Key themes
- The eucatastrophe — the sudden joyous turn — and why Tolkien believed in it
- The costs of heroism — what bearing the Ring does to Frodo permanently
- The Shire that can be saved but not unchanged
About this book
THE RETURN OF THE KING, which brings to a close the great epic of war and adventure begun in The Fellowship of the Ring and continued in The Two Towers, is the third and final part of J. R. R. Tolkien
Published in 1955 as the third volume of The Lord of the Rings, The Return of the King completes the story begun in The Fellowship of the Ring. Tolkien resisted all allegorical readings, preferring 'applicability' — the reader applying the story to their own experience.
Discussion questions
- The Return of the King ends not with the destruction of the Ring but with the Scouring of the Shire and Frodo's departure. What is Tolkien saying through this extended denouement — and why is it essential?
- Frodo cannot recover from bearing the Ring. How does Tolkien develop the cost of the heroic burden — and what does this say about what war does to those who survive it?
- The eucatastrophe — Tolkien's invented word for the sudden turn toward joy — is the theological heart of his work. How does he deploy it — and does it feel earned?
- The book interweaves many plotlines. How does Tolkien manage the convergence — and which thread do you find most emotionally compelling?
- The Lord of the Rings has been read as a WWII allegory, a Christian allegory and an elegy for rural England. Which reading do you find most productive — and what does Tolkien himself say about allegory?
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