Essay on “From Page to Screen” by Tom Shippey
The paper should be approximately 1500 words in length. WORD will count the words for you.
You do not need to use internal citations, but please include a list of your sources at the end of the essay. The list of sources should not be included in the word count. The list of sources should be in proper MLA format – Easybib will format it for you. You are not required to use any sources except the book and film of Return of the King, but you may also use whatever documentaries from the Special Extended Edition of LOTR, websites, books or articles you find helpful. Remember, however, that “fan” websites and writings are very rarely of use of scholars. The peer-reviewed journal Tolkien Studies contains extensive bibliographies and lots of extremely helpful articles.
This article is concerned with the challenges involved in transferring a long and extremely complicated literary work to the screen and Jackson’s success (or lack of it) in doing this with the first two books. Shippey also discusses some of the problems he foresees with filming Return of the King, especially the ending. He also points out the difficulties involved in presenting Tolkien’s world view in a film.
Your paper should be about how Jackson met these challenges and how well, in your opinion, he succeeded in preserving the essentials of Tolkien’s narrative and incorporating his world view in the film of Return of the King. It should NOT be a list of the changes Jackson made in the stories – you can find these lists on lots of fan websites.
Since this is a formal essay, you should write out Lord of the Rings and Return of the King rather than using LOTR and ROT.
I have created a page on the home page of the wiki entitled Rough Drafts of Essay on “From Page to Screen”. Please create a link and post a rough draft of your paper by midnight, Wednesday, 11 September. It need be no more than an outline and notes about the points you intend to make, but it is essential to get something up by the deadline! Lydia Fish September 05, 2008, at 05:54 PM
