Milthaliel
Member
When we talked about Farmer Maggot this week, I noticed something I never caught before. (That keeps happening in this class! XD). When our heroes come to the farm, Maggot says, "And who may you be, and what may you be wanting?" It sounded very "Tom Bombadil-ish" to me, so I went forward and searched for the hobbits' first encounter with Tom. Sure enough, he says (among other things), "Where may you be a-going?"
Maybe it's reading a lot into it, but I feel like this similarity in their speech pattern might point to a closer friendship than I first assumed. It seems like people in the Shire would just say "who are you and what is your business/what can I do for you?" And I doubt Tom would be influenced by local speech patterns (he doesn't leave the forest, after all), so I don't think it's just a regional thing.
Before, I thought Tom occasionally spoke to Farmer Maggot, and had learned how wise he was from a very few sporadic meetings. The two of them sounding alike feels more like they're VERY close friends and spend a lot of time together (or once did). Do you think this is a reasonable reading?
Bonus visual imagery: do you suppose that when Farmer Maggot visits Tom, the solid, sturdy bane of all trespassers sings all of his conversations?
Maybe it's reading a lot into it, but I feel like this similarity in their speech pattern might point to a closer friendship than I first assumed. It seems like people in the Shire would just say "who are you and what is your business/what can I do for you?" And I doubt Tom would be influenced by local speech patterns (he doesn't leave the forest, after all), so I don't think it's just a regional thing.
Before, I thought Tom occasionally spoke to Farmer Maggot, and had learned how wise he was from a very few sporadic meetings. The two of them sounding alike feels more like they're VERY close friends and spend a lot of time together (or once did). Do you think this is a reasonable reading?
Bonus visual imagery: do you suppose that when Farmer Maggot visits Tom, the solid, sturdy bane of all trespassers sings all of his conversations?