The Beauty of Tolkien.

The Beauty of Tolkien, without reading his novels.

Tolkien is possibly the most well-known and best loved fantasy novelist of all time. His books, famously The Lord of The Rings, and The Hobbit have been inspiring people of all ages since they were first published in 1937, 1954 and 1955 respectively. The Times named him sixth most popular of British Writers since 1945 in 2008 showing that the critical acclaim he received on the publication of The Hobbit has not dwindled over time.

Tolkien - he even looked as if he belonged in one of his own novels. 

However, Tolkien did not just create wonderfully detailed and inspiring fantasy novels he was also a poet, a philosopher, a university lecturer and a family man. His poetry, philosophies and his dedication to his children often found their way into his longer works. Within his novels based in Middle Earth Tolkien included poetry, changing the pace and tone of the book for the length of time the verse measured out. This has become particularly noted by a new audience with the release of the first part of the film adaptation of The Hobbit.  When the dwarves invade the privacy of Bilbo Baggins’ quaint little hobbit hole they make the young hobbit rather uncomfortable due their uncouth and unexpected actions. When the group settle down for the evening they begin to sing the poem or song below.

The Hobbit - An Unexpected Journey 

Far over the Misty Mountains cold,
To dungeons deep and caverns old,
We must away, ere break of day,
To seek our pale enchanted gold.

The dwarves of yore made mighty spells,
While hammers fell like ringing bells,
In places deep, where dark things sleep,
In hollow halls beneath the fells.

For ancient king and elvish lord
There many a gleaming golden hoard
They shaped and wrought, and light they caught,
To hide in gems on hilt of sword.

On silver necklaces they strung
The flowering stars, on crowns they hung
The dragon-fire, on twisted wire
They meshed the light of moon and sun.

Far over the Misty Mountains cold,
To dungeons deep and caverns old,
We must away, ere break of day,
To claim our long-forgotten gold.

Goblets they carved there for themselves,
And harps of gold, where no man delves
There lay they long, and many a song
Was sung unheard by men or elves.

The pines were roaring on the heights,
The wind was moaning in the night,
The fire was red, it flaming spread,
The trees like torches blazed with light.

The bells were ringing in the dale,
And men looked up with faces pale.
The dragon's ire, more fierce than fire,
Laid low their towers and houses frail.

The mountain smoked beneath the moon.
The dwarves, they heard the tramp of doom.
They fled the hall to dying fall
Beneath his feet, beneath the moon.

Far over the Misty Mountains grim,
To dungeons deep and caverns dim,
We must away, ere break of day,
To win our harps and gold from him!

This is a fantastic poem in my opinion and one of the great parts of it is that even without having read any of the Middle Earth related books the audience can still understand it. It presents a story in itself, telling of the dwarves misfortune when attacked by a mighty dragon. The imagery sends the reader away to another world and within just ten verses they have been on a great adventure surrounded by dwarves, elves, a dragon, gold and fire. This is Tolkien’s talent to allow his readers into a fantasy realm very quickly but to leave them with a sense of awe and interest that lasts long after having read one of his works.  Amyx