Ever wondered the significance of Galadriel giving Gimli 3 hairs, or why Eärendil is the most beloved star of the Elves of Middle-earth, or how the Dark Lord Sauron became evil?

If you’re like me, you finished The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings with these sorts of questions in mind. Then you heard about The Silmarillion and were so excited, you started it as soon as you could get your hands on it. But then you got lost amid the archaic style and unfamiliar names.

Like journeying to destroy the One Ring, reading The Silmarillion is not a task one should undertake alone. In this class, we’ll walk together through this stunning, compact work of modern myth, supporting each other with discussion of events and themes. We’ll all be companions for one another on an adventure into the great vistas of time and space glimpsed in The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings. We'll even learn just how much of Amazon Prime's "The Rings of Power" is actually canon.

I will use slides to present my own discussion topics and explanations of the week’s themes and events. I will also provide 3 handouts at various points in the course:
1. the How Subcreators Fall Flowchart (based on Tolkien's theory of temptation)
2: Elf Charts (relationships between the various Elf-clans)
3. The House of Finwë (an Elvish family tree)

Students must complete readings before the week they are listed. After reading, they will write a reading response (300-500 words) to that week's prompt.

Keywords: book club; reading group; literature; literary analysis; mythology; high school