If The Hobbit is the tip and The Lord of the Rings is the iceberg, then The
Silmarillion is the glacier from which Middle Earth was calved. A dark, epic history, the book outlays the
mythic roots of Tolkien’s imaginary land.
Truly for the connoisseur, it is written in an entirely different tone
than The Hobbit or The Lord of the Rings. A tone that emphasizes
tragedy and time over questing and adventure, filling its pages are cosmology,
culture, the will of the gods, and tragically heroic tales. “Epic Pooh” it is
not.
Starting with the music of the Ainur and
ending with the downfall of Sauron (as told in The Lord of the Rings), The
Silmarillion is the history of the three ages of Middle Earth. Written in mythic style, the gods, the world,
the elves, mankind, and the roots of good and evil are revealed. All of the names and places which lacked
context in The Lord of the Rings come
suddenly to life. Why was Elrond so
revered? For what reason does Gimli
speak of Moria in breathless tones?
Where does Gandalf get his power?
Why do the elves and dwarves foster enmity? Why is the White Tree in Minas Tirith of such
significance? Why is the balrog to be
feared? How did the Numenorian kings of
old lose power?
