With the release of the movie adaption of The Hobbit fast approaching, I find it necessary to instill in others the great reverence which I hold for its author. John Ronald Reuel Tolkien doesn't get half the credit he deserves for how greatly he impacted the world of literature.
In Tolkien's day and age, 'faerie stories' were confined to silly tales about tricky elfs and sprites causing mischief for unruly children.
Tolkien studied a large amount of Norse and Celtic mythology, which both affected his works in many ways. He found that none of the faerie stories at the time satisfied him like the old Norse myths did. One Norse myth which Tolkien greatly appreciated was Beowulf. In Tolkien's day, Beowulf was regarded as rubbish. Only Tolkien seemed to see the true genius behind the great Norse myth. In fact, if Tolkien did not write his review of Beowulf, The Monsters and the Critics, most of us today would have never heard of the epic myth.
Tolkien is often regarded as the father of the modern fairy-tale, and with good reason. The Hobbit was really the first faerie story that wasn't either absolutely ridiculous or deeply rooted in religion; both features Tolkien thought were absurd of faerie stories. Tolkien created the first even remotely noble race of elves; he invented the plural word elves, which before was elfs. Tolkien's reasoning behind changing the plural of elf from elfs to elves was that all important or noble creatures' plurals deviate from the root word (i.e. men, mice, geese, etc.); he did the same for the plural dwarves, which before was dwarfs.
Tolkien was an avid linguist. His languages--inspired by Celtic--; Adûnaic, Quenya, Sindarin, Westron, etc.; were not just gibberish he made up for use in his books. Each language has its unique vocabulary, diction, style, and writing system--Tolkien was the first real conlanger. You can thank Tolkien for inspiring authors to create languages for their books.
Without J.R.R. Tolkien, we wouldn't have any of the modern realistic fairy-tale creatures we so love. If you've ever played the Elder Scrolls games, you will be familiar with the High Elves, Dark Elves, Wood Elves, Orcs, etc. Thank Tolkien fir creating those beloved races, along with the modern equivalents of dwarves, hobbits, trolls, goblins, etc.
Tolkien changed the literary world forever, and we should give him praise where praise is due. Discovering Beowulf; creating the elves, orcs, dwarves hobbits, etc.; constructing some of the first fictional languages; creating the first realistic fantasy world... Tolkien truly is the father of modern fantasy. As you watch The Hobbit next month, keep in mind how revolutionary and influential of a tale it is, along with its author. Oh, and... Please, read the book before you see the movie. Peter Jackson really tweaked The Lord of the Rings to create his blockbuster movie... Thanks, and have a great life.
-Mr. Pilcrow, a Tolkien prodigy.