J.R.R. Tolkien is perhaps best known for The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings but it is in The Silmarillion that the true-depth of Tolkiens Middle-earth can be understood. The Silmarillion was written before during and after The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings. A collection of stories it provides information alluded to in Tolkiens better known works and in doing so turns The Lord of the Rings into much more than a sequel to The Hobbit making it instead a continuation of the mythology of Middle-earth. Verlyn Fliegers expanded and updated edition of Splintered Light a study of Tolkiens fiction first published in 1983 examines The Silmarillion and The Lord of the Rings in light of Owen Barfields linguistic theory of the fragmentation of meaning. Flieger demonstrates Tolkiens use of Barfields concept throughout his fiction showing how his central image of primary light splintered and refracted acts as a mtaphor for the languages peoples and history of Middle-earth.