Tolkien: Archetype and Word

I have just enjoyed reading a fine essay published in October of 2013 examining the Lord of the Rings in terms of Jungian archetypes.  The review essay is by Patrick Grant (of the University of Victoria in British Columbia), and it is entitled: "Tolkien: Archetype and Word" (published on the Jung Page).  It's quite long, but if you are seriously into Tolkien and have some interest in Carl Jung, I think you'll enjoy every paragraph of it.

Less Can Be More

Less can be more

And small can be beautiful

For life isn’t all

Just big and wonderful

‘n’ what do I need when you get right down to it?

All my cares come from greed

And it’s time that I knew it

Things I can’t do without 

are the small things that life is all about.

Less can be more

And small can be beautiful

I don’t want it all

Just part of wonderful

For what do I need when you get right down to it?

Just a garden and seed

and the love to pursue it

Things I can’t do without 

are the small things that life is all about.

This is the best song from the Rankin and Bass animated movie of the Return of the King. In terms of keeping with the spirit of what Tolkien was getting at in his Lord of the Rings, the Rankin and Bass version may be closer (slightly) to the masterpiece than Peter Jackson's work.  Neither version really does justice to the literary and philosophical themes. 

Glen Yarbrough came all the way from the middle of nowhere in the Pacific Island to record this song in New York, and then he went right back to his boat. 

Here is an mp3 of the song.