- Bored of the Rings
-
Bored of the Rings 
Front cover of the 2001 editionAuthor(s) Henry N. Beard, Douglas C. Kenney Illustrator William S. Donnell (map) Cover artist Michael K. Frith (1969 ed.)
Douglas Carrel (2001 ed.)Country United States of America Genre(s) Fantasy satire Publication date 1969 ISBN 978-0575073623 Bored of the Rings is the title of a paperback parody of J. R. R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings. This short novel was written by Henry N. Beard and Douglas C. Kenney, who later founded National Lampoon. It was published in 1969 by Signet for the Harvard Lampoon.
Contents
Overview
The parody generally follows the outline of The Lord of the Rings, including the preface, the prologue, poetry, and songs, while making light of what Tolkien made serious (e.g., "He would have finished him off then and there, but pity stayed his hand. It's a pity I've run out of bullets, he thought, as he went back up the tunnel..."). Names and words in the various languages are parodied with brand names which mimic their sounds (example: Moxie and Pepsi for Merry and Pippin). There are many topical references, some of which, like some of the brand names, are now dated. Regardless, it has the unusual distinction for a parody of having been continuously in print for the decades since it was first published (as of 2011[update]).
Aside from the text itself, the book includes five elements that parody common features of mass-market books:
- A laudatory back cover review, which on inspection was written at Harvard, possibly by the authors themselves.
- Inside cover reviews which are entirely contrived, concluding with a quote by someone affiliated with the publication Our Loosely Enforced Libel Laws.
- A list of other books in the "series", none of which exist.
- A double page map which has almost nothing to do with the events in the text.
- The first text a browsing reader is liable to see purports to be a salacious sample from the book, but the episode never happens in the main text, nor does anything else of that tone: the book has no explicit sexual content.
The Signet first edition cover, a parody of the 1965 Ballantine paperback cover by Barbara Remington,[1] was drawn by Muppets designer Michael K. Frith.[2][3] Current publications have different artwork by Douglas Carrel,[4] since the paperback cover art [1] for Lord of the Rings prevalent in the 60s, then famous, is now obscure.[5] William S. Donnell drew the "parody map"[6] of Lower Middle Earth.[7][8]
Characters
Notable characters from Lower Middle Earth BOTR Allusion LOTR Goodgulf Greyteeth, the good wizard Good Gulf, a brand name used by Gulf Oil for a premium grade of gasoline. Goodgulf was also "a discredited Rosicrucian" and "a 32nd Degree Mason and Honorary Shriner". Gandalf Greyhame, also called Gandalf the Grey Boggies From bog or boggart or bogey/bogie or booger or boogie. Hobbits Dildo Bugger of Bag Eye Dildo; bugger. Bilbo Baggins of Bag End Frito Bugger Fritos, a brand of corn chips. Frodo Baggins Spam Gangree Spam, a brand of processed, canned meat; gangrene. Samwise Gamgee Moxie Dingleberry Moxie, a soft drink brand; see also dingleberry. Merry Pepsi Dingleberry Pepsi, a soft drink. Pippin Stomper, or Arrowroot, son of Arrowshirt Stomp, arrowroot, a kind of starch used, for example, in bland biscuits for babies and the elderly; Arrow, a brand of men's dress shirts. Strider or Aragorn, son of Arathorn Gimlet, son of Groin A tool or cocktail gimlet; groin. Gimli, son of Glóin Legolam Leg of lamb. Legolas Orlon Orlon, a brand of acrylic fiber. Elrond Garfinkel Garfinckel's, a department store chain. Art Garfunkel, a pop singer. Glorfindel Bromosel Bromo-Seltzer, an indigestion-relief product. Boromir Farahslax Farah, the company making "action slacks". Faramir Benelux, steward of Twodor. Benelux, the union of Belgium, the Netherlands, and Luxembourg; two door, describing a type of car (contrasted with Fordor.) Denethor, steward of Gondor. Eörache, daughter of Eörlobe "Earache"; Earlobe. Combining Éowyn, daughter of Éomund, and elements of Arwen Tim Benzedrine Benzedrine, a stimulant drug popular during the 1960s, notably with Harvard professor Timothy Leary. Tom Bombadil Hashberry, wife of Tim Benzedrine "Hashbury", the Haight-Ashbury district of San Francisco, or hash(ish)-berry. Goldberry Goddam God damn, a common oath. Gollum Karsh, Narc of the fighting Otto-wah Goulash, Narc of the Ohma-hah
Yousuf Karsh, Canadian portrait photographer, Ottawa, Canada. Uglúk, Grishnákh, Orcs, Uruk-hai Cellophane and Lavalier Cellophane, an inexpensive cellulose product; Lavalier, a jewelled pendant. Celeborn and Galadriel Birdseye of the Vee-Ates Birds Eye, a company selling frozen vegetables (also obliquely references their competitor's trademark the jolly Green Giant). V8 (beverage), a vegetable drink.
Treebeard of the Ents Sorhed, the evil wizard, ruler of Fordor "Sore head"; four door, describing a style of car. Sauron, ruler of Mordor Serutan the wizard of Isinglass Serutan is a laxative ("Natures" spelled backward); Isinglass, collagen from the dried swim bladders of fish. Used as finings in the brewing process, and in confectionery before gelatin became widely available.
Saruman, the wizard of Isengard Gwanho the Windlord, an eagle Guano, bird or bat droppings. Gwaihir Wormcast Worm castings. Gríma Wormtongue Schlob Slob or schlub. Shelob Ballhog Ball hog, a sports team member who consistently and inappropriately keeps the ball during play. Balrog Narc Narc, an undercover narcotics agent. Orcs Nozdrul "Nose drool". Nazgûl Places
Notable places from Lower Middle Earth BOTR Allusion LOTR the Nattily Wood
the Evelyn WoodNatalie Wood, an American actress
Evelyn Wood, popularizer of speed readingThe Old Forest Whee an English interjection: see wikt:whee Bree the Ngaio Marsh Ngaio Marsh, a New Zealand crime writer and theatre director the Dead Marshes Twodor Two-door (car) Gondor Fordor Four-door (car) and the Fordor Mordor Roi-Tan
Roi-TannersRoi-Tan, a brand of cigars Rohan
RohirrimThe Zazu Pits, a big trash-burning area in Fordor ZaSu Pitts, an American film actress The crater of Orodruin Sol Hurok, a mountain range on the edge of Fordor Sol Hurok, a 20th century American impresario. The Ephel Dúath mountain range Minas Troney Minestrone Minas Tirith Chikken Noodul Chicken noodle Minas Morgul Gallowine E & J Gallo Winery Brandywine Places which are only in the map
Some places which are only in the map of Lower Middle Earth, not in the story BOTR Allusion The Legendary Drillingrigs (a long way out to sea in the west) drilling rig for petroleum the Islets of Langerhans (small offshore islands) Islets of Langerhans in anatomy The Bay of Milhous (an inlet in the shape of a profile of Richard Milhous Nixon's head.) 37th US President from 1968 to 1974 Cantinflas (a shore in the Northeastern coast of the Bay of Milhous.) Professional name of Mexican comedian Mario Moreno Reyes Translation
The German translation Der Herr der Augenringe (lit.: Lord of the Eye Rings, metaphorically "Lord of the Eye Circles"), was done by Margaret Carroux (in 1969 and 1970, she translated Lord of the Rings into German).[9]
The Finnish translation (Loru sorbusten herrasta, "A rhyme about the lord of Sorbus", Sorbus being a brand of rowan-flavored wine manufactured by Altia) was translated by Pekka Markkula and published in 1983. It did not sell well until later. Following the release of the Peter Jackson film trilogy, it was republished in 2002.[10]
The Italian translation Il signore dei tranelli (lit."Lord of the cobweb") was issued by Fanucci Editore in 2002. The cover is made by Piero Crida , the same person who designed the covers of the "Lord of the ring" translations issued by Rusconi Libri s.p.a. in 1977.[11]
The French translation Lord of the Ringards (lit.: Lord of the Has-beens) was issued in 2002.[12]
The Brazilian Portuguese translation O Fedor dos Anéis (lit.: The Stink of the Rings) was published in 2004.[13]
Other uses of Bored of the Rings name
Bored of the Rings (computer game) is a text adventure game, written by Fergus McNeill.
MAD Magazine's own Lord of the Rings parody Bored of the Rings was illustrated by Hermann Mejia and written by Desmond Devlin. The Fellowship of the Ring: The Feeble Shtick of Ka-Ching!, (April 2002); The Two Towers: The Two+ Hours, (April 2003); The Return of the King: Rehash of the Thing (April 2004). A few characters have the same names as the book parody or similar ones (Legolamb, Sorehead, and Spam Gangrene). Other characters include: Dodo Gaggings, Billboard Gaggings, Gandoof the Gray (or Gandoof the White), Argon, Gimmicki, Golfclub (aka Cheeseball or Jar-Jar Jr.), Baggybuns, Pimple, Peppercorn, Aspercreme, and the Slobbits.
See also
- Doon, another parody by National Lampoon, but not by the same authors
- Dmitri Puchkov, an author who intentionally mistranslated Lord of the Rings
- Kirill Eskov, author and paleontologist who wrote The Last Ring-bearer, Lord of the Rings told from Mordor's perspective.
- Hordes of the Things and ElvenQuest are radio parodies from the BBC.
References
- ^ Flavinscorner.com Overview of fantasy from the period, including the Ballantine edition of Rings.
- ^ The World Wide Walrus. "Bored of the Rings". http://ringlord.com/people/walrus/lotr/botr.html. Retrieved 10 August 2011.
- ^ "Bibliography: Cover: Bored of the Rings". The Internet Speculative Fiction Database. http://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/title.cgi?528637. Retrieved 10 August 2011.
- ^ "Bibliography: Cover: Bored of the Rings". The Internet Speculative Fiction Database. http://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/title.cgi?138286. Retrieved 10 August 2011.
- ^ LOTR Scrapbook Critical review of Ballantine cover art for the three books.
- ^ Amethyst-angel.com
- ^ The World Wide Walrus. "Bored of the Rings". http://ringlord.com/people/walrus/lotr/botr.html. Retrieved 10 August 2011.
- ^ "Bibliography: Bored of the Rings (Map)". The Internet Speculative Fiction Database. http://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/title.cgi?528645. Retrieved 10 August 2011.
- ^ Beard, Henry N.; Douglas C. Kenney (1983) (in German). Dschey Ar Tollkühn, der Herr der Augenringe. Munich: Goldmann. ISBN 3-442-23835-8.
- ^ Beard, Henry N.; Douglas C. Kenney (1983) (in Finnish). Loru sorbusten herrasta. Kustannusosakeyhtiö Nemo. ISBN 951-9287-01-9. 2002 republication: ISBN 952-5180-57-3.
- ^ .
- ^ Beard, Henry N.; Douglas C. Kenney (2002) (in French). Lord of the Ringards. Bragelonne. ISBN 2914370695.
- ^ Beard, Henry N.; Douglas C. Kenney (2004) (in Portuguese). O Fedor dos Anéis. Ver Curiosidades. ISBN 8588210525.
External links
Categories:- 1969 novels
- Parody novels
- Satirical novels
- Middle-earth parodies
- Harvard Lampoon
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.
![[1]](http://www.flavinscorner.com/remingtonart.jpg){kind=link}
