[Lalwendë]

I intended just to have a quick read as I must away to bed, but what the heck...

The poetry is another vital component in the structure of LotR. Tolkien clearly loved epic verse and he worked it into LotR, yet he did not do it to such an extent that it alienated the reader. He could quite easily have written the whole tale in epic verse, as he was certainly knowledgeable enough about the requirements, but he did not; in many instances we are presented with 'fragments' of longer verses. This not only has the effect of wondering what the rest of the verse is like, but it also presents us with only what we need to know - and it often comes across as though the characters themselves know these verses very well and are giving us an insight into their favourite passages.

I have come across many people who cannot cope with LotR because of the poetry, and one oft heard piece of advice given is that they should 'skip' the poetry. But I think to do such a thing is to miss half of the essence of the story. The inclusion of poetry in the structure adds richness, and not only that, vital detail. Imagine if this detail was not presented in the format of verse - it could quite easily come across as something merely dull than as magical.

I can think of another novel where verse is vital to the tale and that is Possession by AS Byatt - if the reader were to 'skip' the poetry in that novel, then they would miss out most of the meaning and all the secret narrative about the poets' affair, and nobody would argue that to miss out the verse in that novel would be acceptable. So why should it be so for readers of LotR? I find it is vital to the structure - at least if you want to truly begin to understand Middle Earth and those who roam there.