Editing The Poetic Edda (section)

==Wait, how?==
[[Lion El'Jonson|Oscar Wilde]] has been attributed to the quote "Talent borrows. Genius Steals."

In that case don't think of it as Tolkien being unoriginal, just that he was clever enough to re-use and re-purpose old Scandinavian texts and turn them into one of the most well-lauded and influential series in literary history.

But seriously, though, there are a lot of things in both the Lord of the Rings and the Hobbit, especially the Hobbit, that are very reminiscent, if not straight up taken, from the Edda. Tolkien himself even admitted to the fact that this book was a massive influence on his writing of the main series, but particularly the Hobbit, and it does show.

Now, as I'm sure some fa/tg/uys might not be all that fussed with reading about 320 pages of archaic Icelandic poetry, what we're going to do with the rest of this section is list a few of the comparative similarities here;

*'''Gandalf''': The depiction of Gandalf in the books and the films seems to have been heavily influenced from the many depictions of Odin throughout the stories in this book. Odin is depicted as a bearded, older man wearing a cloak with either a hood or a very large-brimmed hat and a spear, but in Gandalf's case it is a staff. They are both depicted as wandering figures, both of which walk the earth gathering knowledge and sharing wisdom as they do. They are also both depicted as vanquishing their foes by outwitting them, such as when Gandalf tricks the Trolls into staying up until sunrise, turning them into stone. Speaking of which;
*'''The Trolls in the Hobbit''': This section of the book is very similar to the Alvíssmál, a story in which the god Thor returns to Valhalla to find that a Dwarf has married his daughter without Thor's permission. As this Dwarf claims to be a wise Dwarf, Thor asks him to prove it by answering the questions he gives him. He does this for as long as it takes for the sun to rise, turning the Dwarf to stone and allowing him to free his daughter. Change the Dwarf to three trolls, Thor to Gandalf and Thor's daughter to the party of Bilbo and the dwarves, and there you have it. Almost a stone copy.
*'''The Names of the Dwarves in "The Hobbit"''': In the Völuspá, several there is a catalogue of Dwarven names, many of which can be found as names for the main dwarves in the Hobbit. These names include; Thorin, Dwalin, Fili, Kili, Bifur, Bofur and Nori leaving only six Dwarves left. Other names to appear from this section of the poem include Durin, one of the original dwarves in the Edda, and most likely where we get the name "Durin's Folk" from in LotR, and, funnily enough, Gandalf's name, too. 
*'''The Riddle Competition between Bilbo and Gollum''': While not directly lifted from the Edda itself, it bears many similarities to "Vafþrúðnismál", which is a story about Odin (in disguise) engaging in a question and answer competition with a Giant who claims to be smarter than even the mighty Allfather himself. Odin wins by asking the Giant a question that only he knows the answer to, leading to the giant realising who his opponent actually  is and accepting defeat. Contrast to a deadly riddle battle between a creature corrupted by evil and a hobbit in competition for Bilbo's life. In the end, Bilbo wins by asking Gollum a question that only he could possibly know the answer to, which allows for Bilbo to go free.
*'''The title of "Middle-Earth"''': Fun fact; Midgard, or Miðgarðr as the Norse spelled it, literally translates to "Middle Country", "Middle Realm" and, drum roll, please ''*brrr*'' Middle Earth.