Saxo Runesinger
Member
In episode 112, we talked about Elrond's (joking) comment about Bilbo's poem-in-progress "and we will hear it and judge it before we end our merrymaking." The conclusion from the discussion (and in further discussion in 113) was that Elrond, capable of code-switching with his friend, the little master, was engaging in hobbitry, and was not really going to judge so harshly after all.
But, having recently read Diana Glyer's 'Bandersnatch,' which describes the creative collaboration between Tolkien and the Inklings, I have a notion that Tolkien's experience and expectation would be that such critique would be appropriately and understandably honest, since anything short of this would be disingenuous. Why would the folk of Rivendell have any other style of appreciation for a work in progress? Having spent 17 years with this crowd, Bilbo would know these rules, which is why he missed the feast in order to be prepared.
Also, in 113, there was some discussion of the elves' probable delight in the Hobbit's linguistic translation of their tales and poems. No doubt this was new to them. To the extent that they had encountered the art of mortals, it would have been (most likely) that of the Men of the West, who would have largely adopted Elvish styles and forms, and (probably) would have read and recited them in Sindarin. Of course, for some of these, even a Sindarin version would have been a translation from Quenya, and the Elves probably hadn't seen much of their material in Westron at all, certainly not in the Westron of the Shire, a very colloquial and informal dialect. but then, the fact that it was a Hobbit's translation would have offered yet another layer of interest. Hobbit poetry has it's own meter, but also there is a trend to adapt, modify, and re-contextualize a given work to suit a particular situation (e.g. see how 'the Road Goes Ever On' is transformed the the story at different readings). This approach would have also been new and interesting to the folk of Rivendell.
But, having recently read Diana Glyer's 'Bandersnatch,' which describes the creative collaboration between Tolkien and the Inklings, I have a notion that Tolkien's experience and expectation would be that such critique would be appropriately and understandably honest, since anything short of this would be disingenuous. Why would the folk of Rivendell have any other style of appreciation for a work in progress? Having spent 17 years with this crowd, Bilbo would know these rules, which is why he missed the feast in order to be prepared.
Also, in 113, there was some discussion of the elves' probable delight in the Hobbit's linguistic translation of their tales and poems. No doubt this was new to them. To the extent that they had encountered the art of mortals, it would have been (most likely) that of the Men of the West, who would have largely adopted Elvish styles and forms, and (probably) would have read and recited them in Sindarin. Of course, for some of these, even a Sindarin version would have been a translation from Quenya, and the Elves probably hadn't seen much of their material in Westron at all, certainly not in the Westron of the Shire, a very colloquial and informal dialect. but then, the fact that it was a Hobbit's translation would have offered yet another layer of interest. Hobbit poetry has it's own meter, but also there is a trend to adapt, modify, and re-contextualize a given work to suit a particular situation (e.g. see how 'the Road Goes Ever On' is transformed the the story at different readings). This approach would have also been new and interesting to the folk of Rivendell.
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