Tolkiens experience of war and the remarkable similarity of his works.

The Lord of the Rings is a book which penetrates factions, It depicts the horrors of the twentieth century, it uses the language of myth.

Although he wrote The Lord of the Rings during World War II and it was published in 1954, his imagination was much earlier in the century. The evil and horror unleashed by Sauron was partly prompted by Tolkien’s personal experiences in the Battle of the Somme during World War I, where over a million men died on both sides in a matter of months.

http://www.historylearningsite.co.uk/somme.htm

(The Battle of the Somme started in July 1^st 1916.  It lasted until November 1916. For many people, the Battle of the Somme was the battle that symbolised the horrors of warfare in World War 1.)

Tolkien’s artistic achievement was part of a wider European tradition going back to the 19th century as his imagination of the story play and the use of words as he was specialised in translating ancient languages.

Richard Wagner (1813-1883) http://www.wagneroperas.com/

There is a remarkable similarity between Tolkien’s symbolism and the works of Richard Wagner  a German composer. Richard Wagner’s work of Der Ring des Nibelungen (The Ring of the Nibelung) which is a opera performance thats is often referred to as "The Ring Cycle", "Wagner's Ring", or simply "The Ring".

Some video clips of The Ring of the Nibelung.