"BEING - TOWARDS - DEATH" AND "THE ESCAPE FROM DEATH" IN JRR TOLKIEN'S 'THE LORD OF THE RINGS' PHILOSOPHICAL AND THEOLOGICAL ASPECTS

The article deals with the theme of death in J.R.R. Tolkien's epic 'The Lord of the Rings', which both the author himself and numerous researchers of the writer's body of work recognize as key for understanding the entire religious and philosophical content of this work. This theme is analysed in the article within the framework of the semantic opposition, formulated by the concepts of 'being-towards-death' and 'escape from death'. The first concept is borrowed from M. Heidegger's philosophy, and the second is present both in Heidegger's and Tolkien's works. The study shows that a comparison of how Tolkien and Heidegger expound on the theme of death can be productive for a better understanding of their approaches - both in their similarities and differences.