Parts 3-4 Summary and Analysis

Part 3 is titled "1917-1925: The Making of a Mythology." Chapter 1, "Lost Tales," begins with G.B. Smith's words: "May you say the things I have tried to say long after I am not there to say them." These words inspired Tolkien to write his great epic work. Tolkien had decided that in order to create a new language he would also have to create a history around it if he was going to achieve the level of complexity desired. Additionally, Tolkien wanted to create an English mythology like that of the Norse or Finnish cultures using the same intense feeling he put into his early poetry.

As Tolkien was recovering from trench fever, Christopher Wiseman wrote and told his friend that it was time to start writing the epic. Tolkien began writing what he referred to as "The Book...