10 Times Tolkien’s LOTR Inspired The Harry Potter Series

JRR Tolkien’s magnum opus, The Lord of The Rings, is practically a literary legend today taking generations of readers back to the somber universe of Middle Earth. Meanwhile in the present context, another British author, JK Rowling, made history by creating a beguiling magical universe for the boy wizard Harry Potter.

Comparisons between the two are inevitable, although both are brilliant in their own rights. Rowling’s work is the only one that comes close to Tolkien’s in its mammoth scale and ambitions. Both are the fruits of the writers’ remarkable imaginations and yet, even the best of literature draws inspiration from others, and a closer look at the two epics reveals certain basic similarities in characters, concepts, and objects. Here are ten undeniable times Harry Potter was inspired by The Lord of the Rings.

10 The Ring-Bearer/The Chosen One

Let us start with the most obvious similarity between the two epics. It is true that every story needs a hero but not every hero has to be the only person in the world who must complete a very dangerous mission, or die trying. Yet, the central characters in both fantasies are the one person tasked with a mission, and the only one capable of getting it done.

Frodo becomes the Ring-bearer, taking on the mantle of destroying the One Ring by throwing it into the fires of Mount Doom, while Harry is the boy who lived, the chosen one to fight the immensely powerful dark wizard Voldemort, so much so that one cannot live while the other survives.

9 Gandalf The Grey/Albus Dumbledore

Another similarity lies in the grand ol’ men of both epic sagas. Both Gandalf and Dumbledore are pillars of strength for their respective heroes, offering them wisdom, and acting as their friend, philosopher, and guide. Rowling might have initially imagined Dumbledore as a wizard who was as old as the rocks, rather droll, and happened to be Harry’s safe haven — not really someone who exuded the kind of grandeur as did Gandalf the Grey.

Yet, as the character grew more complex, it became as much a symbol of almost infinite power as Gandalf. Moreover, once the stories got translated into celluloid, the comparison between the two wizards with their long flowing white beards became a certainty.

8 Sauron The Deceiver/Lord Voldemort

Both epic fantasies have a villain who is basically evil personified. Sauron the Deceiver rules over the grim, perilous landscape of Mordor, and wishes to subjugate the whole of Middle Earth, while He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named is looking to conquer the entire wizarding universe, leaving a bloodbath in its wake.

The similarities do not end there. Both villains are hailed as the Dark Lord, both lust after infinite power that would practically grant them immortality, and both survive without a weakened yet still corporeal form for the longest of time. Most importantly, both Voldemort and Sauron have their life forces attached to artifacts which are also the source of the extraordinary power they seek.

7 The One Ring/Horcruxes

Speaking of artifacts, the concept of Horcruxes is very obviously inspired by LOTR’s One Ring to rule them all. Fans could hardly miss the similarity between the two objects on which depend the very existence of the antagonists.

Sauron’s fate is attached to the One Ring which will make him the most powerful entity in Middle Earth. On the other hand, Voldemort has committed a barrage of heinous crimes thus creating as many as seven Horcruxes, each of which bears a part of his ripped soul. While LOTR revolves around Frodo traveling to destroy the One Ring which Sauron seeks, in the Potterverse, Harry’s mission is to destroy all the Horcruxes created by Voldemort to kill him off once and for all.

6 Nazgûl/Dementors

Both Lord of the Rings and Harry Potter take the reader into an imaginary world of intriguing magical creatures with dark, mysterious forces lurking in every corner. The Nazgûl are the Ringwraiths, enslaved by the power of the Ring and the most terrifying lieutenants of the Dark Lord Sauron. They are cloaked in black and exist in the realm of the invisible, neither living nor dead.

The dementors too are vile, wraith-like creatures that appear dark, hooded, and shadowy without any particular physical form. Besides, both creatures strike a sense of doom, despair, and fear in the hearts of those who cross their paths.

5 Gollum/The Elves

To be fair to Rowling, the elves in Potterverse are nothing like those in Tolkien’s masterpiece. However, in terms of appearance, one can easily draw parallels between the house-elves in the magical world, and the eponymous Gollum. One of the most fascinating characters in the history of literature is that of the creature Smeagol, known to all as Gollum because of the retching noise he makes in his throat.

Gollum is evil, yes, but he is also deeply conflicted, a tormented soul who has long given in to the obsessive hold of the Ring.  Dobby the elf, on the other hand, is far from evil, and one of Harry’s biggest supporters in the wizarding world, although another elf Kreature is rather more unpleasant. Different though their spirits might be, Gollum and the house-elves do share certain physical attributes.

4 Shelob/Aragog

Shelob is the giant spider in “The Lord of the Rings” that dwells in the deepest depths of Mordor and feasts indiscriminately on anybody unlucky enough to wander into her lair. In Potterverse, Aragog is Shelob’s counterpart, a mammoth spider who resides in the Forbidden Forest with his countless offsprings.

Frodo Baggins is seen rendered immobile in Shelob’s web until he is saved by Samwise Gamgee. Aragog is comparatively friendlier, choosing to cohabit in peace with other creatures like the centaurs in the Forbidden Forest but he sees no reason to deprive his progeny of a sumptuous feast if it became available.

3 Mirror Of Galadriel/Mirror Of Erised-Pensieve

Galadriel’s mirror is not really a mirror at all, but a basin of water from the Elvish land. This is reminiscent of a similar object in the Potterverse — the Pensieve. Just as Dumbledore used the Pensieve to revisit his memories, the Mirror of Galadriel too was capable of throwing up the past.

However, it’s not just the Pensieve that draws from the concept but also the Mirror of Erised. One of the most intriguing things about Rowling’s writing is her wordplay. The Mirror of Erised which Harry finds in his first year at Hogwarts is one such example — erised is, of course, “desire” spelled backwards. This mirror reflects a person’s innermost desire, just as the Mirror of Galadriel shows events that a person would wish to happen in the future.

2 Dead Marshes/Inferi

The Dead Marshes were a part of a battlefield that sucked in the corpses which were buried there post-battle. The dead could actually be seen floating in the marshland; when Gollum was guiding Frodo and Sam on to Mount Doom, he led them through the Marshes.

Potterverse has its own version of spooky corpses. The Inferi are the undead that Voldemort had bewitched to attack anyone who touched the waters in the dark cave which held one of the Horcruxes. Although the corpses in the Dead Marshes are supposed to be mere visions, the similarity with the Inferi is undeniable.

1 The Power Of The Ring/Legilimens

For Tolkien, the immense power of the ring called out to Sauron as well as the Nazgûl whose fate was bound to the Ring. Sauron and the Black Riders were also alerted every time the Ring was worn, forging a connection with the Ring-bearer. Similarly, Voldemort was able to read Harry’s mind, which is why Dumbledore wanted the latter to learn the art of Occlumency (a literal mental block) from Snape.

Of course, like the One Ring, Harry was Voldemort’s Horcrux, albeit unintended, enabling the latter to peek into his thoughts. Moreover, in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Voldemort puts a taboo on his own name so that the moment it is uttered by anybody anywhere, his henchmen would be able to trace them.

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