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All the Middle-earth essays at MERP.COM

May 23, 2004 at 23:34:05

We fell behind in reporting on the various essays Michael Martinez has written for MERP.COM. We have decided to post a recap (with links) of all the essays in one article.

Michael began contributing essays to MERP.COM in 2003 after leaving Suite101. His essays section is always available at http://www.merp.com/essays/MichaelMartinez/ where you can see the first paragraph of each essay.

What a hobbit wants was written in late April 2003 and it is the first essay Michael contributed to MERP.COM. The title is inspired by the Amanda Bynes light romance, "What a girl wants". In the movie, Bynes' character, Daphne, travels to England to meet her father and learn more about her roots. In the essay, Michael looks at how Tolkien was influenced by Greek mythology to create his mythology for Middle-earth.

The magical mythical Numenor Tour, with a title inspired by the Beatles' song "The Magical, Mystical, Mystery Tour", returns to Greek mythology and philosophy to explore the relationship between Tolkien's Numenor and Plato's Atlantis. This essay was written in early June 2003.

Where in the wild is Gildor Inglorion borrows from the title of the movie, "Where in the world is Gilbert Grape". But "both rings were round, and there the resemblance ceases" (as Tolkien said when his work was compared to Wagner's). This essay starts with Gildor Inglorion and ventures into the history of inns and taverns, which are occasionally mentioned in The Lord of the Rings.

After a long hiatus, Michael published Waiting for a king like you in early December 2003, just a couple of weeks before "The Return of the King" debuted in theaters around the world. The essay owes its title to the Foreigner song, "Waiting for a girl like you". Michael looks at the general history of Arnor and Gondor throughout the Third Age. He compares the decline of Arnor to the decline of Numenor, and suggests that Aragorn may have accomplished something his ancestors could not. The essay was published in late April 2004.

The operators of MERP.COM hope to create a new archive for Michael's Suite101 essays. So far, one essay has been reposted at MERP.COM. We look forward to seeing the more 100 essays Michael wrote for Suite101 joining the MERP archives.

Returning to the ring is Michael's review of "The Return of the King", posted in the wee hours of the morning after he had stayed up all night to see the movie with 3,000 other Tolkien fans at the 3rd annual Houston LoTR Line Party.

Walking with Ents reminds one of the documentary series, "Walking with Giants", and one expects to hear something about the giant creatures of Tolkien's forests. But don't be fooled. The title uses a metaphor for a very interesting discussion of Tolkien's approach to story-telling. This essay was written in early April, 2004.

The French Connection takes its title from the movie (and book) of the same name, in which two police officers intercept a smuggled shipment of heroin coming from France. Michael's essay looks at how the French language affected Tolkien's vision of Middle-earth. Fans of pirates will enjoy this one.

And don't forget to check out Michael's new official Web site. The new site contains many anecdotes and pictures regarding Michael's work on Xenite.Org and his books.