The Ring of Words
| The Ring of Words: Tolkien and the Oxford English Dictionary | |
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| Author | Peter Gilliver, Edmund Weiner, Jeremy Marshall |
| Publisher | Oxford University Press |
| Released | 19 May 2006 |
| Format | Hardcover; paperback |
| Pages | 256 |
| ISBN | 978-0198610694 |
The Ring of Words: Tolkien and the Oxford English Dictionary is a scholar book published in 2006, by three editors of the Oxford English Dictionary: Peter Gilliver, Jeremy Marshall, and Edmund Weiner.
The book first examines J.R.R. Tolkien's brief period working as a lexicographer with the OED after World War I, then traces how Tolkien's philology shaped and nourished both his academic and his literary work. The last part, which occupies more than half of the book, looks at over 100 individual words used or invented by Tolkien, arranged alphabetically, and discusses their origins, potential sources, Tolkien's use of them, and changes he made to their meanings.
The title is taken from some verses by R.L. Stevenson, quoted on the title page:
Bright is the ring of words
When the right man rings them,
Fair the fall of songs
When the singer sings them.
Contents[edit | edit source]
- Preface
- Acknowledgements
- Part I: Tolkien as Lexicographer
- Part II: Tolkien as Wordwright
- Part III: Word Studies
- Epilogue: Tolkien's influence on the English language
- Bibliography
- Index
From the publisher[edit | edit source]
The Ring of Words describes the powerful and unique relationship between Tolkien's creative use of the English language in his fictional works and his professional work on the Oxford English Dictionary. Tolkien's earliest employment was as an assistant on the staff of the OED, and he later said that he had 'learned more in those two years than in any other equal period of [his] life'.
Here three authors, themselves senior editors of the OED, engage directly with Tolkien's language and his fictional world. Two discursive sections explore Tolkien as a lexicographer and his creativity as a word user and creator. The main section of the book is made up of individual 'word studies' which explore over 100 words found in Tolkien's fiction in terms of their origins, development, and significance in his fictional world. Words such as 'hobbit', 'attercop', 'precious', 'Smeagol', and 'waybread' are explored in fascinating detail.
The Ring of Words offers a new and unexplored angle on the creative world of one of our most famous and well-loved writers, presenting new archive material for the first time.
Publication history and gallery[edit | edit source]
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- Oxford University Press, hardcover (2006), pp. 256. ISBN 978-0198610694
- Oxford University Press, paperback (2009), ISBN 978-0199568369
External links[edit | edit source]
