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# J.R.R. Tolkien and the Long Defeat (Mythic Mind, ep. 181)
- URL: https://mythicmindfellowship.com/j-r-r-tolkien-and-the-long-defeat-mythic-mind-ep-181/
- Published: 2026-07-13T13:00:00.000Z
- Updated: 2026-10-23T03:54:46.000Z
- Author: Andrew Snyder

Mythic MindEpisode 181

# J.R.R. Tolkien and the Long Defeat (Mythic Mind, ep. 181)

Dr. Andrew Snyder

13 July 2026

[Watch on YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R-1Yp1Z8dv4&ref=mythicmindfellowship.com)

## In this episode

What does the future hold? What has been let go by the past? How should we view the moving horizon?

In this episode, I draw from Tolkien’s letters, The Lord of the Rings, and his essays, “The Monsters and the Critics” and “On Fairy-Stories,” to discuss his concept of The Long Defeat.

### People

**Dr. Andrew Snyder**Host and speaker

### Key themes

- The Long Defeat
- Tolkien’s letters and essays

## Books mentioned

- [**The Lord of the Rings**J.R.R. Tolkien](https://bookshop.org/a/129785/9780544003415?ref=mythicmindfellowship.com)
- [**Tolkien On Fairy-stories**J.R.R. Tolkien](https://bookshop.org/a/129785/9780007582914?ref=mythicmindfellowship.com)

## Go deeper

The Cosmos

### [Saturn](https://mythicmindfellowship.com/cosmos/)

The Seventh Heaven

Find it on the Cosmos

The Inkwell

### [Day Shall Come Again: Providence and Tragedy in Tolkien’s Children of Húrin](https://mythicmindfellowship.com/day-shall-come-again-providence-and-tragedy-in-tolkiens-children-of-hurin/)

The Children of Húrin is incongruent with much of the rest of Tolkien’s legendarium; and a new reader, first picking up The Silmarillion, will often be struck at how dark the tale is.

Read the essay

The Reading Room

### [The Wisdom of Tolkien: The Lord of the Rings](https://mythicmindfellowship.com/the-wisdom-of-tolkien-the-lord-of-the-rings/)

Tracing the Wisdom of Arda. For Fellows and Companions.

See the course

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[Previous in Mythic MindAI Storytelling: What Remains Properly Human](https://mythicmindfellowship.com/ai-storytelling-what-remains-properly-human-mythic-mind-ep-180/)[Next in Mythic MindThe Two Towers, Part 2: Helm’s Deep and the Palantir](https://mythicmindfellowship.com/the-two-towers-part-2-helms-deep-and-the-palantir-mythic-mind-ep-182/)

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