Spencer Sims, Outside Reading 4, The Hobbit

In the Hobbit Tolkien also shares Lewis' view on the effect of landscape on the perception of reality. The events preceding the entrance of the dwarven party into mirkwood illustrate this in my mind.This is the part of the book where the party is saved by eagles from the goblins and shortly thereafter given refuge by the shapeshifter beorn. Their actions, or rather the motivation of their actions represents the effect of the "classical landscape". The eagles and beorn yurn for natural order, just like the landscape that surrounds them with each rock in its rightful place and knolls abound. The area earns its title of classical landscape. these two parties help the dwarves not because they believe it is the right thing to do, per se. The two save them because it is a means to combat the goblins those they believe to be disturbing the natural order. The dwarves and hobbit alike are merely tools to help preserve this order.

One could even argue that Tolkien himself was influenced by this effect in his writings. In 1937 he wrote this classic in Oxfordshire, a fairly populated valley, sharing many similarities to a "classical landscape".The same structured valley & the ordered "Rollright Stones" give this continuous, carried, yet comfortable, area its namesake. In his writing we see the same desire for order & familiarity as he writes fondly upon aristocracy's and other, what he considers, righteous hierarchies. these myths appear as if they are born straight out of the classical landscape they were written in.