Episode 141 Summary

Tony Meade

Active Member
SESSION 141

On casting stories into verse:
  • Tolkien had an impulse to recast many of his prose stories into epic verse, which is something that he projects onto Bilbo.
  • While he may not have felt it appropriate to write the stories of The Hobbit or The Lord of the Rings in verse form, that impulse is satisfied by the poems that he shared within the text.
  • This includes both older poems that he attached to these stories, and new verses attributed to writers making verse later about the events in the stories.
  • An exception is the “Where Is the Horse and the Rider?” poem, in which he adapts the Anglo-Saxon poem “The Wanderer”.
  • Ironically, this highlights the differences between them and the Rohirrim, though he used the Rohirrim to express many of his beliefs about Anglo-Saxon culture.
  • The phrase “plain words” is a very hobbitish term, that tells us how Bilbo might view poetry. This also is revealing about how the Elves would appreciate a poetic version of the story.
  • From Bilbo’s and Frodo’s experiences of enchantment, they may have a specific view of the effect of poetry, which might be normal for Elves who might view prose as not up to the task.
  • The use of the word “cast” is a specific use of vocabulary, as it is associated with the craft of making, such as casting a metal object. It implies that the verse is cast within a specific mold.
  • There is also the use of the word “cast” with regards to spells, though it’s not used in the book.
  • “Casting” is also often used in the sense of throwing or projecting things, though Gimli makes a pun when he responds by worrying about Saruman throwing objects at them as well as spells.
  • The metaphorical use of “cast” in terms of a spell seems to have something to do with throwing to projecting magical power in the way you might cast an object.
  • In this way, a spell might be “cast” in both senses of shaping it and throwing it at another.
  • Note: The idea of spellcasting is a very common term in fantasy gaming like Dungeons & Dragons, which was heavily influenced by Tolkien to the point of being copied wholesale.
  • Is Elrond invoking a magical spell metaphor in regard to Bilbo’s poetry? This would not be inappropriate from the Elvish perspective, though its more likely he is using the crafting sense.
  • In this sense, the verse is the mold into which the story is placed. The story is the fluid material which is poured into the mold of verse which gives it a shape.
  • Note: It’s possible that the “casting” of horoscopes was influential on the use in terms of spells. This may derive from the throwing or “casting” of bones or runes for purposes of divination.
  • This is one time that characters talk about the nature and purpose of poetry within the text, as opposed to using poetry itself, so the metaphor of crafting, rather than magic, is important.
Bilbo stands forth:
  • Elrond shows again his skill and proclivity for hobbitry in his exchange with Bilbo. His smile is a clear external cue of his affection for Bilbo and the tone of his request.
  • There is an implication that Bilbo has developed a reputation as a poet even in Rivendell. Elrond’s use of “yet” implies that he believes that casting his story into verse is inevitable.
  • His use of a meal as something to motivate Bilbo to keep his story short is more hobbitry.
  • Bilbo has taken up Elrond’s invitation to tell the story in plain words by introducing his great story with a sense of understatement.
  • Note: The use of the alternate version of Bilbo’s story is one of places where Tolkien retcons the revised and updated version of The Hobbit, released in 1951, with the original 1937 version, by making the differences in the stories part of the plot of The Lord of the Rings. Tolkien is assuming that many of the original readers of this book will have read the original version of Bilbo’s story, and this needs to be explained within the new story. Many later readers who never read the 1937 version may have been confused by this reference.
  • Bilbo saying that he understands things better now is a nod to the fact that his original version of this story was a lie that he told under the influence of the Ring, which he now corrects.
  • Many of the people on the Council will have no idea what Bilbo is talking about in his preamble, so this is for only a small audience. Bilbo’s story is famous, but only in a small way.
Claiming the treasure as his very own:
  • Bilbo’s insight in the Hall of Fire about the Ring extends to understanding not wanting to be known as a thief, besides just wanting to claim the Ring, and that this name was put upon him.
  • Bilbo wanted to make an identity for himself as a burglar, but not a thief, as Gollum called him.
  • Though Bilbo had played the riddle game to make things fair, and he was forced to use the Ring to escape from Gollum, he has still carried the accusation of Gollum with him all these years.
  • There is an expression of Bilbo’s pity for Gollum in the original version of his story, expressing sympathy for Gollum’s situation and not wanting to carry the guilt of taking the Ring from him.
  • Though Gollum called Bilbo a thief, its not true, as Bilbo found the Ring, so there’s no rationale for his feeling that he stole it, but he is uncomfortable in that he knew it was Gollum’s.
  • Within Hobbit culture, there is precedent for making off with, or outright stealing valuables and claiming treasures. The Sackville-Bagginses are extreme, but not true outliers.
  • If Bilbo wanted to rationalize that ill-gotten gains are free for the taking, he could justify his taking the Ring since Gollum got it through murder, though Bilbo doesn’t know that.
  • By expressing his desire to claim the treasure for his very own, Bilbo implies that one could make a case that the Ring was never really his in the first place without the false story.
  • Bilbo uses the word “treasure”, and not “Ring”. This seems to be a characterization of his old point of view, in that he saw the Ring as treasure, meaning something that one finds and claims.
  • By contrast, when Bilbo finds the Arkenstone, he knows from the beginning that he cannot claim that as treasure, and recognizes that he truly is stealing it, like a true burglar.
  • Bilbo makes a rational claim for the Ring using the riddle game, much like Isildur rationalized it as weregild, but in both cases these are not truly how they acquired the Ring.
  • Frodo has the strongest claim of all, as he received it as an inheritance, but it’s still rationalizing.
  • He also has a double claim as he also received it as a birthday present from Bilbo on the occasion of Bilbo’s leaving and Frodo’s coming of age. Bilbo reflects Gollum’s claim in this gift.
  • Therefore, there is an impulse among all the Ring-bearers to claim some kind of legitimacy.
  • Bilbo wants to leave Frodo with no doubt about right to own the Ring, for his and Frodo’s sake.
  • Note: Tolkien addressed the differences between the Shire-hobbits’ tradition of giving away presents on their birthdays and Sméagol and Déagol’s folk’s tradition of receiving in his letters.
  • It’s possible that the lack of need to justify his ownership of the Ring lessened its hold on Frodo, though it also may have made Frodo feel more entitled to it than the others who rationalize.
  • Frodo may have a kind of moral advantage in that his ownership of the Ring began as a gift and with no doubts or guilt. Bilbo and certainly Gollum’s relationships with the Ring are shakier.
  • Bilbo’s acknowledgement of his new understanding is a gentle confession and apology, and an expression of his humility, before launching into an abbreviated version of his story.
END OF SESSION
 

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