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The Relationship of Geography and the Inhabitants of a Secondary World
As Explored Through J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings
J.R.R. Tolkien considered the creation of his fantasy geography to be of utmost importance, not merely an accompaniment to the creation of deep fictional linguistic traditions, social histories, and mythology but tied to those elements so that each informs the other. For Tolkien, the creation of a detailed geography informed the very societies of his story; the interplay of society and geography created the depth of his world. While concentrating on Tolkien’s work, this essay argues that the geography of any secondary world is just as important as plot or character and that these other elements will be positively affected by the creation of detailed geographic elements in a work of fantasy.
Paper as presented at the 2021 International Conference for the Fantastic in the Arts.
Geography is an active and vital aspect of a constructed world, those fictional realms termed by J.R.R. Tolkien “secondary worlds.” Indeed, the greater the complexity of a secondary world’s geographic elements, the more “believable” the secondary world becomes. Complexity beneath the story’s surface, even if never fully comprehended by the reader…
