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Originally Posted by Aiwendil
"The Shadow of the Past" is the first of two big expository chapters in the book. Now The Lord of the Rings has a lot of exposition to be dealt with, enough to give some authors nightmares no doubt. Before we can really get on with the story of the Ring we must first understand what the Ring is, the circumstances of its being made, how Sauron came to lose it, how it then came to Gollum, what Sauron means to do about it, how much he knows, etc., etc. In other words, we must learn much of the history of the Second Age and nearly all that of the Third.
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Aiwendil, it reminds me of:
The arrival & reign of Scyld Scefing (Bilbo's backstory early in chapter one)
The generous ring-giving, partying, etc, and overlordship of Hrothgar in Heorot (Bilbo's party, generosity and gift-giving, down to a ring, even...)
and
The Grendel Backstory (Gandalf's narrative, ch2.)
Seems reasonable that Tolkien preferred Beowulf-form over more modern ideas.