tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5746173806126403959.post251362087005181506..comments2023-11-07T06:20:12.181-08:00Comments on Tolkien: Medieval and Modern: The Uses of Poetry in Lord of the Rings"Tolkien: Medieval and Modern"http://www.blogger.com/profile/04348913969813157482noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5746173806126403959.post-4805801831094789942014-06-02T18:51:51.288-07:002014-06-02T18:51:51.288-07:00You did a great job of highlighting when poetry is...You did a great job of highlighting when poetry is used, as a story telling device and a cultural phenomenon. Not only do songs and poetry share these stories of the history of Middle-earth with the characters within the plot of Lord of the Rings, but they also allow Tolkien to share stories from within their world with us as readers. I love how poetry and love of language are so intertwined with the act of storytelling within the novel. I think Emma’s comment hits the nail on the head with the idea that song and poetry make stories more accessible to any people who listen. In today’s lecture (6/2/2014) we also talked a little bit about how we don’t need to fully understand a song’s lyrics to understand the beauty of language and story- even if we don’t have translations of elvish poetry as readers, we still understand that they are singing something beautiful and sacred. That ties into your second use of poetry, to name and give importance to people and objects- giving things a story through poetry, and making them important not only to us readers but also to our hobbit friends as they learn about the wider world on their journey. Storytelling and the creation of a culture are totally intertwined, not only within Lord of the Rings but also in our own lives, and I don’t think Tolkien could have taught us about Middle-earth’s history in as believable a way without using poetry and song as his medium. -S. RajanAnonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03413671373862946292noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5746173806126403959.post-1831356941023963542014-06-02T18:51:08.189-07:002014-06-02T18:51:08.189-07:00This comment has been removed by the author.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03413671373862946292noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5746173806126403959.post-17964744863106095432014-04-19T00:52:56.014-07:002014-04-19T00:52:56.014-07:00Dear GENF,
I enjoyed your comments on three uses o...Dear GENF,<br />I enjoyed your comments on three uses of poetry as sites for different performative acts. Hobbit poetry largely for everyday purposes or merriment; lore-poetry for remembrance and cultural history; lamentation for mourning. I think Emma nicely observed that what you are describing looks like an oral culture in middle earth. In other words, acts of solemnity and merriment, events and names of note will only be properly performed or remembered by using songs or poems. I think this is a key insight.<br />But if poems and songs have such importance, where are the books and written texts? People are literate, after all (Bilbo is translating elven verses and works in Rivendell through the whole tale.). Can we understand better the use of poems and songs by asking about the use of writing? For example, why doesn't Elrond bring out his large tomes at the Council of Rivendell (to back up his account about Isildur, &c)?<br />~Robert<br />Unknownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16340002157728895236noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5746173806126403959.post-697694048506389482014-04-18T14:44:35.169-07:002014-04-18T14:44:35.169-07:00This post finally solidified something that's ...This post finally solidified something that's been lurking on the edges of my brain for a few weeks now. In Middle-Earth, just as in our own, the songs, epics and poems that form the bedrock of a culture's canon come into being due to a large population combined with a low literacy rate. In Ancient Greece, not every citizen of Athens or Sparta could read, but you could ask a bard for your favorite passage of the Iliad or the Odyssey whenever one came into town. A book of stories in Anglo-Saxon England could not be affordable or accessible for most members of the populace, but there would be a few people around with a harp and some of the more exciting passages of Beowulf. For the most part, literacy is reserved for wealthier classes, those who can afford access to books. I imagine it works much the same way in Middle-Earth. Not every individual can likely read (I speak here of men and dwarves, for elves are a matter that would require more words than I have in this comment), but each has access to the history of their nations through poetry or song. The hobbits, conversely, seem to have little interest in their own history (save their lines of descent), and so their songs deviate from the past and stick to the present, everyday affairs of living. <br />-Emma Pauly"Tolkien: Medieval and Modern"https://www.blogger.com/profile/04348913969813157482noreply@blogger.com