Something We Aren’t Seeing in the Slides

Matt DeForrest

Active Member
When I was thumbing through the section we are about to cover tonight (looking to see if we are likely to hit one of my favorite parts of the entire book), I noticed something — something we are unlikely to catch in class.

I think Tolkien has included, via the typesetting, long, pregnant or dramatic pauses in the Council. There are some spots where there is an extra space between paragraphs. I don’t think I would have noticed if some of these were specifically marked as moments of silence (e.g., “There was a silence. At last Elrond spoke again.” And “Silence fell again. Frodo, even in that fair house, looking out upon a sunlit valley filled with the noise of clear waters, felt a dead darkness in his heart.” and “Very well, very well, Master Elrond!’ said Bilbo suddenly. ‘Say no more! It is plain enough what you are pointing at. Bilbo the silly hobbit started this affair, and Bilbo had better finish it, or himself.” (the favorite bit I was mentioning) and “No one answered. The noon-bell rang. Still no one spoke. Frodo glanced at all the faces, but they were not turned to him.”)

If we see these as following moments of significant (either in length or weight) pause, some of the spaces in Gandalf’s speech become interesting. Some examples:

———

“And now I will answer Galdor’s other questions. What of Saruman? What are his counsels to us in this need? This tale I must tell in full, for only Elrond has heard it yet, and that in brief; but it will bear on all that we must resolve. It is the last chapter in the Tale of the Ring, so far as it has yet gone.

‘At the end of June I was in the Shire, but a cloud of anxiety was on my mind, and I rode to the southern borders of the little land;”

=====

““Until you reveal to me where the One may be found. I may find means to persuade you. Or until it is found in your despite, and the Ruler has time to turn to lighter matters: to devise, say, a fitting reward for the hindrance and insolence of Gandalf the Grey.”
‘“That may not prove to be one of the lighter matters,” said I. He laughed at me, for my words were empty, and he knew it.

‘They took me and they set me alone on the pinnacle of Orthanc, in the place where Saruman was accustomed to watch the stars.”

=====

““They pay a tribute of horses,” he answered, “and send many yearly to Mordor, or so it is said; but they are not yet under the yoke. But if Saruman has become evil, as you say, then their doom cannot be long delayed.”

‘He set me down in the land of Rohan ere dawn; and now I have lengthened my tale over long.”

=====

“Now I can take a night’s rest, the first since I have forgotten when.”

‘So I stayed there that night, wondering much what had become of the Riders;”


———

These spaces give the reader a sense of the stunned silence of Gandalf’s audience as they take in some Middle Earth-shattering news, much as the heavy moments above lengthen out the decisions of who will take the One Ring. Until I noticed it, I was unaware how Tolkien had, for years, been determining how I read not only by what was there but by what was not there.
 
Interesting. I think Tolkien writes when there are major pauses, as you show in your examples. But I went through the chapter to see if I could see a pattern in the spaces between paragraphs. I actually couldn't. Some of them seem there just to give the reader a chance to refocus; some come before changes in subject, some, as when Gandalf switches from one part of his story to another. Sometsimes they just seemed to rest my eyes.

Actually, many of the pauses I hear in my head come mid-paragraph when a character is speaking, as if they are thinking, and perhaps changing tone or adding emphasis. I might imagine gestures during these pauses - running a hand through one's hair, looking around the room or at someone in particular, leaning forward, shaking one's head. Sometimes I read a speech in different ways to convey slightly different meanings and emotions. It's such a rich book that way. This is why I prefer reading to listening, and prefer both to adaptations - there's more room to play with the language and explore possibilities.
 
Back
Top