Examples Of Figurative Language In The Hobbit

The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien is a magnificent menagerie of nearly every form of figurative language and continues to impress the millions who discover his work. The Hobbit is one of the greatest epitomes of sophisticated yet riveting work brought to life by utilizing similes, metaphors, imagery, and symbolism in the book. In each of his illustrious works, Tolkien bestows a particular personality and The Hobbit, especially, is no exception.

“A single dream is more powerful than a thousand realities,” by J.R.R. Tolkien. Tolkien made these words come alive not only in his own life, but in his works. The similes that he created added depth to his words like, “It had a perfectly round door like a porthole” (1). This simple simile immerses the reader

into the story. The reader visualizes the porthole, like one on a submarine. Portholes are gateways to another story or dimension. The mysteries they hold will undoubtedly impact the story. It is important to notice that this is cited on page one, which tells us the story is barely beginning to unravel. The simile increases interest, hooking the reader from the very start. Metaphors are an important facet of the story, as well. One of my favorite metaphors in the story is the hoarding dragon, the very one that stands between the group and the recapture of the mountain fortress. The dragon, Smaug, is the perfect metaphor of greed and violence. Dragons have no need for gold, yet he withholds mass sums of it while destitute humans in the village below suffer from cold and starvation. He relishes the prospect of gobbling up adventuring elves, dwarves, and humans whom unfortunately stumble upon Smaug has they innocently search for items. He is intelligent, but evil in the darkest degree. Smaug represents the largest obstacle each and every contemporary human must overcome in life, as he was to Thorin. Both of these figurative devices have succeeded in alluring readers to the Lord of the Rings series, but Tolkien’s unparalleled imagery has had a hand in that, too.
Tolkien should be awarded a prize for the most beautiful landscapes in literary history.

The sights described in The Hobbit, or any of his other books for that matter, are the legends of imagery. The painstakingly detailed scenery of mountains, lakes, fields, skies, all add mystery and awe to the story. The audience believes they have probed the ultimate world of fantasy, where volcanoes litter the horizon and goblins run amok. One example of such imagery is, “In a hole in the ground there lived a hobbit. Not a nasty, dirty, wet hole, filled with the ends of worms and an oozy smell, nor yet a dry, bare, sandy hole with nothing in it to sit down on or to eat: it was a hobbit-hole, and that means comfort” (1). This example sheds light on the occupant of the burrow, which is obviously not a monster. The description the comfortable hobbit-hole implies that the owner is a person not accustomed to hardship and one that is not repulsive. In addition Tolkien also utilized enhanced imagery to reciprocate the feelings of dread or victory. Another example (my favorite), “He charged the ranks of the goblins of Mount Gram in the Battle of the Green Fields, and knocked their king Golfimbul's head clean off with a wooden club. It sailed a hundred yards through the air and went down a rabbit-hole, and in this way the battle was won and the game of Golf invented at the same moment” (18). The preceding quote describes the triumphant victory over the goblin army thanks to one of Bilbo’s

ancestors, including a hint of comedy. The imagery vividly shows the actions that took place to secure the win and the hole-in-one—haha. Tolkien is certainly the master of words, weaving them to create a magical world like no other.