User Gareth Rees - Literature Stack Exchange

107 votes

Was the title "The Lord of the Rings" picked on purpose to be ambiguous?

answered Sep 15, 2020 at 15:06

79 votes

Why is Aragorn so weird to Pippin when they make their final farewell before going back to the Shire?

answered Oct 12, 2020 at 11:39

66 votes

Accepted

Did H. G. Wells use an emoticon in “The Time Machine”?

answered Jun 19, 2021 at 12:35

53 votes

Accepted

Why did Alexandre Dumas use Greek names for the three musketeers?

answered Jan 22, 2024 at 0:07

41 votes

Accepted

Why don't Mr. Bennet's daughters get to inherit the Longbourn estate?

answered Jan 14, 2019 at 10:47

36 votes

Accepted

Bilbo’s song of Eärendil in “The Fellowship of the Ring”

answered Jul 13, 2020 at 17:02

35 votes

Accepted

What is the pun in Kipling's poem "The Three-Decker"?

answered Feb 20, 2018 at 14:11

34 votes

Accepted

Story where professor claims a step in a proof "is obvious" when it is far from obvious

answered Aug 13, 2022 at 9:36

33 votes

Accepted

What is the earliest reference in fiction to a government-approved thieves guild?

answered Sep 17, 2021 at 15:13

32 votes

Accepted

What makes the children's book "Wild about Books" especially easy to read aloud?

answered Oct 1, 2024 at 22:21

31 votes

Who "dribbled a lot and wasn’t allowed anything sharp" in "Good Omens"?

answered Feb 26, 2022 at 13:56

30 votes

What translation/version of the Bible would Chaucer have read?

answered Oct 9, 2022 at 19:11

28 votes

Accepted

Did Aristotle ever actually mention tobacco?

answered Nov 17, 2024 at 16:42

28 votes

Accepted

"The gamester calls fooles holy- day."

answered Jan 6 at 11:23

28 votes

Accepted

"My father declared he should invent a slip button"

answered Mar 2, 2021 at 21:33

28 votes

Bilbo’s song of Eärendil in “The Fellowship of the Ring”

answered Jul 13, 2020 at 17:04

27 votes

What is the source of "You can achieve a lot with hate, but even more with love" (Shakespeare?)

answered Sep 14, 2019 at 19:48

27 votes

Accepted

In which version of "Snow White" is her name really "Lips Red as Blood, Hair Black as Ebony, Skin White as Snow"?

answered Oct 24, 2021 at 8:33

26 votes

Accepted

Why would Henry want to close the breach?

answered Dec 10, 2022 at 14:15

25 votes

Accepted

Why does the prophecy imply Macbeth has to murder the king?

answered Dec 26, 2021 at 14:01

25 votes

Accepted

Story about a man who bets his head but not his neck with the devil

answered May 21, 2022 at 19:08

25 votes

Accepted

Was it common that the bridges of ditches or creeks had guarding gates in 1924?

answered Sep 27, 2020 at 16:54

25 votes

Accepted

How did contemporary readers respond to coincidence in 19th century novels?

answered Feb 26, 2018 at 13:59

24 votes

Accepted

Where was the Odyssean Ithaca?

answered Mar 10, 2018 at 10:23

24 votes

What does "skimmish" mean, in this eye dialect?

answered Mar 18, 2021 at 9:54

24 votes

Does Gandalf ever say this in the book "The Hobbit", or is it made up for the movie?

answered May 14, 2022 at 16:25

24 votes

Why are sportsmen not desirous to have others of their persuasion move in?

answered Sep 30, 2024 at 13:31

24 votes

What is "the sin that no Christian need pardon"?

answered May 8, 2024 at 7:53

23 votes

Why does Valentine refer to her father's second wife as her "mother-in-law"?

answered Oct 14, 2021 at 21:54

23 votes

Accepted

What does "if the court knows herself" mean?

answered Feb 19, 2021 at 19:10

Stack Exchange Network

875 Answers

Was the title "The Lord of the Rings" picked on purpose to be ambiguous?

Why is Aragorn so weird to Pippin when they make their final farewell before going back to the Shire?

Did H. G. Wells use an emoticon in “The Time Machine”?

Why did Alexandre Dumas use Greek names for the three musketeers?

Why don't Mr. Bennet's daughters get to inherit the Longbourn estate?

Bilbo’s song of Eärendil in “The Fellowship of the Ring”

What is the pun in Kipling's poem "The Three-Decker"?

Story where professor claims a step in a proof "is obvious" when it is far from obvious

What is the earliest reference in fiction to a government-approved thieves guild?

What makes the children's book "Wild about Books" especially easy to read aloud?

Who "dribbled a lot and wasn’t allowed anything sharp" in "Good Omens"?

What translation/version of the Bible would Chaucer have read?

Did Aristotle ever actually mention tobacco?

"The gamester calls fooles holy- day."

"My father declared he should invent a slip button"

Bilbo’s song of Eärendil in “The Fellowship of the Ring”

What is the source of "You can achieve a lot with hate, but even more with love" (Shakespeare?)

In which version of "Snow White" is her name really "Lips Red as Blood, Hair Black as Ebony, Skin White as Snow"?

Why would Henry want to close the breach?

Why does the prophecy imply Macbeth has to murder the king?

Story about a man who bets his head but not his neck with the devil

Was it common that the bridges of ditches or creeks had guarding gates in 1924?

How did contemporary readers respond to coincidence in 19th century novels?

Where was the Odyssean Ithaca?

What does "skimmish" mean, in this eye dialect?

Does Gandalf ever say this in the book "The Hobbit", or is it made up for the movie?

Why are sportsmen not desirous to have others of their persuasion move in?

What is "the sin that no Christian need pardon"?

Why does Valentine refer to her father's second wife as her "mother-in-law"?

What does "if the court knows herself" mean?