Abstract
This study offers a fresh look at the widely discussed binaries in The Lord of the Rings and examines whether their structure can be visualised. Building on previous research that identifies Tolkien’s prose as structured by emotional and moral shifts, this study makes visible how these changes happen throughout the trilogy, through quantitative means. A transformer-based language model was employed and fine-tuned on a Tolkien-specific corpus to align with Tolkien's semantics and symbolism. The primary methodology for highlighting these binaries is a Tolkien-specific sentiment analysis. A semi-guided approach, selecting positive and negative sentences from the work as contextual reference points, was used to ensure more precise sentiment scoring. This process yields a sentiment score indicating which segments of The Lord of the Rings lean more toward the positive or negative end of the spectrum, as confirmed by comparison with past literary interpretations. The resulting graph or sentiment trajectory exhibits a familiar pattern of alternating between negative and positive sentiment, aligned with key moments and character arcs. Prolonged troughs, sharp reversals, and extended recoveries make visible the proportional structure of Tolkien’s sentiment binaries. The study illustrates how computational methods can uncover large-scale stylistic rhythms and work alongside traditional literary analysis.
Recommended Citation
Vogatza, Dimitra
(2025)
"Through Peaks and Troughs: Visualising the Rhythmic Sentiment of The Lord of the Rings,"
Journal of Tolkien Research: Vol. 23:
Iss.
2, Article 3.
Available at:
https://scholar.valpo.edu/journaloftolkienresearch/vol23/iss2/3