Exploring The Hobbit is a two-part series that looks beyond Tolkien’s beloved adventure to uncover the literary traditions and developing mythology that shaped it. Each module stands on its own and may be taken in any order: the first explores the children’s fantasy and fairy-story traditions that helped form The Hobbit, while the second follows the deep connections between the novel and the Silmarillion tradition Tolkien was developing at the same time. Together, they reveal The Hobbit as a work with roots reaching both backward into Tolkien’s literary influences and forward into the larger mythology of Middle-earth.