Themes Of Decay in the Lord of the Rings

Themes of decline and decay run throughout the Lord of the Rings. But that’s not where the story ends.

I’ve probably watched the Lord of the Rings a thousand times. I’ve read the Hobbit a few times, and the other books at least once. But it never struck me until my last watch through how incredibly important themes of decay are to the story. It’s prevalent from the very onset of LOTR — it comes in when Gandalf greets Bilbo and tells Bilbo “you haven’t aged a day”. In fact, Bilbo’s birthday party is what sets off the events of the hobbits leaving the Shire, and it’s one of the ring’s notable powers: its bearer does not age (unless if you are Gollum then I guess you age really badly?). But it is also prevalent in other ways throughout the story. The kingdoms of men have seen better days. There are old ruins lying around everywhere that make you feel as though the vast landscape of Middle Earth was once more vibrant. And it is basically the fear of even greater decay that is the impetus for the story.

So why all the decay? What was Tolkien getting at?

Themes of Decay Were Prominent During Tolkien’s Lifetime

Tolkien did live in England during the height, and decline of the British Empire. Through…