It feels different near the Shire.... - The Barrow-Downs Discussion Forum

davem · 10-10-2002, 06:59 AM

I've just finished a remarkable book - The Uncharted Realms of Tolkien, by Alex Lewis & Elizabeth Currie, published by Medea in the UK(available via Amazon UK) which deals with a lot of this. There's a long essay on Bombadil.
You have to keep in mind, I think, that the Bombadil/Old Forest episode goes right back to the original drafts of LotR, when it was only a sequel to the Hobbit. The Whole Middle Earth aspect - ie the links bsck to the Silmarillion were to be no stronger than they were in the Hobbit. That seems to be why the Fellowship has a more 'fairytale feel to it. Even the name Bombadil has no 'Elvish' elements - unless as Lewis/Currie suggest- you take the -'dil' ending into consideration. But they connect Bombadil to various figures from Celtic myth & legend.
I think basically Tolkien wasn't starting LotR as a part of the Legendarium, & by the time he'd decided to incorporate it, he'd already created too much of the 'world' of Middle Earth in the 3rd age to discard all of it. So Bombadil & the Old Forest remained.
Lets face it, Bk 1 especially fits rather awkwardly with the rest of the book. Maybe that's relevent to Frodo's saying his return felt 'like falling asleep again'.

10-10-2002, 06:59 AM	#11
davem Illustrious Ulair Join Date: Aug 2002 Location: In the home of lost causes, and forsaken beliefs, and unpopular names,and impossible loyalties Posts: 4,240	I've just finished a remarkable book - The Uncharted Realms of Tolkien, by Alex Lewis & Elizabeth Currie, published by Medea in the UK(available via Amazon UK) which deals with a lot of this. There's a long essay on Bombadil. You have to keep in mind, I think, that the Bombadil/Old Forest episode goes right back to the original drafts of LotR, when it was only a sequel to the Hobbit. The Whole Middle Earth aspect - ie the links bsck to the Silmarillion were to be no stronger than they were in the Hobbit. That seems to be why the Fellowship has a more 'fairytale feel to it. Even the name Bombadil has no 'Elvish' elements - unless as Lewis/Currie suggest- you take the -'dil' ending into consideration. But they connect Bombadil to various figures from Celtic myth & legend. I think basically Tolkien wasn't starting LotR as a part of the Legendarium, & by the time he'd decided to incorporate it, he'd already created too much of the 'world' of Middle Earth in the 3rd age to discard all of it. So Bombadil & the Old Forest remained. Lets face it, Bk 1 especially fits rather awkwardly with the rest of the book. Maybe that's relevent to Frodo's saying his return felt 'like falling asleep again'. __________________ “Everything was an object. If you killed a dwarf you could use it as a weapon – it was no different to other large heavy objects."