Archimago
New Member
What I love about Sam's description of his first Elvish encounter is that "the nearest he ever got" to clearly describing it (over the course of his entire life) is still so maddeningly (but wonderfully) vague. It also strikes me that, although not intended as such, it works quite well if you read it as a poem:
Well, sir, if I could grow apples like that,
I would call myself a gardener.
But it was the singing that went to my heart,
If you know what I mean.
For some reason, I never used to connect any part of Sam's description with the previous paragraphs describing food and drink. So when Sam refers to "apples like that," I didn't think the that was referring to apples, but rather metaphorically to his whole Elvish experience. It seems obvious to me now that the apples are apples (or some sort of Elvish fare). But I still rather like the metaphorical reading, even if it seems dubious to me now.
Well, sir, if I could grow apples like that,
I would call myself a gardener.
But it was the singing that went to my heart,
If you know what I mean.
For some reason, I never used to connect any part of Sam's description with the previous paragraphs describing food and drink. So when Sam refers to "apples like that," I didn't think the that was referring to apples, but rather metaphorically to his whole Elvish experience. It seems obvious to me now that the apples are apples (or some sort of Elvish fare). But I still rather like the metaphorical reading, even if it seems dubious to me now.