Tony Meade
Active Member
SESSION 349
A stab of white light:
A stab of white light:
- There is a strong sound pattern of sibilant alliteration in the opening paragraph, followed by a stronger alliteration of “d” and “b” alliterations, where a “d” is paired with and followed by “b”.
- There is also a pairing of “f” and “g” pairings near the end, as well as strong short “u” sounds.
- Note: Seemingly, Tolkien reserves these kinds of strong alliterate patterns for action scenes. This may or may not be conscious choice, but it seems to be a matter of feel in his natural language.
- The hyphenation of doom-boom increases pace, and implies that these beats come together, while the earlier doom, doom and single sounds are separated with pauses afterwards.
- It is still not clear where the drums are relative to the listeners, though it seems to be far away.
- The metaphorical impression that the network of the mountain tunnels is a living thing with a heartbeat continues here, and then when it stops, leaves a void as it that living thing had died.
- Unlike the first paragraph, the emphasis is on repetition of key phrases rather than alliteration.
- Gandalf tends to alliterate when under stress and does so in sets of three alliterated words.
- His idiom just after arriving with the Company is more in line with hobbitry, but he transitions to a higher tone while describing his battle with whatever was opposing him above at the door.
- It is perhaps a sign of how shaken he is that he takes a more serious tone than with the hobbits.
- The phrase “met my match” implies a comparison to a contest of strength, like a tug-of-war.
- This goes against what the Company had seen previously, which was a group of orcs and a troll.
- The mechanism seems to be similar to the opening spells he had tried at the west-gate before.
- Whoever the opponent was, it was also casting opening spells like Gandalf was closing spells.
- The phrase “nearly been destroyed” does not seem to convey a specific kind of damage that was being done to him but is more in the heroic idiom that he is choosing to use at that moment.
- While words like “slain” and “bested” work in that idiom, they may not convey the intensity.
- Also, the word “slain” may imply damage with normal weapons like they faced in the Chamber.
- The word “destroyed” along with meeting his match implies using of magic instead of weapons.
- That word was used by Isildur in regard to the death of Gil-galad by the heat of Sauron’s hand.
- Also, “destroyed” implies more complete defeat than being slain, such as destruction of armies.
- Note: There may also be a memory of Tolkien’s experience at the Battle of the Somme, seeing the difference between men being slain by bullets and destroyed by artillery, which he saw.
- Gandalf’s description is primarily a warning that whatever is there is worse than orcs and trolls.
- Conveying this in a heroic tone directs this to Aragorn and Boromir, and away from the hobbits.
- This confirms Gandalf’s earlier statement to them that swords were no more use in that battle.
- Gandalf is clearly subject to physical death, as he was afraid of that at points in The Hobbit.
- By saying, “I am rather shaken”, Gandalf returns to the hobbitish tone, using understatement.
- Gandalf admits his weakness and limitations by stating that he is unable to make light anymore.
- He asks for help from Gimli, while still taking the lead, and echoing his orders before the fight.
- Whereas before he was ordering them to leave him behind, he now orders them to follow him.
- Gimli is the best person to help Gandalf since they will now have to go in the pitch dark.
- He has the best chance to navigate in the dark and find the way out of the Dwarf-tunnels.
- Gandalf’s code-switching to hobbit understatement communicates his resolve to lead them.
- He doesn’t seem to imply that their enemies are directly on their heels, at least not yet.
- Before, Gandalf’s use of brighter light was described as a flash, emphasizing their shortness.
- By using the word “stab”, this conveys the suddenness and brightness, which must have hurt their eyes after having been in the dark for so long, and implies that it is an act of violence.
- The low-key description using the word “thud” says something about their disconnection to it.
- Gandalf’s “flying” down the steps implies that he is taking the stairs many steps at a time in a great hurry, and that he probably fell when he reached the Company while trying to stop.
- This does not seem to be a result of being forcibly hurled, but that he has run down on his own.
- There are limitations to what the hobbits understand of what has happened, so they can only guess that magic has been used by Gandalf’s muttering and the sight of the white light flash.
- The new sound of the drums seems to indicate that whatever affected Gandalf also did them.
- The drums themselves may be supernatural in origin, reflecting the will of whatever rules them.
- Like before, the actions that are happening are abstract without seeing what had caused them.