The real life providence of the Earendil poem

[amysrevenge]

So now that we've discussed the published poem, and the original non-Earendil version of the poem, and the first attempt at Earendilzing the poem, I have this question/comment.

It looks like Tolkien converted the original into this action-packed story-filled poem, with a beginning, a middle, and an end.

And then when he put it in the book, he pulled out all of the action, all of the story. He left in the beginning, and sort of the end, but there's no middle. It's the craziest thing. The first stab at the Earendil poem is pretty much the most we ever learn about his actual adventures. The final version, we don't learn anything at all about his adventures other than that he probably had some, and now he can't go home.

Why this deliberate change?

 

[Flammifer]

Hi amysrevenge,

Perhaps consider the following possibilities:

1. Bilbo is not interested in telling the story of Earendil's deeds (which are presumably well known to almost all of his audience in the Hall of Fire). He is more interested in telling the story of Earendil's doom from the perspective of a mortal (Bilbo) considering that doom befalling another mortal (Earendil). That is a perspective on the Earendil story which his audience has perhaps never heard.

2. Bilbo is comparing (subtly) Earendil to Frodo. This is, after all, a feast in the honor of Frodo. It would be strange if Bilbo's poem after the feast did not relate to Frodo in some way. So; Earendil - determined and persevering quest, successful against all odds (though it took aid to make it successful); Frodo - determined and persevering quest, successful against all odds (though it also took aid to make it successful). The deeds are different (so let's just ignore the deeds), but the determination, heroism, are (suggests Bilbo) comparable (so, let's just focus on that).

I think both those things are going on. The interesting question, is "why both"? What does he hope his audience might think about from the impact of his poem? What does he hope Frodo might think about? How much does Earendil's quest mirror Frodo's so far? How much might Earendil's doom mirror Frodo's future?