Middle-earth Journeys

The author well envokes the power of the oral tradition, and more importantly how the use of song and lyric is even more potent. It is without any doubt that the listener is affixed to the continuity of history, which also includes its culture thus encapsulating its traditions, mores, and its ethos. Fundamentaly, it speaks to the very nature of human strivings, to face mortality and challenge oblivion's pall over us.
Who will gather the smoke of the dead wood burning.
Or behold the flowering years from seas returning?
If one contrasts this to the Seafarer, and interesting divertion occurs.
Glory is humbled, honor of earth grows old and withers, as does everyman over this Middle Earth. Old age fares over him; bright face grows pale; gray haired he grieves, knows former friends, son of athelings, given to earth.
With Tolkien's Rohan, one is not navigating towards a future home, but living and dieing well in this one. The answer to the dread reality of mortality is to act heroically. Theodin's deeds were also altruistic, his sacrifice was an obligation to an act that made Rohan a land a people. Even if none are left to hear of his lay, it was not for personal glory but to act as a true noble soul.
Those who answer this call, they are the rider, he is the one sounding the horn, all will eventually go down as rain upon the mountain side, true. But all those who are commited to this virtue have lived well and truthfuly.
In Simbelmyne do we find an equally beautiful motif that compliments a stern and spare landscape. The flower is not ornate nor does it have a sensual aroma. It is a plain white flower that graces the barrow of the fallen and to the living - Evermind. It is not for nostalgia, but for the past to inform the present to know the virtues that will aid in their lives.

Great thoughts on the symbelmyne, Bruce. I had never thought before of how Tolkien's created plants fit the occasion and landscape so well.

On a more mundance note, has anyone else had trouble reading this article? Once it is loaded up on my computer, it becomes to small to read. Maybe it's just my little computer. Anyway, I read about half of the three pages as they were loading. I'm glad to have somone who knows this genre help me understand the Lament. It has always struck me as one of the most successful of Tolkien's poems in LOTR. Even if we don't know much about the genre, it reads as something that has strong roots in the distant past, as absolutely authentic.

Merry,
Point your mouse cursor to the article and you'll see a square icon in the lower right corner. Click on it and it should increase in size.
Thanks for the kind words. Looking forward to more exchange of thoughts.

Sorry, doesn't work, Bruce. Perhaps I'll get a chance to try on a different computer later on.

Merry another way to read this would be to right click on the image and 'save as' then give it a name. Once you have saved it on your computer you should be ok to print it out. The print out should be normal sized. BTW, I can enlarge the images fine...have you ever been able to enlarge the articles in this thread?

Merry wrote:Great thoughts on the symbelmyne, Bruce. I had never thought before of how Tolkien's created plants fit the occasion and landscape so well.

On a more mundance note, has anyone else had trouble reading this article? Once it is loaded up on my computer, it becomes to small to read. Maybe it's just my little computer. Anyway, I read about half of the three pages as they were loading. I'm glad to have somone who knows this genre help me understand the Lament. It has always struck me as one of the most successful of Tolkien's poems in LOTR. Even if we don't know much about the genre, it reads as something that has strong roots in the distant past, as absolutely authentic.

Merry, if you click on the scan and then you will position your cursor in the lower right corner of the scan...a magnifying arrow appears and if you click on that arrow the scan will enlarge the scan even further.

Thanks, friends, and sorry for making my little computer 'issues' more important than this article! The issue seems to be with my computer at school, but I read it fine tonight at home.

Now, on with our discussion of the songs of the Rohirrim!