132. Evil or Elves or Both… Terror in Mirkwood : The Hobbit #20

In this first half of chapter 8 of the hobbit–Flies and Spiders–Jonathan and Michael discuss the evil enchantment of Mirkwood, and if the elves might have a small part in it.

This week we also look at:

• Exactly when Tolkien settled on the final names for Gandalf, Thorin, and Beorn.
• Tolkien’s first foray into prosaic terror.
• The meaning of the deer–and the white hart’s significance.
• Bombur’s slumber–elven or evil?
• The Dwarves STILL blame bilbo.
• Tolkien’s use of modern analogies–only in the Hobbit and not LOTR.
• How the elves still differ in The Hobbit vs LOTR — they have some real magic here.

In our extended episode (available for our members) we talk about:

• Where would Beorn have learned his skin changing ability? Can that have an origin in Tolkien’s mythology?  (our answer: yes!)

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The Annotated Hobbit
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🔍 If You Like Tolkien
The History of The Hobbit
The Expanded Letters of JRR Tolkien (audiobook)
The Expanded Letters of JRR Tolkien (book)
The Silmarillion
The Children of Hurin
The Atlas of Middle-earth
Make Tolkien Great Again – Tengwar Hat