The beauty of the title is that it scans in several ways, all relevant. It could mean Sauron, it could mean the Ring -- great idea, ! The basic plot turns on the question 'who will be the Lord of the Rings' ' i.e. who will end the book by either possessing the ring to wield it OR determining the ring's fate by destroying it, helping to destroy it, stumbling into destroying it, or organizing a fellowship that ultimately brings about its destruction. In other words, 'who will be lord of the Ring's fate?' A constant theme, especially in Boromir's fate and Galadriel's, Aragorn's and Frodo's temptations is 'what does it mean to be the Lord of the Rings?' -- would claiming that title only make the claimant into an imitation of Sauron?
|