Over 1,000 pages of literature sitting on a dusty bookshelf can be a daunting view for many. Most pass up that opportunity to embark on vast journeys through fantasy worlds, but a select few put their mind to completing this formidable task.

Spanning only one semester, the new School Within a School (SWS) Lord of the Rings English class gives students the opportunity to dive deeper into J.R.R. Tolkien’s fantasy universe. This unique class was voted in by SWS students in spring of 2025 and has been coming to fruition this semester. The course takes a distinctive approach, contrasting most English classes, as it focuses strictly on the Lord of the Rings books.

First published in 1954, Tolkien’s fantasy world of “The Lord of the Rings” was created to branch off of his 1937 children’s book “The Hobbit,” but eventually transformed into a world of its own, amassing hundreds of thousands of devoted fans. It follows main character Frodo Baggins as he ventures to destroy the all-powerful One Ring to maintain peace across the lands.

English teacher Zac Broken Rope said he created this class in order to incentivize students to pick up that book they have had sitting on their shelves for years. Even though his first read-through of the series took place over this recent summer, he said that this class was made to challenge traditional English classes’ tendencies to prioritize covering shorter texts.

“I’ve always been kind of interested in the idea of teaching one text over the course of a semester or a longer period of time. Often, we get the idea of ‘how many books can we squeeze in?’ and so sometimes we choose shorter texts as a way to get through them quicker and get more reading done,” Broken Rope said.

Senior Noah Krewinghaus says when voting for their top four classes they were drawn in by the prospect of analyzing a single fantasy series.

“I wouldn’t say that the Lord of the Rings is what intrigued me into taking this class, but that we’re getting involved so deep with a text for a whole semester
and getting to know the characters and exploring the characters,” Krewinghaus said.

The class contains students with different relationships with the books, some having expansive knowledge, and some with none at all. Junior Amit Sadeh, who hadn’t read the books before, emphasizes this division but said the class is truly open to everyone.

“Most of the people watched the movies but haven’t read the book. There’s only a few people who have read the book, but when they were way younger, so I think even if you’re not that into fantasy, or if you are, the class is for everyone,” Sadeh said.

Krewinghaus said the class is mostly discussion-based, so it helps students pay close attention to the parts they are reading, even if there is a hefty amount of reading per night.

“[The class is] also just pushing me to really read it because it’s 20-30 pages a night, and you can’t really skim it if you’re going to have a discussion for 55 minutes the next day. The discussion is the whole class,” Krewinghaus said.

Discussions give students an opportunity to share their ideas, and in this class, that aspect is emphasized through the long conversations that take place on most days. According to Sadeh, responsibility is given to the students to lead the discussions, and as a result, their talks can diverge in unique directions.

“It’s the students who really take initiative in the discussions. You call on other students, not the teacher, so it’s a really open discussion. It can go anywhere and the topics can change really quickly. We can talk about one thing for a really long time as well,” Sadeh said.

The Lord of the Rings series wasn’t only chosen for this class because of its totemic existence, but Broken Rope said he wishes for the book’s themes to bring hope to all students. The books tackle recurring moments of hopelessness, but ultimately of perseverance.

“I hope that’s what people enjoy in [the books] is that when you come across, from the small things like your Saturday morning SAT to your Head of the Charles Regatta race to your feelings about being a young adult and going into the world in a few years, that no matter what you feel, as long as you embrace the hope, there’s a way forward,” Broken Rope said. “That’s one of the more powerful wrestles of the book and why people return to it at different times throughout our lives.”