Episode 138 Summary

Tony Meade

Active Member
SESSION 138

Comment on Boromir’s prudence:
  • While Boromir shows both pride and provincialism, he is also reasonably skeptical given his situation. He doesn’t know any of these people personally, and no reason to believe them.
  • The reveals that he witnesses are more and more wondrous, so he may suspect an agenda.
  • While Elrond is deemed one of the Wise, so is Saruman. Therefore, it is not unreasonable to equate wisdom with craftiness, as it often is, such as with Saruman, as we will see.
  • Boromir has personal reasons for rejecting a claimant to the throne, but he also might have a romanticized idea of what a returned king would look like, and Aragorn is not that.
  • Even the Stewards’ oaths charge them with protecting the throne, and that would include pretenders and plots, and Boromir might suspect both within the Council.
  • Note: Faramir will say to Frodo that if Boromir were satisfied of Aragorn’s claim, he would greatly reverence him, which is revealing in that is shows us what he thinks of the claim now.
  • While Boromir has pride for his family, his line, and his country, but he would also feel awe if he felt that this claim was true, as if it were a eucatastrophe that this could happen now.
  • One thing motivating Boromir’s skepticism could be that this might be too good to be true.
  • Note: Because Denethor feels his position is in threat and says his scathing words about Aragorn, and Boromir is described as following his father’s views, it is easy to attribute these same feelings to Boromir as a mirror of Denethor. It may be an element, but not everything.
  • Note: The awe that Boromir might feel at the appearance of the heir of Elendil is similar to what Éomer expresses about “legends springing out of the grass” later in Rohan.
The crownless again shall be king:
  • In both of the occasions when Bilbo’s poem is recited it is when Aragorn’s identity and trustworthiness is in doubt by the hearer of the poem.
  • The one difference in the two versions is that there is a comma after “broken” and before the last line, “The crownless again shall be king”, and in the new version, it is a colon.
  • This emphasizes this last line, as in this occasion, it is the bombshell, where before it was just poetry. In Bree, it wasn’t clear what the line meant, and Gandalf had to explain it to Frodo.
  • Frodo neither takes that last line literally nor seriously, so it wasn’t consequential at the time.
  • Strider had taken out the broken sword to show that the penultimate line wasn’t just a metaphor, but the hobbits had not made the connection to the last line, too.
  • Bilbo is saying directly what Elrond and Aragorn have been so indirect about, but that has been because of both their caution and the priority of defeating Sauron over any claim to kingship.
  • In Bree, the pivotal line was the first line, when the issue was doubting him because of his looks.
  • Also, the poem was not directly connected to Aragorn, but acted more as a set of proverbs about not judging people by their appearances, and hope that things will get better over time.
  • It’s only after we learn so much more about Aragorn after Bree that when we come to the poem again, the metaphorical and literal meanings of the poem emerge over the mere proverbial.
  • However, in Bree, the effect was more direct and practical, reassuring the hobbits that Gandalf was helping them through his friend Strider, who’s quoting the poem acted like confirmation.
Verses about Estel:
  • In Rivendell, it is more abstract and theoretical, and only expresses Bilbo’s faith in his friend, and in the concept of a greater hope for the world, including the return of the king.
  • Note: In Sindarin, there are two words that translate as “hope”: amdir and estel. While amdir refers to the practical hope that things will turn out well, estel refers to a more spiritual hope. This distinction will be best expressed in Sam’s losing hope in his success but gaining hope in going on regardless. Amdir is not enough to get them through Mordor, but estel is enough.
  • When Bilbo makes his self-effacing comment about the poem, he reveals that it is he that wrote it, which is ironic in that the poem played such an important role in reassuring Frodo.
  • Aragorn has clearly embraced this poem as a statement of his identity, and while it seems at the time that it is a prophecy from long ago, it turns out to be a relatively recent poem by his friend.
  • What did this poem mean to Bilbo when he wrote it? He seems to have been very inspired by Aragorn’s story and imagining the lost kingship and the fulfillment of that promise.
  • He makes Aragorn not only the subject of the poem, but it’s primary audience, and it is designed to inspire Aragorn with both statements of present fact and future promises.
  • Aragorn has spent decades in hard labors without clear results, waiting for a sign to appear, and when it does, it is a sign of doom, and that things will get worse before they get better.
  • He also has no idea if they will win or even survive, but he has to hold onto hope. The fact that Bilbo wrote this poem and Aragorn has taken it on as a source of hope reveals their relationship.
  • The fact that Bilbo refers to him as Dúnedan means that he continues to draw attention to this, using it as almost a title, and it seems that Bilbo isn’t alone in Rivendell in thinking this way.
(continued below)
 

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(continued)

Beyond the word of Elrond:
  • Bilbo seems to be putting forth his poem as a kind of evidence, though he makes a self-deprecating comparison to the lore of Elrond, which he feels should be good enough on its own.
  • Bilbo presents this as a riddle in answer to Boromir’s, both of which have the same answer.
  • Boromir may be wondering how authoritative this poem is. He doesn’t know if this is counsel, prophecy, or merely the opinion of Bilbo. He doesn’t seem to attribute divinity to his own poem.
  • He will perceive that the people in the room see the answer to his riddle being Aragorn. Bilbo seems not only annoyed by the sleight toward Aragorn, but also to his doubt in the answer.
  • Bilbo sarcastically asserts that it is perhaps to hear his poem that Boromir traveled for 110 days.
  • He could’ve pushed this poem as a source of hope for Boromir, just as Aragorn did, as though it was a message of reassurance for Gondor for a return to its past glories, but he doesn’t.
  • There is a sense that Bilbo is acting like Boromir is disrespecting his elders, but he is being unfair.
  • Though Bilbo takes Boromir as questioning Elrond’s word about the identity of Aragorn or the sword, Boromir is questioning if those things can actually be renewed or return at this time.
  • Note: There may be an underlying assumption that allies against the Enemy would not lie to each other. Any assumption or accusation that one person is lying to another was more of an insult in the past that it is now. Éomer will express this view later, and it is why Saruman was able to deceive the White Council for so long, and why Sauron is known as the Deceiver. Therefore, Bilbo would think it foolish that Boromir might suspect falsehood in Elrond.
  • It’s unclear what Bilbo means by making the poem up for the Dúnedan “a long time ago”, or if it was before or after moving to Rivendell.
  • Note: While we don’t know for sure that Bilbo returned to Rivendell before leaving the Shire for good, he is described as “visiting the elves at times”. We may have returned more than once in the sixty years since returning from Erebor, though it may have been decades since he’s been back. He may have visited more often earlier but stopped later when he became a teacher to the younger hobbits. He certainly had access to much Elvish lore not available in the Shire.
  • In the context of the Council, Bilbo’s wish to go with Aragorn is more ominous, as what Aragorn is currently looking forward to the day of doom, and Bilbo wishes to support Aragorn in his trial.
  • He has gone with a returning king before on his quest, and that had ended with Thorin’s death.
Where the stars are strange:
  • Aragorn reflects and returns Bilbo’s affection, knowing that Bilbo has defended him against Boromir, and also the spirit of friendship in which the poem was created by Bilbo.
  • Aragorn is grim much of the time and is not good at hobbitry, as we have seen, which makes his smile for Bilbo’s speech meaningful for the nature of their relationship.
  • Note: Aragorn is only described as smiling three times, and each of those times are related to hobbits: here, with Bilbo, in the Prancing Pony, and in the Houses of Healing with Merry.
  • The idea that the stars are strange in Rhûn and Harad is likely, as they simply mean “East” and “South”, respectively. It’s likely that in those journeys Aragorn traveled south of the equator.
  • Why is Aragorn presenting a sort of resume to Boromir? Does he feel a need to prove himself?
  • If Boromir is indeed suspecting Aragorn of lying, this would be the need for his forgiveness, but he also understands the source of Boromir’s doubt.
  • By referencing what is in the halls of Denethor, he shows that he has been in those halls before.
  • Note: There is a parallel to the story of Beowulf describing his swimming contest with Unferth.
  • Aragorn wishes Boromir to understand that he is not a stranger to the people of Gondor, but he also wants to emphasize to Boromir that he has journeyed not only there, but further beyond.
  • By speaking of the breadth of his journeys, he is not only showing Boromir’s parochialism, but also his fortitude in overcoming many obstacles, and also the scope of his view of the world.
  • The effect that his journeys have had on his appearance are part of the reason that he doesn’t look like the image of Isildur, explaining that part of Boromir’s doubt.
  • By only naming Gondor and the lands of their enemies, he shows his understanding of their situation, but mentioning that he has been in the halls of Denethor shows his importance.
  • This would also make Boromir question when under what circumstances this happened.
  • By asserting his familiarity with Gondor, Aragorn is not only rebutting Boromir’s earlier statements about their ignorance of Gondor, but that he may even have a better understanding.
  • In presenting credentials regarding his hardiness, Aragorn begins to answer Boromir’s doubt about whether or not he can live up to the pedigree of his sword.
  • Aragorn seems to almost approve of Boromir’s doubts, as he understands where they come from and about Boromir’s great need. He has already approved of Sam’s skepticism in Bree.
END OF SESSION
 

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