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The Lord of the Rings is an epic fantasy story written by J. R. R. Tolkien. The work's title refers to Sauron, its primary villain. Originally, the story was released in three volumes, named The Fellowship of the Ring, The Two Towers and The Return of the King

The Lord of the Rings is an epic high fantasy saga by British author J. R. R. Tolkien, his most popular work and a sequel to his well-received earlier work, The Hobbit. The Lord of the Rings was originally published in three volumes in 1954 and 1955. Three film adaptations have been made of the story told by the books: the first, by animator Ralph Bakshi was released in 1978 (as part one of what was intended to be a two-part adaptation of the story); the second, a 1980 television special; and the third (by far the most popular), director Peter Jackson's epic film trilogy, released in three installments in 2001, 2002, and 2003 which starred Elijah Wood as the main character of Frodo.

Tolkien had a deep desire to write a mythology for England, especially after his horrific experiences during the First World War. Thus to understand his writings we must be aware of how Tolkien the scholar influences Tolkien the author. The writer of this mythology emerges as an Oxford philologist well acquainted with Northern European Medieval Literature including the great mythic works such as the Hervarar saga, the Völsunga saga, the influential Beowulf as well as other Old Norse, Old and Middle English Texts. He was also inspired by non-Germanic works such as the Finnish epic Kalevala. A man who had created his own language by the age of seven, he was driven by a desire to write a mythology for England influenced by his exposure and expertise of these ancient traditions. The need for such a myth was often a topic of conversation in his meetings with the Inklings, fellow Oxford scholars who have been described as Christian Romantics, meeting weekly and discussing Icelandic myths and their own unpublished compositions. Tolkien agreed with one of the other members of the group, C.S. Lewis, that if there were no adequate myths for England then they would have to write their own. Tolkien's work has been commonly interpreted in this light.