The Lord Of The Rings: 10 Things You Didn't Know About The Nazgûl

Tolkien did not pull his epic tale out of thin air. It's well known that he was an avid fan of Norse Mythology and Angelo Saxon history. He was hugely inspired by the poem Beowulf, as well as the mythology of Oden, of whom the Gandalf character was inspired by.

But he also took ideas from Shakespeare. Tolkien was fairly critical of Shakespeare's writing and even attempted to improve some of his ideas; during the final stages of Macbeth, the trees look as though they have come alive, but it is later revealed that Macbeth's enemies have merely disguised themselves with branches. Tolkien found this so unexciting that he adapted this scene by inventing Ents and having them attack Isengard.

But this wasn't the only thing he took from Shakespeare. One of the key twists in Macbeth is the fulfilment of a prophecy. The character is told by the witches he will be killed "not by man born of woman", leaving him to believe he cannot be defeated by his enemies. It is later revealed that his rival, Macduff, was born by a caesarian birth, and as a technicality, he is able to kill Macbeth. This runs in parallel to the Witch-king's prophecy, which states he cannot be killed "by the hand of man", and is eventually defeated by a women.