Is the Elves’ song in which Frodo is enchanted also a song about Eärendil or the Sea or the West? Is this a coincidence, or an introduction for Bilbo’s poem?
The mention of seas on the margin of the world does conjure imagery of the context of Valinor.
Falling into deep water is a metaphor that Tolkien has used often, such as when Frodo collapsed at the Ford, or when Merry collapsed in Bree, or also at Tom Bombadil’s house.
This metaphor seems to indicate being overwhelmed, whether good or bad. Tom Bombadil also used this metaphor to describe what happened to the hobbits in the barrow.
The fact that these Elves are singing about the Sea is understandable, as many are Noldorin exiles, and they are sailing away into the West like Sam has described.
Therefore, the Elves’ singing about sailing into the West makes it poignant to transition to the poem about Eärendil sailing into the West as a mortal never to return.
There also could be a direct connection between the Elves’ music and water itself, as the music of the Ainur is most purely expressed in the element of water.
We have also seen visions tied to water and to the Sea, and there is an implied connection Ulmo himself. In that way, Elvish singing is the most direct echo of the music of the Ainur.
Comment on the choice of the Eärendil poem:
While the Beren and Lúthien poem is given a prose context for the bigger picture of Middle-earth history, we are not given Eärendil’s story in the poem or in prose.
Because the poem spends so much time in the passive voice, what Eärendil did and what it accomplished is deliberately obscured in favor of Eärendil’s experience.
Strider uses the Beren and Lúthien to comfort and protect the hobbits on Weathertop, it also shows how pivotal and ongoing that story is in the story of The Lord of the Rings.
The Eärendil poem seems to be purely aesthetic, but not to let us know more about the events and themes of the stories of the Elder Days.
We can see that Eärendil has undergone an apotheosis and is elevated above all other mortals, but this comes with the mighty doom is laid upon him and his exile from mortal lands.
The Valar themselves are downplayed and unnamed aside from Elbereth, and it is not clear if it is the Valar or the Elves who give him the gifts in order to carry out his doom.
One major theme is that no mortal can interact with the immortals without being changed by it.
Within the plot, Bilbo and Frodo have just been reunited after seventeen years, and after dealing with the issue of the Ring, the next question is what happened after Bilbo’s retirement.
Since Bilbo has never returned home, including being actively prevented by Gandalf, we need to know what his life is like in Rivendell, and his exile from his home is parallel to Eärendil’s.
There will be other references to Eärendil later in the story, such as Elrond’s descent and the Phial of Galadriel, for which this poem lays the groundwork, so that name is familiar.
Note: From Tolkien’s perspective, many of the poems included in The Lord of the Rings were older poems that he would have not been able to get to a wide audience otherwise, like the troll poem, and after having written and revised these poems many times, he wanted to share them. By combining all these older works into mythology, he now finds context in which to include it.
After hearing this poem, the main association with Eärendil will be light of the stars and with hope itself, which is the meaning that Frodo and Sam take with them into Mordor.
The original “Errantry” poem has to be transformed into Eärendil’s story when Tolkien chooses to have Bilbo speak it in the Hall of Fire, so that purpose and theme was always there.
However, while the Rivendell version of “Errantry” focuses more on the specifics of Eärendil’s adventures, the final version focuses more on the apotheosis and the exile.
This version, therefore, is more applicable to Frodo, and to Bilbo himself, and their own stories.
Has Bilbo prepared this with Frodo in mind, and for his benefit? At this point, Frodo has been in Rivendell for days, and Bilbo wrote this recently to be performed at the feast in his honor.
Though Bilbo doesn’t know what Frodo’s fate will be, Bilbo understands the significance of what has happened to Frodo enough to foresee the big picture of Frodo’s exile and transformation.
However, this poem was prepared too far in advance for it to be extemporaneous and inspired.
Is this a purely oral composition, or was it written out? We have no references to paper, but his role as a writer would point to this being written out before memorizing it for input and recital.
The reception to Bilbo’s verse:
The register in which Bilbo’s poem is received is in exactly the same tone as the singing Elves from The Hobbit, during which they sing the “tralalalally song” and tease the Dwarves.
These Rivendell Elves are very good at hobbitry, as we have already seen with Elrond, though Lindir and Bilbo are even more willing to make digs at one another, showing their friendship.
This is parallel to the discussion that Bilbo had with the Elves singing at night outside his window at the end of The Hobbit. It’s likely that Lindir was among the singers that woke Bilbo up.
By contrast, Strider is the only one who generally doesn’t fall in with the hobbitry with Bilbo.
Even the fact that Bilbo’s test question about the poem is a trick question is a kind of hobbitry.
Bilbo’s distancing himself from the poem is unsurprising in front of Eärendil’s descendants.
The sight of Bilbo on his stool surrounded by appreciative listeners is prosaic and helps to return both Frodo and the reader from the enchanted world of the poetry to the primary story’s plot.
This group seems to be a small part of the party at the feast, though it probably includes the important characters like Elrond and Gandalf, though the subject matter might draw attention.
Other songs were happening around Frodo before, but in Elven tongues, so Bilbo’s song in stands out. This group seems to be only Bilbo’s close friends, given the praise and heckling.
The applause seems to more enthusiastic than perfunctory, leading up to the teasing, and they did ask for a repeat performance, so they are not just being polite.
Why does Bilbo refuse a second performance? Is he worried about drawing a bigger audience the second time, or is he worried about some of the other Elves’ disapproval?
Bilbo’s purpose doesn’t seem to be to please Elrond, but to use Eärendil as a cautionary tale for mortals in interacting with the Faerie and the Elves, which makes it cheekier.
Bilbo seems to want to emphasize Eärendil’s mortal side, and since Elrond chose to be Elf-kind, this points out that Elrond took a path that diverged greatly from his father’s choices.
The exchange between Bilbo and Lindir seems to emphasize Bilbo’s belief in the differences between Hobbits and Men, while Lindir emphasizes the difference between Elves and mortals.
Is Bilbo’s question about Hobbits and Men intended to distract from any offense that might be caused by his cheekiness, especially since it is a trick question?
If Bilbo were that concerned about his reception, it would be easier to simply not sing the song.
Strider had distanced himself from the poem, but Bilbo seems to throw him back into the fray.
Any of the Elves’ interest in mortal perspectives is answered, not with Hobbit songs about Hobbit subjects, but by Bilbo’s take on the Elves’ own stories and his experience among them.
Note: Strider did a similar thing with his version of the Beren and Lúthien song. While the story in The Silmarillion emphasizes the loss of Lúthien from the Elvish perspective, Strider tells the story from Beren’s mortal perspective, knowing that he is the parallel in his own time.
Does Bilbo reclaim Eärendil as a hero for mortals through his poem? In a sense, yes, which makes it cheekier. Bilbo is saying that Eärendil belongs to everyone, not just the Elves.
Eärendil had been linked explicitly to the Numenoreans rather than the Elves at the end of his prose version of the Beren and Lúthien story, Bilbo is looking at it from the Hobbit perspective.
By asking his question, he forces Lindir to acknowledge the gap in experience between Elves and mortals, and their lack of understanding about mortals and their perspective.
Note: Up to this point, the primary exposure to the idea of the immortality of the Elves has been through the Beren and Lúthien poem, and this as the difference between Elves and Men.
It seems that it is not assumed that Elves will be interested in mortals, according to Lindir.
Note: There is a biblical undertone in the mention of shepherds and sheep, and a sense in that Elves might be like shepherds to the mortals, or at least should be acting as such.
Bilbo returns to the mortals:
Bilbo could be expressing a false modesty to Frodo, though he sounds genuinely relieved.
What did Bilbo expect? Has he gotten bad reactions in the past, or is this the first time he has tackled a high subject? The Elves seem to appreciate Bilbo’s efforts, nonetheless.
Bilbo seems to know that he was taking a risk by giving a mortal perspective on this subject.
There’s also risk of getting the story wrong in front of people who have personal memories of it.
The fact that he was asked for a second hearing indicates a sincere interest in this work.
Note: Aragorn’s insistence on a green stone is a very obscure reference, though the emerald is one of the elements that is constant through all of Tolkien’s versions of the poem. Tolkien retroactively attributes the “Errantry” poem to Bilbo in The Adventures of Tom Bombadil.
There is an irony in that Aragorn insists on the green stone, as this is a reference to himself as the “Elf-stone”, or Elessar, which contrasts with his distancing himself from the poem itself.
In a way, Aragorn is staking a claim to Eärendil for himself and his line, as much for Elrond’s.
No one in the room wouldn’t know or would forget that Aragorn is the heir to the kingship.
This seems to be an effort to include Men in the mortal perspective expressed for Hobbits.
Aragorn doesn’t own a green stone at this point in the story, but he would be aware of the regnal name foretold for him. He had also found a green Elf-stone on the bridge as a sign.
The Elf-stone doesn’t tie Aragorn to Eärendil the way that the Ring of Barahir ties him to Beren and Lúthien. The ring is a physical connection, while the Elf-stone is more symbolic.
Note: Tolkien usually places the narration in the perspective of the least knowledgeable character in any given scene. As usual with hobbits, Bilbo’s expression of ignorance of the stone is in keeping with this, though we are given to understand that there is an unknown importance.
Frodo’s response to the poem:
Frodo’s expression of how the poem “fit”, he is talking about how the poem seemed to follow on from the Elvish song that came before it, which is in contrast with Bilbo intend to shock.
In this sense, his response is more appropriate, as Eärendil himself is both mortal and immortal, and Frodo is able to see how the mortal and immortal songs work together in harmony.
Eärendil was a more complete merging of Elf and Man, while Elrond has chosen only the Elves.
Frodo’s response is also different from Aragorn’s response, thinking that it was not inappropriate at all, and even than Lindir’s response about sheep and shepherds.
Frodo’s sensitivity to the Music may be shown following his previous dreams about waters and the Sea, as well as the Elvish songs, therefore his response may be from a wider perspective.
This shows the contrast between Frodo’s experience of Elvish enchantment and his experience under the influence of the Morgul blade.
