Editing J. R. R. Tolkien (section)

=== Influence ===

{{further|Tolkien's impact on fantasy|Works inspired by J. R. R. Tolkien}}

While many other authors had published works of fantasy before Tolkien, the great success of ''The Hobbit'' and ''The Lord of the Rings'' led directly to [[Tolkien's impact on fantasy|a popular resurgence]] and the shaping of the modern fantasy genre. This has caused Tolkien to be popularly identified as the "father" of modern fantasy literature<ref>{{cite web |last=Mitchell |first=Christopher |title=J. R. R. Tolkien: Father of Modern Fantasy Literature |url=http://www.veritas.org/media/talks/585  |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090620040316/http://www.veritas.org/media/talks/585 |archive-date=20 June 2009 |publisher=Veritas Forum}}</ref><ref name="Oxford Companion">{{cite book |title=Oxford companion to English Literature |year=2000 |editor-last=Drabble |editor-first=Margaret |edition=6 |page=352}}</ref>—or, more precisely, of high fantasy,<ref name="encyc">{{cite book |title=The Encyclopedia of Fantasy |title-link=The Encyclopedia of Fantasy |publisher=St. Martin's Press |year=1999 |isbn=978-0-312-19869-5 |editor-last=Clute |editor-first=John |editor-last2=Grant |editor-first2=John}}</ref> as in the work of authors such as [[Ursula Le Guin]] and her ''[[Earthsea]]'' series.<ref>{{cite book |last=Bernardo |first=Susan M. |title=Ursula K. Le Guin: a critical companion |date=2006 |publisher=Greenwood Press |others=Graham J. Murphy |isbn=978-0-313-02730-7 |location=Westport, Conn. |pages=92–93 |oclc=230345464}}</ref> In 2008, ''[[The Times]]'' ranked him sixth on a list of "The 50 greatest British writers since 1945".<ref name="The Times April 2008">{{cite news |date=5 January 2008 |title=The 50 greatest British writers since 1945 |work=[[The Times]] |url=https://www.thetimes.com/culture/books/article/the-50-greatest-british-writers-since-1945-ws3g69xrf90 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110425050801/http://entertainment.timesonline.co.uk/tol/arts_and_entertainment/books/article3127837.ece |archive-date=25 April 2011}}</ref> His influence has extended to [[Music of Middle-earth|music]], including the Danish group [[the Tolkien Ensemble]]'s setting of all the [[Poetry in The Lord of the Rings|poetry in ''The Lord of the Rings'']] to their vocal music;<ref>{{cite web |last=Weichmann |first=Christian |title=The Lord of the Rings: Complete Songs and Poems (4-CD-Box) |url=http://www.tolkien-ensemble.net/rezensionen/rezensionen.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161027034047/http://www.tolkien-ensemble.net/rezensionen/rezensionen.html |archive-date=27 October 2016 |access-date=13 January 2020 |publisher=[[The Tolkien Ensemble]] |language=en}}</ref> and to a broad range of [[Middle-earth in video games|games set in Middle-earth]].<ref name="Maier-Zucchino 2019">{{cite web |last=Maier-Zucchino |first=Evan |date=23 May 2019 |title=After Nearly 40 Years, Video Games Still Don't Do Lord Of The Rings Justice |url=https://www.kotaku.com.au/2019/05/after-nearly-40-years-video-games-still-dont-do-lord-of-the-rings-justice/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190524080708/https://www.kotaku.com.au/2019/05/after-nearly-40-years-video-games-still-dont-do-lord-of-the-rings-justice/ |url-status=dead |archive-date=24 May 2019 |access-date=13 June 2020 |publisher=Kotaku}}</ref>
Among literary allusions to Tolkien, he appears as the elderly "Professor J. B. Timbermill" in all five novels in [[J. I. M. Stewart]]'s series ''[[A Staircase in Surrey]]''.<ref name="Gray 2014">{{cite news |last1=Gray |first1=Christopher |title=Affectionate memories of life at Christ Church |url=https://www.oxfordmail.co.uk/news/10909799.affectionate-memories-life-christ-church/ |access-date=24 November 2023 |work=Oxford Mail |date=2 January 2014 |quote=Lemprière then turns to the fictional output of his colleague J.B. Timbermill and observes: 'I suppose that rum book of his might be called a novel of sorts.' The 'rum book' is ''Lord of the Rings'' ...}}</ref><ref name="Yates 1994">{{cite journal |last=Yates |first=Jessica |title=J.I.M. Stewart, J.B. Timbermill and J.R.R. Tolkien |journal=[[Mallorn (journal)|Mallorn]] |issue=31 |year=1994 |pages=54–56 |jstor=45320385 |url=https://journals.tolkiensociety.org/mallorn/article/view/185/173}}</ref> The scholar [[Tom Shippey]] describes Tolkien as the "author of the [20th] century",<ref>{{cite book |last=Shippey |first=Tom |url=https://archive.org/details/jrrtolkienauthor0000ship_d6u9 |title=J. R. R. Tolkien: Author of the Century |publisher=HarperCollins |year=2001 |isbn=978-0-618-12764-1 |pages=vii–xxxv |author-link=Tom Shippey}}</ref> and states that "I do not think any modern writer of epic fantasy has managed to escape the mark of Tolkien, no matter how hard many of them have tried".<ref>{{cite book |last=Shippey |first=Tom |url=https://archive.org/details/jrrtolkienauthor0000ship_d6u9 |title=J. R. R. Tolkien: Author of the Century |publisher=HarperCollins |year=2001 |isbn=978-0-618-12764-1 |pages=326 |language=en |author-link=Tom Shippey}}</ref> [[John Clute]], writing in ''[[The Encyclopedia of Fantasy]]'', similarly credits Tolkien with being "the twentieth-century's single most important author of fantasy".<ref>{{cite encyclopedia |year=1997 |title=Tolkien, J R R |encyclopedia=[[The Encyclopedia of Fantasy]] |url=https://sf-encyclopedia.com/fe/tolkien_j_r_r |access-date=2024-07-11 |last=Clute |first=John |author-link=John Clute |editor-last=Clute |editor-first=John |editor-link=John Clute |language=en |editor2-last=Grant |editor2-first=John |editor2-link=John Grant (author)}}</ref> His work has had a massive impact on western pop culture, and remains extremely influential.<ref>{{cite thesis |last=Hall |first=Michael A. |date=2005 |title=The Influence of J.R.R. Tolkien on Popular Culture |url=https://opensiuc.lib.siu.edu/uhp_theses/287/ |access-date=26 December 2023 |publisher=Southern Illinois University Carbondale}}</ref>