Mythologies of power: H. Rider Haggard's influence on J. R. R. Tolkien's 'The Lord of the Rings'

J. R. R. Tolkien's influence on pop culture is evident in the immense popularity of The Lord of the Rings book and movie version. However, little is known about any substantial influence on the author himself, with the exception of H. Rider Haggard. Indeed, in an interview with Henry Resnick, Tolkien admits the influence of Haggard's fantastic adventure novels: "I suppose as a boy She interested me as much as anything---like the Greek shard of Amynatas, which was the kind of machine by which everything got moving" (40). In what way did Haggard help Tolkien "get moving"? How did Haggard influence Tolkien? Both authors explore mythologies of power. I believe Tolkien took several of Haggard's characters and settings/plots and made them into characters that are more dynamic (than Haggard's characters) in his beloved trilogy LOTR.;A close study of LOTR and Haggard's King Solomon's Mines reveals striking similarities between the fortune-fated Gollum of LOTR trilogy and the sad, shadowed Gagool of Haggard's novel. Similarly, Galadriel, the beautiful elven queen of LOTR shares striking traits of power with Haggard's title character She . The final similarity I explore is the symbolic setting/plot combination. Both Haggard and Tolkien used caves/death in order to explore power and its destructive nature. I show the striking similarities between Haggard's fantasy/adventure novels and Tolkien's trilogy that has captured the world's attention.