Any quest to discover the deepest meaning of The Lord of the Rings must tackle the thorny subject of death and immortality, which Tolkien insisted was the “real theme” of the work, a theme that was “much more permanent and difficult” than any allegory of power within the story. This places The Lord of the Rings beyond the realm of mere politics and raises it onto the higher ground of philosophy and theology. At its highest level, Tolkien’s epic serves as a memento mori, a reminder of death, which, in Christian terms, should always lead to a meditation on the Four Last Things: Death, Judgment,
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