Tolkien explains on BBC how he started The Hobbit

[@Lengsel7]

On a pole in the sky, lived an eyeball.

[@saberhamlinconmaverickknud4821]

Brad K Yeah, if you watch the stupid films, LOL!

[@Epic_Kingdom]

@@saberhamlinconmaverickknud4821 Stupid?

[@saberhamlinconmaverickknud4821]

@@Epic_Kingdom I don't want to sound like a broken record.

[@Epic_Kingdom]

@@saberhamlinconmaverickknud4821 I know some people don't like the movies, but they're not stupid.

[@brettdando]

Not a nasty, dirty, wet pole... it was an eyeball pole, and that means comfort...

[@andreas8488]

Teacher: Do nOT leAve BLAnK PagEs yoU WIll LOSE MarkS!
Toklien: Extra 5 marks and a preview of my book!

[@Epic_Kingdom]

😄

[@Losrandir]

He seems so genuinely happy about the blank page!

[@HFX67]

Imainge the price of that examine paper today.

[@aramisortsbottcher8201]

Why would one lose marks for that?!

[@ethan8942]

@@aramisortsbottcher8201 Professors have to feel their at the very least above someone.

[@trande6136]

Imagine being the student that left that blank page. You’d have likely thought your Professor was making it personal, calling you a slur you had never heard before.

[@evandenison5310]

I'd just like you to know this is one of the funniest things I've ever read. Good day.

[@estherk37]

LMAO

[@siriondil4739]

During World War 2 when paper was most scarce, Tolkien did some of the drafting of Lord of the Rings literally across the written on pages of examinations too, not just the blank pages as usual. Imagine your test being used for drafting of a landmark piece of writing of the century.

[@Epic_Kingdom]

That's interesting.

[@FREECIVVIE]

True, but the hobbit was in the 30s before the war

[@Philip-hi3hg]

It was written before the war, so...

[@Mustang_Sally_]

i'd be like thanks teach for not caring enough about my essay i wrote at 3 am

[@grant.5345]

@@Philip-hi3hg The comment said Lord of the Rings, not the hobbit

[@redpyramid8909]

Toklien with a big smile on his face: "There was a page on this particular paper left blank. Glorious!"
The unparalleled enthusiasm an artist has, when they see a an empty space where they can create.

[@Epic_Kingdom]

Indeed.

[@TheOperatorKB]

Also because paper was extremely scarce at that time.

[@jokersbane321]

Speaking as a teacher myself, I'm pretty sure he was so happy that he just didn't have to grade another page 😂

[@redpyramid8909]

@@jokersbane321 I think it was both!

[@redpyramid8909]

@@TheOperatorKB No, it was not. That was 80 years ago, mate. Not in the middle ages. Paper became quite expensive during the war though.

[@elzector]

Tolkien created Middle-earth with one simple sentence. “In a hole in the ground, there lived a Hobbit.” Gives me goosebumps.

[@conordrake2986]

Sorry to be that guy, but he actually invented middle-earth before writing the Hobbit, growing from his constructed languages and imagining a world where they were spoken. The Hobbit wasn't originally set in this world, it was just supposed to be an independent fairy tale until he started writing the lord of the rings where he retroactively made them the same world, albeit in different ages

[@wizzotizzo]

@@conordrake2986 damn

[@alvedonaren]

@@conordrake2986 I've heard that his oldest scribblings regarding Middle-Earth, the first drafts of The Fall of Gondolin, were literally written in the trenches during WW1.

[@playlist_queen]

@@alvedonaren Yes, I also read that in a book. The dedication he displayed toward his writing blows my mind.

[@auxiliis8366]

@@alvedonaren I don't know if that's true but it would make sense to me if it was. Tolkien saw first hand the horrors of war and the destruction it brings so it would make sense that he'd write about war bringing about the devastating end to a great civilization.

[@visheshabeyratne9345]

I love that mischievous glint in his eye as he recalls how the sentence that started it all occurred to him. Glorious.

[@Epic_Kingdom]

Yes 😁

[@whisperingbardasmr6569]

Whenever I submit a paper, I always leave a blank page at the end in case my professors want to write a story.

[@Jm649]

How considerate 😏 extra five marks for you XD

[@nickwilson3499]

@@jonathanturbide2232 it was a joke buddy

[@Saber23]

Thanks for everything you do I love your videos 😊

[@St_1786]

Yeah... Smart. "Direct" their' minds away from all the red-ink. Your onto somethin'.

[@emmk4992]

5 points to Gryffindor

[@abcdef27669]

"In a school on England, lived a bored teacher... And the rest is History".

[@holliswilliams8426]

That's how many great stories began.

[@ozybeastias8893]

Apparently, Ian McKellan based his performance of Gandalf on Tolkien himself. Having finally watched this interview (or any interview with him), I can definitely see the similarities, specifically in the voice.

[@1974dormouse]

Tolkien wanted Christopher Lee to be Gandalf.

[@cyaeli9568]

Sounds like bilbo baggins on the movie😅

[@roygfs]

That student had an extremely valuable piece of history!

[@wariodude128]

Thus began an unexpected journey.

[@yerdasellsavon9232]

His happiness is just wonderful

[@joepalooka2145]

He was a monumental genius. To have conceived and written not just "The Hobbit" but the Lord of the Rings trilogy---- JRR Tolkien has always been one of my most admired writers and creative artists, ever since I discovered him back in the 1960s as a teenager.

[@guynxtdork]

I can't believe how soft spoken this man was. So so soft spoken.

[@happyoutside8227]

Tolkien's world was so beautiful that you'll gonna be lost in fantasy.

[@corey-bird3489]

I must upload more of Farmer Giles of Ham! 🖼

[@wizzotizzo]

@@corey-bird3489 what

[@corey-bird3489]

@@wizzotizzo I narrate on my channel, I started Farmer Giles and I live somewhere that looks Tolkien like.

[@decoy-v99]

...Forever

[@TheDicksauce]

@@corey-bird3489 no

[@nicholasmaude6906]

Tolkien's target audience for the Hobbit was his children.

[@FlagAnthem]

and baby Christopher did correct his drafts. He was born for this job XD

[@lindildeev5721]

@@FlagAnthem Baby Christopher ? No, I think he was a teenager or a young adult at the time.

[@GabeOli1231]

The way he moves his eyebrows to emphasize his joy over the blank paper is phenomenal!

[@viktorkolaric5188]

I imagine that student just threw the paper away, never knowing what he had.

[@cl7894]

Such an inspiration of an artist.

[@cbalan777]

Boredom + Blank Paper x Time = Fantasy Epic.

[@orboobleck5366]

...Was Sir Ian McKellan doing an impression of Tolkien for the voice of Gandalf? I can hear similarities in the cadence.

[@Epic_Kingdom]

Yes

[@javih36vv]

You know the answer... Fool!

[@puneetmishra4726]

Yes, he was.

[@cbalan777]

Fly, you fools!

[@TJDious]

His voice already resembles Tolkien's but he definitely leaned into it.

[@durendalarcas8209]

So, he just got bored with grading exam papers he just scribbled gold on a blank essay page? nice.

[@TheEpicPaco]

I wish we knew whose exam that was, that person should be thanked for leaving that page blank

[@beamertoy]

He had such an interesting way of talking. People dont talk like this anymore unless they're acting.

[@dooli1981]

A bored Tolkien = an epic masterpiece

[@gaiseric9518]

You can see the sparkle in his eye when that fond memory of an explosion of creativity came to his mind.

[@Rytonic69]

Imagine the world we would've lived in if that blank piece of paper wasn't there

[@martinethangrace2066]

just imagine how depressed some people would be😓😰

[@andrewtucker94]

Pretty similar to be fair

[@Mike_Ka-Chowski]

Imagine being the student whose test paper became Tolkien's draft

[@alicedwonderland7733]

Bragging rights would be endless

[@holliswilliams8426]

There's no way you would know though.

[@alicedwonderland7733]

@@holliswilliams8426 playing pretend here, of course, what if that paper ended up in a Tolkien-focused collection? And you'd end up looking at it online, and see your name on the first page (what would that grade have been?). I would put this info on my CV!

[@Brinta3]

This is the problem with digital testing. No place for professors to start their books.

[@Epic_Kingdom]

😄

[@FutureAbe]

The student gave him the first page of the Hobbit. That's amazing!

[@tjnaples]

Definitely the most British thing I’ll hear today.

[@dudeman0811]

Ive got to say I had no idea what this guy was about until I saw the movie "tolkien". Everyone, EVERYONE needs to go watch that movie. Shows him and his buddies from a young age, then going through war together and during the war he sees visions of characters from lord of the rings... like they actually use sfx and put them in the movie. Its a tear jerker

[@JaySeraphon]

Thank you Professor. Rest In Peace.

[@ginolorenzo4117]

"It is through luck that one finds their true calling, but their own will to pursue it."

[@benhuether5474]

It's about time our scholars and historians set Tolkien next to the classic myth makers of old such as Virgil, Hesiod, Homer, Plato, Ovid, Hafiz, Vyasa, Wu Cheng'en, Snorri Sturluson, Thomas Malory, and Dante Alighieri when compared to the study of the great sagas, fables, and epic poems of ancient days.

[@Epic_Kingdom]

Yes

[@aesir1ases64]

There is a lot of study about tolkien in mainstream academia now, its not a niche anymore, gladly.

[@benhuether5474]

EresirThe1st@ Ok mister smartly pants 😒

[@WackadoodleMalarkey]

Your list is incomplete without A.A. Milne

[@visheshabeyratne9345]

Agreed.

[@josequijas7663]

God that smirk. It just shows the gears turning in his head. Tolkien is the greatest author of all time.

[@PibrochPonder]

5 points for leaving a page blank. AWSOME guy

[@Charlieb6308]

Yet another genius from our little isle.. To create a story like this and even another language...

[@TaSpecter]

Rest in peace great man❤

[@KobraVR]

Tolkien wrote himself in as Tom Bombadil is a great theory, a timeless character that was there to see the first raindrop fall (as he wrote it), a character that does not get involved in power struggles but merely pays witness.

[@donaldtrudeau6630]

Dungeon master.

[@Lobsinus]

Incorrect. Tom Bombadil is a character he invented for bed time stories for his children, along with Old Man Willow and the Barrow Wight.

[@DeluxBass]

@@Lobsinus aw that's even sweeter than the theory. I like this one better.

[@CorrectionUnknown]

He literally wrote in letters that Tom isn't that.

[@Thurold]

He says in his letters that Bombadil has no meaning.

[@jayceboi]

first time hearing his voice

[@crookedpaths6612]

So someone somewhere has an old exam paper with Tolkien’s scribble on it. Imagine what that would be worth today.

[@thisisausername1506]

considering this probably took place in the 30s and what Tolkien wrote had no significance at the time, I'm going to assume that it doesn't exist anymore

[@vinzer72frie]

every single fantasy game animation or comic comes from his work

[@ewwmorons]

Yeah, fantasy books/films like this are cliche today but not for Tolkien's works because he is the original.

[@derricks5113]

robert e howard and h p lovecraft weep

[@peteralbano3288]

0:46 When he saids "Glorious" he remembered he got excited to write on something lol cute

[@kls2020]

Yes it's a good thing he didn't say it was "Precious"

[@Federico_21]

Viva tolkien!!!!!!

[@davidescirocchi4405]

Esatto

[@callumpears1523]

I wonder if that student got their paper back. I bet it'd be worth millions now.

[@HobokerDev]

His mouth said glorious but his eyebrows said "noice!"

[@mellowtron214]

*A GREAT EYE, LIDLESS, WREATHED IN FLAME!*

[@twomattoes7800]

God I could listen to that guy Tolkin all day.

[@armandogarza3423]

Best professor ever who can conclude a class as a bard. He was a true Bard.

[@iammaxhailme]

As someone who used to grade papers, I also have gained a new appreciation for brevity...

Some of the best creative work springs out from a boring activity hehe

[@benstern310]

Amazon is about to shit on his legacy

[@prometheus1836]

no

[@benstern310]

@@prometheus1836 yep

[@CMONCMON007]

Wow first time I'm hearing his voice

[@brendannahor1460]

In the original draft; Bilbo killed Smaug!
The Ring was just to get the Hobbit out of troublesome spots n Thorin was the name of the Wizard at one point!

[@boku5192]

He is so adorable

[@hitrapperandartistdababy]

Wow… imagine if that one student hadn’t been sloppy/lazy Tolkien would never have written that line. The father of all fantasy would not have existed… Butterfly effect

[@quintincastro7430]

He would still have all of the necessary components to make such a story in his mind so we probably could of just got something about an elf in a tree instead

[@spyrosblt3320]

that blank page didnt actually start all of this. Tolkien starting The Hobbit was inevitable, and that situation was just a little push in the back for him

[@mcfixer9503]

@@quintincastro7430 i feel he was already telling this story to his children, partially? the paper is just a pointwhen he decided to pen it, rather than a day or week later

[@joshuapowell3526]

Butterfly effect is eternity.

[@catsonevrything454]

The way J.R.R talks reminds me of a skit that Zach Hadel did on only plays

[@cmeeoutdoors7556]

In the grand scheme of things, the lord of the rings movies, were just a small glimpse into this man's imagination.

[@zantas-handle]

For all you perfectionist planners out there, still stuck on the outline of your novel 5 years later, THIS is the only video you need on 'How To Write That Novel'. Now stop reading and start writing!

[@theepisofdiabolos-dj5xh]

i love his voice

[@not.supermario]

Ian McKellen basing his Gandalf on Tolkien brings everything together full circle.

[@writingwofl5836]

I feel lonely out here

[@setonix9151]

you are now not alone

[@writingwofl5836]

@@setonix9151 thank you

[@BrokenCircleEntertainment]

We are all here, simply staying silent.

[@Epic_Kingdom]

"Not all those who wander are lost"

[@user-dc4xw8zp4t]

Grow a pair

[@Gunthusiest]

How tf did some old dude from the 1930's supposedly write a book version of the Hobbit when the movie didn't come out til like 2012? Fake af

[@playlist_queen]

The movies were based on the book. Tolkien was an absolute mastermind.

[@holliswilliams8426]

Marking exam scripts is extremely tedious because they all basically the same, the only ones you remember are where the person literally wrote nothing and left some blank pages with bits of nonsense on them.

[@jamesrowsell9346]

And I was actually, incredibly, incredibly drunk!

[@phoule76]

he pronounces "seven" like it owes him money

[@leesup999]

the man with the biggest imagination to ever live amazing how he thought of the world of middle earth extraordinary

[@Epic_Kingdom]

Indeed!

[@j.calvert3361]

The Hobbit is a brilliant book.
The movie absolutely destroyed the story. It turned it into a video game like mess.

[@jobskiblah3510]

"On a HHHHHhhhole in the ground, there lives a HHHHHHhhhhobit", take that Frenchman!

[@sargondp69]

Leave one page blank on your papers, you never know what some professor will decide to write down.

[@paulascott5701]

Before professors were lunatics with third rate minds. Once upon a time, professors were great thinkers and good human beings. It's true!

[@Gojira_Wins]

He reminds me of that one Harry Potter teacher who was friends with Tom Riddle.

[@MistressQueenBee]

Brilliance marked.

[@abirmukherjee5781]

See backbenchers rule🤣🤣

[@xXxweisvonixXx]

Imagine being the one student with the blank paper ... helping JRRT to make a big step ...

[@v_o_r_p_a_l]

read it as tolkien explains BBC and nearly died

[@magicjohnson3121]

“I scribbled on the blank page a big black c.....”

[@daanvos194]

old bilbo ballings looked a lot like him

[@kb-metal]

That escalated quickly :/

[@truckerjim372]

I kept on expecting him to say " and I was very, very drunk"

[@mosesmanaka8109]

I can't figure out a word which he is saying.

[@-johnny-deep-]

He scribbled the first line of The Hobbit on a blank page in a paper he was grading? Was the paper returned to the student along with the scribble? I'd love to have that page!

[@stephenc6342]

He just bing bong the shit out of me

[@florriemccarthy2457]

Does anyone know what year this clip is from?

[@grindhousefan80]

Imagine that was your exam

[@trafyknits9222]

Even Led Zeppelin referenced Gollum from "The Hobbit" in "Ramble On". That's pretty cool.

[@kyntyckykobra3300]

Tolkien is Tom Bombidil

[@the98themperoroftheholybri33]

I wonder what he'd think of the modern age and how we interpret lord of the rings and the hobbit

[@walnutking92]

I imagine he'd weep at the poststructuralist interpretations espoused by the Tolkien Society these days. Sigh.

[@jaakkovahanen]

If somebody told me that the old rambling geezer in The Fast Show was partly based on this Tolkien interview, I would totally believe it.

[@thelastjohnwayne]

Can you imagine if that Student would have kept that paper....how much it would be worth today.

[@hamman_samuel]

Page left blank
5 points for Gryffindor!

[@bfkc111]

"it was eventually published in 1937"
That is because, as a lot of people don't know, that is literally the whole "Hobbit". The rest is fanfiction and the movies.

[@Makalai-Azaylin]

So whoever left a blank piece of paper in with their work triggered something in Tolkien. Wonder who it was? I also wonder if that hadn't been left there, would he still have had the same 'spark' of creativity at that moment?

[@jadiellima8922]

Eu não entendi, alguém traduz?

[@josephlopez141]

What did he say?

[@-BigIi-]

If that student is alive s\he'll be wishing s\he kept that rather strangely marked paper... 😂👏😏

[@VincentGigante1928]

I came here via greg doucette by mike o tren

[@invernessfan3017]

Interesting.