The World of J.R.R. Tolkien

J.R.R. Tolkien lost both his parent at a young age, his father died when he was four years old and his mother when he was twelve. As a result, he became an orphan and was left with little money. However, by this time, J.R.R. Tolkien was already showing an enhanced skill with grammar. "He had mastered the Latin and Greek which was the staple fare of an arts education at that time, and was becoming more than competent in a number of other languages, both modern and ancient, notably Gothic, and later Finnish" (Doughan). Tolkien, at an age around thirteen was already ahead of his peers. At an age where children should be having fun with one another, instead, Tolkien found entertainment by creating his own languages. During his teenage years, Tolkien attended King Edward's School and along with a group of friends, he created the Tea Club and Barrovian Society where they exchanged and criticized each other's literary works. As the years passed, Tolkien became remarkably successful in his schooling career. He studied the Classics, Germanic languages (especially Gothic), Welsh and Finnish, and Old English, from 1911 to 1913 at Oxford. Tolkien strayed away from the Classics and moved towards the more favorable English Language and Literature. .
             In Tolkien's early career, he continued to study linguistics and eventually became a professor at Oxford University. "He taught undergraduates, and played an important but unexceptional part in academic politics and administration" (Doughan). Although his lectures were often extremely influential, his academic records were scarce. During his time at Oxford, he created and became the founder of the writing group, 'The Inklings'. "Other prominent members included the above-mentioned Messrs Coghill and Dyson, as well as Owen Barfield, Charles Williams, and above all C. S. Lewis" (Doughan). In this group, members discussed their current works in progress, and notably praised narrative value in fiction and favored the writings of fantasy.