. For example, the first edition Forword mentioned the descendants of Master Samwise Gamgee, thus reassuring that he would survive the adventure.
==First edition==
==First edition==
In the Foreword to the first edition of ''The Lord of the Rings'',<ref group=note>Reprinted in "greater part" in ''[[The Peoples of Middle-earth]]'' (pp. 25-6), and in its entirety in ''[[The Lord of the Rings: A Reader's Companion]]'' (pp. lxviii-lxx).</ref> Tolkien imposes himself as merely translator and editor of the text to come, thus sharing the [[legendarium|in-universe]] character of the 1951 [[The Hobbit Preface|prefatory note]] to the second edition of ''[[The Hobbit]]''.
In the Foreword to the first edition of ''The Lord of the Rings'',<ref group=note>Reprinted in "greater part" in ''[[The Peoples of Middle-earth]]'' (pp. 25-6), and in its entirety in ''[[The Lord of the Rings: A Reader's Companion]]'' (pp. lxviii-lxx).</ref> Tolkien imposes himself as merely translator and editor of the text to come, thus sharing the [[legendarium|in-universe]] character of the 1951 [[The Hobbit Preface|prefatory note]] to the second edition of ''[[The Hobbit]]''.


Tolkien disliked his own text, noting that it mixes real-life matters of his life (including referencing the [[Inklings]] and [[Tolkien family|his children]]) with the [[secondary world|in-universe]] "machinery" of the Tale. In [[1965]] [[Ballantine Books]] needed a new text in order to renew the copyright in the United States, and to challenge [[Ace Books]]. For that edition Tolkien wrote a new Foreword.<ref>{{HM|RC}}, p. lxx</ref>
Tolkien disliked his own text, noting that it mixes real-life matters of his life (including referencing the [[Inklings]] and [[Tolkien family|his children]]) with the [[secondary world|in-universe]] "machinery" of the Tale.<ref>{{PM|II}}, p. 26</ref>
==Second and later editions==
In [[1965]] [[Ballantine Books]] needed a new text in order to renew the copyright in the United States, and to challenge the controversy raised by [[Ace Books]]. For that edition Tolkien wrote a new Foreword.<ref>{{HM|RC}}, p. lxx</ref>


==Second and later editions==
In the Foreword to the second edition of ''The Lord of the Rings'', first published in 1965,<ref group=note>The second edition Foreword first appeared in the 1965 edition of ''The Lord of the Rings'' published by [[Ballantine Books]], partly in response to the [[Ace Books]] controversy.</ref> Tolkien possibly revised the in-universe perspective,<ref>{{HM|RC}}, pp. lxviii-lxx</ref> after having pondered that he wishes the first edition Foreword "in any case to cancel" since "[c]onfusing (as it does) real personal matters with the 'machinery' of the Tale is a serious mistake".<ref>{{PM|II}}, p. 26</ref>
===Mistakes===
===Mistakes===
In the same text, recollecting the writing of the book 25 years earlier, Tolkien claims that he had a hiatus in [[1940]], after writing about [[Balin's Tomb]], until late [[1941]]. [[Christopher Tolkien]] says that this detail contradicts contemporary [[Letter 37]] and was probably a false memory of that year; the hiatus was probably in [[1939]] until [[August]] [[1940]].<ref>{{HM|RS}}, p. 461</ref><ref>{{HM|RC}}, p.xxiii</ref>
In the same text, recollecting the writing of the book 25 years earlier, Tolkien claims that he had a hiatus in [[1940]], after writing about [[Balin's Tomb]], until late [[1941]]. [[Christopher Tolkien]] says that this detail contradicts contemporary [[Letter 37]] and was probably a false memory of that year; the hiatus was probably in [[1939]] until [[August]] [[1940]].<ref>{{HM|RS}}, p. 461</ref><ref>{{HM|RC}}, p.xxiii</ref>

Revision as of 15:54, 9 December 2020

The Foreword is the very first section appearing in The Lord of the Rings.

The Foreword is infamous for introducing minor spoilers that concern much later events in the story, as if they are well-known facts. For example, the first edition Forword mentioned the descendants of Master Samwise Gamgee, thus reassuring that he would survive the adventure.

First edition

In the Foreword to the first edition of The Lord of the Rings,[note 1] Tolkien imposes himself as merely translator and editor of the text to come, thus sharing the in-universe character of the 1951 prefatory note to the second edition of The Hobbit.

Tolkien disliked his own text, noting that it mixes real-life matters of his life (including referencing the Inklings and his children) with the in-universe "machinery" of the Tale.[1]

Second and later editions

In 1965 Ballantine Books needed a new text in order to renew the copyright in the United States, and to challenge the controversy raised by Ace Books. For that edition Tolkien wrote a new Foreword.[2]

Mistakes

In the same text, recollecting the writing of the book 25 years earlier, Tolkien claims that he had a hiatus in 1940, after writing about Balin's Tomb, until late 1941. Christopher Tolkien says that this detail contradicts contemporary Letter 37 and was probably a false memory of that year; the hiatus was probably in 1939 until August 1940.[3][4]

See also

Notes

  1. Reprinted in "greater part" in The Peoples of Middle-earth (pp. 25-6), and in its entirety in The Lord of the Rings: A Reader's Companion (pp. lxviii-lxx).

References


The Lord of the Rings
Foreword · Prologue · The Fellowship of the Ring · The Two Towers · The Return of the King · Appendices · Index