Episode 73 Summary

Tony Meade

Active Member
SESSION 73

The shape of the Tale of Tinúviel:
  • The rhythm of this poem makes it a dancing song. It is also meant to be read aloud.
  • The meter of the song is iambic tetrameter, just the Hobbit meter we’ve seen before.
  • The vast majority of the content of the poem is about the meeting of Beren and Lúthien, not their deeds, which is ironic as the latter is the most relevant to the hobbits’ situation.
  • For those who only know the Beren and Lúthien story from this poem, the full scope of their story may be unknown and surprising when read in The Silmarillion.
  • The rhythm is generally very regular, though many of the lines are enjambed one into another. Generally, the eight-line stanzas are broken up into two sentences over four lines each.
  • The rhyme scheme is somewhat more complicated. There are three rhymes per stanza, and the pattern is A-B-A-C-B-A-B-C. The fourth line rhymes are the pivot and are multisyllabic.
  • The pattern isn’t regular, but it is symmetrical. The two halves are mirror images of each other.
  • The multisyllabic C rhymes are not gerunds, but rather participles. They are part of the verb.
The world of the Tale of Tinúviel:
  • The first stanza’s description is of the lushness of the forest, presented in the passive voice.
  • Note: The passive voice is used to conceal the doer of the action of the verb, but it is not always incorrect to do so. This can emphasize the object of the action. It places us in the action and let’s us see the scene from the subject’s, i.e. Beren’s point of view. We see it first.
  • The unseen pipe may be referencing the fact that all attention is drawn to Lúthien. The stars are also in our awareness in relation to Lúthien’s hair. Only the light of the stars is glimmering.
  • In the first stanza, the C rhyme words are both about the starlight, though he only resolves on the idea that it is Lúthien causing the glimmering at the end.
  • In the second stanza, we are introduced to Beren and the tone changes noticeably.
  • There are many rhymes that use the same words to rhyme. This may seem like an oversight, but here it is part of the structure.
  • The leaves are used as double-rhyming words in the stanza two, but they’d already been introduced at the beginning of stanza one.
  • The second is primarily interested in Beren’s journey, and the perspective shifts to him. Beren is given the same experience that the reader is given in the first stanza.
  • Note: There is a parallel to what Frodo’s experience was like meeting Goldberry, but in that instance, it was probably this meeting to which Frodo’s first sight of Goldberry is compared.
  • The first stanza is very dark and monochromatic, only lit with starlight, so in the second stanza, the flowers of gold on Lúthien’s raiment stand out. Her own radiance is giving color to the scene.
  • It’s unclear if the flowers mentioned are embroidered on her clothing, or if they are real flowers.
  • Both stanzas contain a large portion of lines that start with the word “and”; three of eight in stanza one, four of eight in stanza two. This is part of the syntactic shape and rhythm.
  • The use of multiple conjunctions allows the images to build upon one another into a picture.
  • We aren’t given any facts about Beren’s journey, but the emphasis is on his loneliness, even among the forest, which is an improvement in his conditions.
  • Beren’s first image of Lúthien is the gold of the flowers and the shadow of her hair. Her fullness is too much to take in all at once, and he is only given glimpses at first.
  • There is a sense that Beren was not looking for anyone, so the surprise of finding Lúthien is at first overwhelming.
  • Beren’s loneliness is contrasted with Lúthien’s hair, which is described as following her in togetherness, much like Beren himself will follow her.
Beren enchanted:
  • The alliteration is a strong part of the music of the poem, especially between words like “left” and “lonely”, which have a clear emotional content.
  • In the space of the first half of stanza three, we see Beren changed from weary to strong and healed, by this encounter, but his loneliness is not over.
  • Beren’s feet are changed from weary to fleet, but Lúthien’s feet are much faster. The first half is all about Beren, while the second is all about Lúthien, in a similar mirroring.
  • There is a noun-verb relationship between Beren’s “fleet” feet, and Lúthien’s, which “fled”.
  • Once again, the first and last B rhyme use the same word, “roam”, though the context is different.
  • In the first use, Beren’s doom to roam is done in past tense in the sense that this time is over.
  • The second use shows that the time is not quite over yet and is now paired with loneliness.
  • Note: There seems to be a relevance to the use of “weary feet” in light of Frodo’s version of the Road poem, which had his feet as weary, as opposed to Bilbo’s eager feet.
  • “Left” and “lonely” are joined by their alliteration, while “lonely” and “roam” share assonance.
  • Beren’s transformation was real but only temporary, and he is left back as he started, as the word “still” emphasizes.
  • There is a futility and presumption in Beren’s pursuit shown in his grasping at moonbeams.
  • Acting in this way can be explained by enchantment. Beren is not actually grasping at moonbeams, but we understand that pursuing Lúthien is just as futile.
  • Note: The use of “glistening” here is another example of Tolkien’s love of “gl” words.
  • It’s notable that the piper from the first stanza is never seen or mentioned again.
  • In the B rhymes, the two uses of “roam” are separated by “Elvenhome”. This reminds us that Beren has stepped into Faerie and the rules are different there.
  • The use of alliteration in “woven woods” is evocative when paired with “Elvenhome”. This implies the use of craft in their making, and that they close around to protect Lúthien.
  • There is also an implication of a spell at work, as this is something that one weaves.
  • We are not sure if Lúthien is aware of Beren, but she does not flee out of fear. It seems to be part of her dance, and he will only catch her if she allows him to catch her.
  • Note: In traditional fairy stories, seeing an elf-maid or many elvish dancers in a glade will lead to capture or some other magical punishment, as this is a transgression into Faerie. This is directly echoed in what happens when Bilbo and Thorin’s Company break into the elven rings in Mirkwood in the story of The Hobbit.
  • The two C rhymes are negative images, the first with hope and healing, the second with silence and loneliness. The first word is an active verbal phrase, while the second is more passive.
  • So far, this story has played out along the lines of the expectations of fairy-stories.
Lingering in the woods:
  • The fourth stanza shows the passing of time, as the seasons begin to change towards winter.
  • Once again, the B rhymes have a pair of the same word, “leaves”, separated by “sheaves”.
  • Beren is only allowed to hear things at a distance. He has turned to listening from seeing earlier.
  • The music coming from a hidden hollow evokes the underground dwellings of Elves.
  • The comparison of her feet to linden-leaves is because they are falling, because it’s autumn, but this is also connected to the flowers from before, as linden-leaves turn golden before they fall.
  • The music is compared to water coming from an underground spring of unknown source.
  • Beren’s own sadness, loneliness, and weariness is reflected to the state of the forest. He is completely passive, and unable to move.
  • Note: The frame of this poem is not an elvish point of view, as it focuses a lot on Beren’s experience. Tolkien talked about how fairy-stories are not really stories about fairies, but about mortals who encounter Faerie. This is in that same genre. It is not yet clear who wrote this.
  • The hemlock leaves that Beren had peered through before are now withered, and the alliteration of so many “w” words highlight the winter in an almost onomatopoetic sense.
  • Note: Robert Frost uses a similar type of alliteration to describe winter sounds in his poem, “Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening”.
  • In the fourth stanza, we also get two uses of the same word in the A rhyme, which is “sound” The sound of falling leaves is paired with the sound of them landing, though of different colors.
  • It’s appropriate that beechen leaves are the last ones mentioned, as they cling to their trees long after they have withered to brown and are among to the last to come off with the snow.
  • There is a hopelessness in Beren’s quest to find Lúthien, as there is no skill that will succeed.
  • All three of the B rhymes are on types of leaves, linden, hemlock, and beech. The reuse of the trees from earlier show this as the closing of the cycle from the beginning of the poem.
  • The fourth stanza represents the end of the first half or movement of the poem. The next stanza will represent a pivot, and there has been a consistent symmetry which continues.
(continued below)
 

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(continued)

The turn in the Tale of Tinúviel:
  • The fifth stanza contains the first break in the otherwise perfect iambic tetrameter from the first four stanzas. There is a pause after “She danced”, which draws attention to that image.
  • The pause in the first line of the poem was part of the rhythm, while this breaks it. It comes after only two syllables, unlike where other breaks have come at the end of lines.
  • The roaming from earlier has taken on a new context, as before it was aimless, but now it is with the specific purpose of finding Lúthien. The word is changed to “wandering”.
  • There is an implication that Beren might have been wandering for years, as the layers of leaves of many seasons are used to measure the time. We know that at least one full year passes.
  • Thought the time is passing, it is clear that the winter is metaphorically lingering with Beren.
  • It’s important to acknowledge that time works differently and is uncertain in Faerie.
  • There is a sense of a trail being left for Beren to follow, but we don’t know if this is intentional or by whom. The light of the moon and the stars are used to search for her glistening in them.
  • The moon and stars give light for Beren to search by, but they give no warmth to Beren.
  • Is Lúthien aware of Beren now? She seemed to know of him when she fled, but not now.
  • In the second half of the stanza, there is a turn, as mantle glints and shows her to Beren at last.
  • All the winter imagery is not changed with Lúthien’s presence, and the light of the moon and stars have transformed the frost into the mist at her feet.
  • In the C rhymes, there is another dichotomy between the implied sad meaning of “shivering” and the happy implication of “quivering”, though they are otherwise similar.
  • The three A rhymes contain two uses of “far”, but the first speaks of the length of Beren’s journey, while the second speaks of Beren’s sight of Lúthien.
  • This time, the symmetry is between Lúthien’s absence and her appearance, and what that does to Beren’s experience of the winter and the light.
  • The thickly strewn leaves are related to Beren’s buried hopes, while the mist is also strewn.
The coming of spring:
  • It’s not clear about the actual passing of time, but the metaphorical winter on Beren passes into spring with Lúthien’s return. The spring images are all similes describing Lúthien’s song.
  • It can also be literal, due to Lúthien’s nature, so both readings can be equally true.
  • The passing of winter and Lúthien’s return seem to be interchangeable in terms of cause and effect, but the result is the same.
  • This time, the B rhyme uses “spring” twice, but this time they are not separated by the third. The world “sing” comes third instead of second.
  • There is also a longer pause that normal in the sixth line, but not as hard as before.
  • The B and C rhymes do also rhyme with each other, while the C rhyme is still a present participle and multisyllabic like in the other stanzas and is concerned with things as they happen.
  • The repeated B rhyme word “spring” is used as both a noun and a verb in this stanza, which connects one with the other.
  • This stanza represents an upward turn in the fortunes of Beren, the pairing of the word “again” connects Lúthien’s reappearance with a renewal of his healing.
  • Note: There is a similar feeling of the coming of spring in the opening of The Canterbury Tales.
  • The last two lines are separated from the rest of the stanza by the B rhyme scheme, showing Beren’s separation from Lúthien, and his new longing following his healing.
  • The word “untroubling” is not only for himself, but Beren wishes to be untroubling to Lúthien.
  • The longing he has is for Lúthien herself, as he has now seen and heard her fully from a distance.
  • The symmetry between stanzas four and six, with five as the pivot, is in the change to winter in the fourth, and the change from winter in the sixth.
Doom falls on Tinúviel:
  • The second line of only “Tinúviel! Tinúviel!” is a perfect iambic tetrameter line, and Tolkien has added the accent marks to emphasize the iambs within the name.
  • This seventh stanza represents a crisis in the story of the poem, and this is represented by the shorter sentences and more breaks in the internal rhythm.
  • The short line “Beren came” is parallel with the earlier “She danced” in its pause in the action. It also represents a pause in the middle of an iambic foot, which is unusual.
  • The spell falls in the middle of the line and interrupts the dancing step, and this stops Lúthien.
  • The colon is a very unusual punctuation in this poem, and it is an intentionally awkward stop.
  • The “and” before “doom” draws us along with them and how the spell is working.
  • Doom had been acting on Beren in the first half of the poem, but now Beren brings doom with him to fall on Lúthien, and another symmetric moment.
  • Lúthien’s listening in this stanza is also symmetrical with Beren’s listening in stanza three. She had abandoned him to listen before, now she listens and does not abandon him.
  • The naming of Tinúviel is not only the first spoken words by either character, but it is her name, given to her by Beren that acts as a spell on her.
  • The spell Beren lays on her is in symmetry with the enchantment she had brought him earlier.
  • In what sense is Tinúviel her Elvish name? It is not about him knowing her name; he is naming her something that fits her, and this name is recognized by Lúthien. It’s like a divination.
  • Note: In the original version of the story Tinúviel was her name. Lúthien was a later addition. Tinúviel means “nightingale”, but we are not told that here.
  • Another symmetry is the C rhyme, which corresponds with stanza three in the use of “glistening” and “listening”, but which here are reversed.
  • The first use of “glistening” was associated Beren’s first attempt to grasp Lúthien, though he only grasped at moonbeams. Now, in this second usage, he holds her physically.
  • Lúthien has stopped, listened, and lain in Beren’s arms, in an exact opposite to stanza three.
  • Tinúviel is used twice in the B rhyme and is associated with the other rhyme “spell”. The name and the spell are one and the same.
  • Beren does not capture Lúthien; rather he calls to her and she allows him to come to her.
Beren and Lúthien together:
  • In the second stanza, we saw Lúthien’s hair as following her and something separate that Beren saw through the leaves. Now he looks through her hair at her eyes directly.
  • The starlight is associated with her eyes so that it is not clear if the light is trembling or her eyes.
  • The light that had been glimmering on her outside is now shown to be a pale reflection of the light that is revealed within her eyes.
  • The B rhyme uses the image of her hair twice, and it is her shadowy hair that surrounds him.
  • She extends herself to take Beren in, as a symmetry to Beren’s grasping for her earlier. There is a mutuality in their embrace.
  • There is no repeated word in the A rhyme, though all three words are all still connected.
  • Note: By emphasizing Lúthien’s elvish qualities, it shows how unusual it is for her to turn towards him, especially in light of what usually happens in similar fairy-stories.
  • The juxtaposition of “maiden”, which suggests youth, with her immortality and her wisdom. There is also a joining of her fairness with her wisdom as being elvish.
An uncertain ending:
  • In the reverse of the first stanza, this ninth stanza has them leave Elvenhome to the mountains, and from bliss into hardship and danger and the shadow of death.
  • There are no repeated rhyme words in the last stanza, and the C rhyme is no longer a present participle. These changes indicate the difference in tone and style.
  • The importance is not placed on their deeds, though it is clear that those deeds were a big deal.
  • The emphasis is the transformation of grief to happiness. The last sentence is a eucatastrophe.
  • Though the darkness is acknowledged, the sorrowless singing is cast as a promise.
  • In this last line, the present participle is there, but it is described by the C rhyme.
  • Note: There is a parallel between this last stanza and lines and the moment when Sam sees the star in Mordor, and the emphasis is on the final hope after the Shadow.
  • Note: It is extremely important to remember that this poem is at the heart of the story and themes of the whole Middle-earth legendarium, as well as Tolkien’s own life.
END OF SESSION
 

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