ForthDauntless3
Member
In the homework assignment from last week, we were asked to think about the effect of the "All that is gold..." poem. Specifically, why did the publishers allow Tolkien to get away with inserting the poem not once but twice. To try to answer that, I've been thinking about the effect it has both on the characters and on the reader.
Upon the second reading, in the Council of Elrond, the reader has enough knowledge to understand the poem. It's about the hidden value of people and hope that spring may come again after winter, and that description is targeted at a character that we've come to like. It's also delivered by a character that we, the readers, love and trust. Especially for readers of The Hobbit, Bilbo is an ideal character to deliver a message about people being more than they seem.
For me, at least, Bilbo's rendition of this poem in Rivendell is one of the most moving moments in the story. It sails straight past the rational portion of my brain and tickles my emotions. It's one of those moments that sends shivers down my spine. Thus, I'd argue that this is the more valuable of the two occurrences of the poem because of the effect it can have on the reader.
For the characters actually present, however, Bilbo's recitation doesn't have much impact. Everyone looks at Bilbo like the weird old man spouting nonsense and then more or less continues as if he hadn't spoken.
For the characters, the first inclusion is much more important. It comes at a time of great fear and uncertainty. In the midst of that, the hobbits receive a message from someone they know and trust, and that message provides a ray of hope: Gandalf's friend Strider might help them.
The poem has a real, practical effect on the hobbits. Strider happens to know a line from the poem, even having never seen the letter. Suddenly, this random aside in Gandalf's letter becomes a badge of identity. This Strider whom they have met is the genuine article, and they may now have hope that he can get you out of this pickle.
This is the sort of practical hope that Frodo and company needed in the moment, and it got them moving forward. Bilbo's recitation provides no practical benefit in the moment. Instead, it's an abstract expression of Bilbo's faith in his friend (and possibly the source of his peculiar luck?): that Aragorn, son of Arathorn will sit on the throne of Gondor. That the king will return.
The first instance gives amdir. The second expresses estel. I don't know if the parallel with Aragorn's two names is deliberate, or if I'm merely overreaching, but I like this reading.
Upon the second reading, in the Council of Elrond, the reader has enough knowledge to understand the poem. It's about the hidden value of people and hope that spring may come again after winter, and that description is targeted at a character that we've come to like. It's also delivered by a character that we, the readers, love and trust. Especially for readers of The Hobbit, Bilbo is an ideal character to deliver a message about people being more than they seem.
For me, at least, Bilbo's rendition of this poem in Rivendell is one of the most moving moments in the story. It sails straight past the rational portion of my brain and tickles my emotions. It's one of those moments that sends shivers down my spine. Thus, I'd argue that this is the more valuable of the two occurrences of the poem because of the effect it can have on the reader.
For the characters actually present, however, Bilbo's recitation doesn't have much impact. Everyone looks at Bilbo like the weird old man spouting nonsense and then more or less continues as if he hadn't spoken.
For the characters, the first inclusion is much more important. It comes at a time of great fear and uncertainty. In the midst of that, the hobbits receive a message from someone they know and trust, and that message provides a ray of hope: Gandalf's friend Strider might help them.
The poem has a real, practical effect on the hobbits. Strider happens to know a line from the poem, even having never seen the letter. Suddenly, this random aside in Gandalf's letter becomes a badge of identity. This Strider whom they have met is the genuine article, and they may now have hope that he can get you out of this pickle.
This is the sort of practical hope that Frodo and company needed in the moment, and it got them moving forward. Bilbo's recitation provides no practical benefit in the moment. Instead, it's an abstract expression of Bilbo's faith in his friend (and possibly the source of his peculiar luck?): that Aragorn, son of Arathorn will sit on the throne of Gondor. That the king will return.
The first instance gives amdir. The second expresses estel. I don't know if the parallel with Aragorn's two names is deliberate, or if I'm merely overreaching, but I like this reading.
