An appreciation of the weather in The Lord of the Rings

摘要

In 1957, when M. G. Zimmerman first proposed to make an animated film of J. R. R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings, a heated exchange ensued between the book's author and F. J. Ackermann, who represented the film company involved (Carpenter 1981, pp.270-277). In particular, Tolkien objected to what he saw as 'unseasonal' depictions of weather in the script, holding that: "The main action begins in Autumn and passes through Winter to a brilliant Spring. This is basic to the purport and tone of the tale. 'Z's [Zimmerman's] arrangements would, for instance, land us in a snow storm while Summer was still in. The Lord of the Rings may be a 'fairy story' but it takes place in the Northern Hemisphere of this earth; miles are miles, days are days, and weather is weather!"