Matt DeForrest
Active Member
I finally found my point of confusion about the echoes of Irish and English usage of this phrase. But (conjunction) all-the-while (a measure of time ). As such, the phrase all-the-while is a signal that this activity would modify the sit and think to become something capturing the present perfect tense (activity begun in the past and continuing in the present — I explain for those, like me, who would have had to look that up) rather than the simple present, trying to capture two simultaneous actions. Bilbo is sitting and thinking of the past and future while he listens for footfalls.
The implication of this is that his active thoughts are of the past and reflecting on the distant future created by the present — a present he is waiting to hear about from those who will come (immediate future) to the door.
As a practical matter, it kind of subordinates but it might be more accurate to think of it as trying to create a sense of two parallel activities (foreground and background) rather than an activity that is placed in a lesser position. The two go on at once and it depends on which sense (the inner sight of thought versus the listening to the noises in the hallway) you focus on.
EDIT: This is not to say that Tolkien isn’t trying to have his cake and eat it to by using a measure of time that implies a subordinating conjunction. I suspect he is using this noun phrase (or is it a verb, akin to whiling away the hours?) for that purpose as well.
The implication of this is that his active thoughts are of the past and reflecting on the distant future created by the present — a present he is waiting to hear about from those who will come (immediate future) to the door.
As a practical matter, it kind of subordinates but it might be more accurate to think of it as trying to create a sense of two parallel activities (foreground and background) rather than an activity that is placed in a lesser position. The two go on at once and it depends on which sense (the inner sight of thought versus the listening to the noises in the hallway) you focus on.
EDIT: This is not to say that Tolkien isn’t trying to have his cake and eat it to by using a measure of time that implies a subordinating conjunction. I suspect he is using this noun phrase (or is it a verb, akin to whiling away the hours?) for that purpose as well.
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