Much evil must befall a country before it wholly forgets the Elves, if once they dwelt there.
J. R. R. TolkienMost people have made this mistake of thinking Middle-earth is a particular kind of earth or is another planet of the science fiction sort but it's just an old fashioned word for this world we live in, as imagined surrounded by the Ocean.
J. R. R. TolkienStand by the grey stone when the thrush knocks, and the setting sun with the last light of Durinโs Day will shine upon the key-hole.
J. R. R. TolkienFairy tale does not deny the existence of sorrow and failure: the possibility of these is necessary to the joy of deliverance. It denies (in the face of much evidence, if you will) universal final defeat...giving a fleeting glimpse of Joy; Joy beyond the walls of the world, poignant as grief.
J. R. R. Tolkien