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Tolkien himself wrote about "nothing beyond the first few years of the Fourth Age," although he did begin a story set a century after Aragorn's death. He did not finish it because he believed "the King's Peace would contain no tales worth recounting; and his wars would have little interest after the overthrow of Sauron..." [Tolkien,Letters 419] Do you agree? Try writing your own "tale of the Fourth Age." You may use characters established in The Lord of the Rings,or you may invent you own; write your story in prose or poetic form (or, as Tolkien did, using both); illustrate your story if you wish. Along with your story, provide a one- to two-page statement outlining the choices you made in thinking about and writing your tale and how you see your tale as consistent with the framework for Middle-earth established by Tolkien himself.

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