B2MeM Day 25: Tolkien Literacy Test

[lady_branwyn]

In honor of "Tolkien Reading Day," I present the

[Poll #1722599]


Unfortunately, I didn't number the questions, and LJ won't let me revise the quiz.

How many times have you read "The Lord of the Rings"?
Never read it. That dungeons and dragons stuff is for geeks. -1
I started but didn't finish it. It was like a Russian novel--too long and too many characters had similar names. 0
Once 1
Twice 2
Thrice 3
More than three times 4
I reread it once a year 5

And did you read the Appendices?
No, they looked about as interesting as a car maintenance manual. -1
I tried but couldn't finish them. 0
Yes 1
That was my favorite part of the book! 2
My edition doesn't include the appendices 0

How many times have you read "The Hobbit"?
Never -1
I started but didn't finish it. Bilbo is such a fussbudget. 0
Once 1
Twice 2
Thrice 3
More than three times 4

Have you read "The Silmarillion"?
No, I can't even pronounce it -1
I started reading it, but it was so depressing/confusing/dull I didn't finish. 0
Once 1
Twice 2
Thrice 3
More than three times 4

Have you read "The Children of Hurin"?
Never -1
I started reading it, but it was so depressing/confusing/dull that I didn't finish 0
Once 1
Twice 2
Thrice 3
More than three times 4
Only because a friend loaned me the book 1

Tolkien wrote several fictional works that were not related to his legendarium. Which of the following have you read--
Mr. Bliss 1
The Father Christmas Letters 1
Roverandum 1
Farmer Giles of Ham 1
Smith of Wootton Major 1
The Legend of Sigurd and Gudrun 1
The Homecoming of Beorhtnoth Beorhthelm's Son 1

Extra geek points if you have read any of the following academic works--
Beowulf: The Monsters and the Critics (either the original essay or Michael Drout's expanded edition based on Tolkien's papers) 2
On Fairy-Stories 2
Sir Gawain and the Green Knight (either his translation or his annotated edition of the original text) 2
Finn and Hengest 2
Pearl (translation) 2
Sir Orfeo (translation) 2

Since his father's death, Christopher Tolkien has edited/reconstructed a number of JRRT's unfinished works (including "The Silmarillion"). Have you read any of the following--
Unfinished Tales 2
Any volume of The History of MiddleEarth 2
All twelve volumes of The History of MiddleEarth 12

**********************
Scoring (based on a highly scientific algorithm that I just made up) is as follows:

-5 to 0 Breelander--you have work to do and don't have time for no fairy stories
1 to 15 Hobbit--you love a good story, but you don't care to spend too much time on booklearning
16 to 25 Elf--you would rather read the ancient tales than eat or sleep with your eyes wide open
26 to 35 Istari--you have long studied the lore of Arda
36 to 54 Valar--you are a geek even among fans

Edit: My rationale for giving Tolkien's academic works a relatively high weight is that 1. the analytical works provide insight into his fantasy writing ("On Fairy-Stories" and "The Monsters and the Critics") and 2. his translations have been superceded in the classroom by more modern translations so you probably wouldn't be reading them unless you were interested in Tolkien. Also, they are more difficult reading than his fiction.

Comments

[lady-branwyn.livejournal.com]

My score was 21, so I am an Elf.

[curiouswombat.livejournal.com]

I'll just go brush my feet and eat third supper before bed...

[lady-branwyn.livejournal.com]

That sounds like more fun to me than reading "The Silmarillion," lol.

[just-ann-now.livejournal.com]

I'm at the Hobbit level also. *snort* And even if I hadn't given you my copy of "The Children of Hurin", I doubt if I'd have been able to reread it. (The only way I got through "The Silmarillion" was to pretend it was a textbook, and highlight my way on through.

[lady-branwyn.livejournal.com]

Good idea to use a highlighter on "The Silm." Most of Tolkien's books could use a list of the dramatis personae, conveniently located after the table of contents.
Nothing wrong with being a hobbit. They seem like the most well-adjusted group in MiddleEarth.

[lin4gondor.livejournal.com]

Whoo hoo for 42 -- definitely a geeky Valar. ;-) Now I'm off to reread the Silmarillion...

[lady-branwyn.livejournal.com]

Congratulations, you appear to have the highest score!
I am impressed that you've read the entire History of ME. It takes up a sizeable chunk of shelf space.

[phyloxena.livejournal.com]

I'll go brush ash from my bushy eyebrows.

[brewsternorth.livejournal.com]

Breelander. Not that much of a wild LOTR fan. (though I may have underestimated my rereads of the Hobbit; I like that book.)

[brewsternorth.livejournal.com]

D'oh, that should be hobbit. (Speaking of which, looking forward to the movie.)

[lady-branwyn.livejournal.com]

I am looking forward to the movie, though I am a little nervous about what Peter Jackson and his cronies will do to the story. Someone commented that these will probably be the last of Tolkien's stories to be filmed in our lifetime, and that made me a little sad.

[radbooks.livejournal.com]

I'm a Hobbit!! I own and have looked through the Histories of ME and Unfinished Tales, but I haven't read them all the way through.

[sarlania.livejournal.com]

Woo I'm an Elf!!!! Though I have to admit most of my reading was at least six/seven years ago.

[kortirion.livejournal.com]

In-the-middle Elf... bit of a Nandor maybe? I must really boost myself to Sindar and finish reading The Silm and Children of Hurin - after a good dose of happy pills that is! *g*

[lady-branwyn.livejournal.com]

I am more of a lower order elf--a wood elf from Mirkwood, maybe? Which is perfectly fine. Those guys know how to party and enjoy the good life, and you don't hear about wood elves murdering their relations and burning ships.

[makamu]

35, so I suppose I could be either Gandalf or Eonwe (not an Istar, I know). Or maybe Melian :)

[lady-branwyn.livejournal.com]

Ooh, pretty icon!

[anteros-lmc.livejournal.com]

Cool! I is an Istari! Though I have to confess I picked up extra points for the academic works, some of which I read at Uni when they were still the standard translations used.

[lady-branwyn.livejournal.com]

Woot! And you deserve double geek points for being the only person to have read Tolkien's "Sir Orfeo" and "Pearl."

[anteros-lmc.livejournal.com]

Woo hoo! How cool is that?! I admit I have only read it once but I still have it on my book shelves here!

I suspect you may have to deduct several geek points though as I got lost trying to tell the story of The Hobbit to my daughter on the bus to nursery this morning. I would porbably have had a better chance reciting The Silmarillion ;)