LotR -- Book 1 - Chapter 11 - A Knife in the Dark

[HerenIstarion]

Both poems create sense of depth, of something beyond and beneath the actual storyline the reader is engaged in. The 'realness' of the world is achieved by means of inclusion of such 'legendary' poetry.

I won't comment upon Beren and Luthien, the poem literally sends shivers down my spine, but I'm willing to expend our conversation to Gil-Galad poem a bit:

Gil-galad was an Elven-king.
Of him the harpers sadly sing:
the last whose realm was fair and free
between the Mountains and the Sea.

His sword was long, his lance was keen,
his shining helm afar was seen;
the countless stars of heaven's field
were mirrored in his silver shield.

But long ago he rode away,
and where he dwelleth none can say;
for into darkness fell his star
in Mordor where the shadows are.

Poignantly enough, the song is recited by least expected person, Sam, whom the words said about Bilbo in the beginning of the Hobbit apply to too - something about being far less prosaic then he himself chose to believe. Implication is, besides, that hobbits, despite being commonplace farmers, haven't entirely forgotten old lore

Besides, though it is not hobbit verse proper, it is too, like all other hobbit-songs, quite ambivalent in its meaning, running deeper than first glance may reveal. Especially the last line:

in Mordor where the shadows are

may be read in two ways. Firstly, we know that Mordor is indeed the land where the smokes and clouds cover the sky, so there are shadows in there. The verse simply describes the landscape, as it is at the certain place on the map of ME.

But, remembering [in?]famous 'Canonicity' and Evil Things threads, this is another instant were Tolkien balances on the verge between two concepts of Evil - is it of independent being, does it exist? Or is it inexistent, parasite on the body of Good? This single line is worth a whole book on philosophy, I can't help admiring Tolkien's art. The Shadows, in themselves non-existent thing, caused by lack of light, absence, not presence, Are. So, Mordor is the place where non-existent things exist, the personification of Evil, the place were Evil has physical expression into the world.

cheers

[mark12_30]

I deeply love both these poems. For those geared towards singing:


Beren And Luthien

Grimmer quality, but the tune is discernable:

Gilgalad

[Child of the 7th Age]

A few days ago Aiwendil said this:

This poem brings up an interesting point. It is often remarked that a large part of the appeal of LotR lies in its sense of depth - the feeling that there is a 'real' history, filled with stories, that leads up to the present action. And of course there really is a history that lies before LotR - the Silmarillion.

Aiwendil pointed out that most of the historical references in LotR really refer to the Alkallabêth rather than Silm per se....a point I find intriguing. But I wanted to go back to his initial statement: the whole idea that part of the appeal of LotR lies in its sense of depth, with real history leading up to the present circumstances.

These historical references not only give the reader the illusion of depth, but, when taken together, perhaps mirror one of Tolkien's essential themes: the failures of the past weighing down on the heads of Men, and the limitations and challenges posed by that string of failures. To put it bluntly, either the free peoples of Middle-earth overcome the failings of those who went before them or they fall into unending darkness, and there is no turning of the page to the Fourth Age. I am not saying this is allegory (heaven forbid!) but it does sound strangely compelling when set against the history of the twentieth century, which had a similar lesson for us.

The first two chapters say it all. We are presented with the Hobbits, a stubborn and insular, albeit a delightful people, who can not or will not remember or recall their past. In both UT and LotR, Tolkien indicates the Hobbits have little recollection even of their own history and have forgotten many things they used to know. In complete juxtaposition to this, Tolkien entitles the very next chapter "Shadows of the Past" to show the intrusion of the Ring. These two contrasting images can not be accidental.

In succeeding chapters, we begin to get a glimpse of further intrusions of the past upon the present. This takes a variety of forms, some known to the reader and others only hinted at. The first is the Hobbits' meeting with Gildor. As an Elf, Gildor is the mirror image of the Hobbits in one important respect: Elves spend much of their energy dwelling on the past and trying to reconstruct it. The true identity of the Ringwraiths hearkens back to ancient things as well as Bomabadil's poignant description of the Rangers :

Few now remember them...yet still some go wandering, sons of forgotten kings walking in loneliness, guarding from evil things folk that are heedless.

(Those "folk who are heedless" can certainly be read as Hobbits who have forgotten the past.)

But it's only in this particular chapter that the historical theme begins to take center stage. There are three or four incidents in this chapter that underline the fact that past and present are becoming mixed. The Hobbits are not only travelling geographically: they are becoming entangled with disputes and problems that are very, very old. And just as Tolkien is careful to describe the geography of Middle-earth to help us visualize what type of land the Hobbits are travelling through, he is also careful to lay out the historical setting.

First, there are the physical remains that the Hobbits see as they approach Weathertop:

the remains of green-grown walls and dikes, and in the clefts there still stood the ruins of old works of stone.

Added to this is the fact that the paths are constructed in a particular way because of ancient battles against the Witch King (at least the Hobbits would consider them 'ancient'). Even more telling, there is Sam's poem of Gil-galad and Aragorn's tale of Tinúviel, which also includes a lengthy history lesson given to the Hobbits.

It is Aragorn who is the linchpin in all of this. Once Tolkien got rid of Trotter and substituted Aragorn, he discovered that his storyline was not only moving forward in terms of miles, but moving backwards in terms of themes and antecedents. In chapters to come, Aragorn will take us to Rivendell -- the seat of ancient lore -- and finally to Lothlorien, where we will actually go outside time.

The "knife in the dark" that comes hurtling at Frodo is quite literally out of the past. And the cry that he issues -- O Elbereth! Gilthoniel! --is also a glimmering from the past: most contemporary free peoples of Middle-earth, with the exception of Elves, were blithely unaware of Varda's existence, since the Valar now had little to do with Arda. It is this sense of the past intruding on the present that intrgues me in this chapter, and many others to come.

[davem]

Originally Posted by Child

It is this sense of the past intruding on the present that intrgues me in this chapter, and many others to come.

I agree, & yet the whole point of the story seems to be to break the link with the past which binds not just the characters but their whole world. The Ring, it seems, is what ties the present to the past, & prevents things moving forward - things seem to just go around in circles - it is a story of 'many defeats & many fruitless victories', of 'fighting the long defeat'. When the Ring is destroyed the 'circle' is broken, the elves embalming process comes to an end & things finally start to change. I think this leads us back to Fordim's Road & Ring theory. The Ring (& we shouldn't forget that the Elves are responsible for the whole 'ring' idea in the first place) is the true symbol of Middle earth, because its a world of inevitable repetitions, where the past not only affects but determines the future. The Ring is myth & magic, & in its' world there can never be any escape or forward movement. So, we can have the world of magic & wonder, of elves wandering through the forests, but we also have to take Sauron & the Ring with it - or we can destroy the Ring, lose the magic & (the intensity of) the wonder & be free to move. From this perspective, we can understand Tolkien's statement that 'the whole of Arda was Morgoth's Ring' in a new light. This is the point of Sauron's actions/desire - he desires the kind of absolute control that will keep the world turned inward on itself (as he is turned inward on himself), endlessly repeating itself.

I can't help wondering whether Tolkien's decision to choose the Ring as the focus for 'The New Hobbit' determined ultimately what the story would become, & why he could say 'it wrote itself'. Once the ring becomes the motivating force of the story, the world of the story is shaped around it, & its destruction inevitably means the end of that world.

This gives the lie (if that were still necessary) to the idea that LotR is simply good guys vs bad guys. The Ring is Middle earth, Middle earth is the Ring, & the end of one is inevitably the end of the other. I don't know whether in the end we can call Tolkien an optimist or a pessimist - optimist certainly, in that by bringing the old world of the 'eternal return' (whoa! back to the Nazis!!!) to an end, but also a pessimist in that he seems to believe that only by rejecting the 'wonder' & high magic can we be liberated. He gives us Middle earth only to take it away, & like the elves we are left only with memory (which is not what the heart desires, as someone once said).

[Fordim Hedgethistle]

I can't help wondering whether Tolkien's decision to choose the Ring as the focus for 'The New Hobbit' determined ultimately what the story would become, & why he could say 'it wrote itself'

I think that this is only half of it, as this chapter (and Child’s brilliant post!) have made clear, things really begin to ‘happen’ at Weathertop thanks to the entrance of Aragorn and the lore/history/fate that he bears with him. I’m sure we’re all aware of how Tolkien claimed that he was “surprised” when Strider introduced himself to the hobbits at Bree, and that the Professor himself had no idea who this Man was. It was this switch from Trotter to Strider that unlocked the tale for Tolkien. Yes, he had already decided to focus the story on the Ring, but it was only with the introduction of Aragorn that it became the One Ring, thus necessitating a trip to Mordor and initiating the final movement of the Third Age (but this is moving into material better left for the HoME discussion).

I raise all this merely to highlight how once more the full story that comes to engulf Frodo is not just the result of the “Shadow of the Past” (i.e. the Ring as Evil) but also of “Strider” (i.e. the chapter title). Weathertop is a great setting for the confrontation with the Nazgûl for a whole bunch of reasons, but one of them has to be that it is a ruin left over from the shared history of Sauron and Aragorn; it’s a remnant of the wars that have been waging between the Men of Numenór and Evil for thousands of years.

This cyclical nature of history/time and events, then, is one that goes forward not ‘just because,’ nor is it defined by Evil only (as davem is perhaps suggesting) but by both Evil and Good; Sauron and Aragorn; the Ring and the Sword that was Broken. Their conflict, which will be resolved in the coming War, is what now entraps Frodo.

[rutslegolas]

Well i love the Fall Of Gil-Galad

Gil-galad was an Elven-king.
Of him the harpers sadly sing:
the last whose realm was fair and free
between the Mountains and the Sea.

His sword was long, his lance was keen,
his shining helm afar was seen;
the countless stars of heaven's field
were mirrored in his silver shield.

But long ago he rode away,
and where he dwelleth none can say;
for into darkness fell his star
in Mordor where the shadows are.

This is one of the best poems Tokein has ever written ,it is supposed to lament the fall of Gil-Galad ,but I think it just describes him as he was An Great Elven King of old.

[Guinevere]

This really is the most suspenseful chapter so far!
I quite agree with Aiwendil and Bethberry that the tension in the book is far greater than in the movie.
I enjoyed reading all those great posts (very enlightening and thought-provoking as usual) There is little left to say for me.
I find the description of the attack of the wraiths on Crickhollow is very creepy. Reading it over again, I just wonder a little for what reason the black riders stand waiting at the door and the corners of the house so long (until the "cold hour before dawn") before they knock and break in the door? Is it just a trick to draw out the reader's suspension and allow Fatty to escape ?
I like the Bucklander's horncall "Fear! Fire! Foes!" (reminded me a bit of "Fee, fie , foe, fun" )

Frodo unwittingly saying "I hope the thinning process will not go on indefinitely, or I shall become a wraith." foreshadows what will actually almost happen to him after the stab of the morgul-knife! Strider, of course , knows about such things and tells him not to talk like that.
I keep thinking what a big relief it must have been for Frodo and his companions to have now Strider as their leader who took care of everything, and was so knowledgable .
At my first reading, I was as surprised as the companions to hear Sam recite the Gil-galad poem (which is one of my favourite ones) Only then I realized how extraordinary learned for a hobbit Bilbo must have been. (Apparently "working class"- hobbits didn't as a rule learn reading & writing - no schools in the Shire, then?!)

Like Davem and Hilde , I was also taken in by those wonderful descriptions of the landscape and the sense of the past they imply.
The way Aragorn chants the poem of Beren and Luthien and tells the story to the hobbits tells us that he is somehow involved with that past, even before we are aware who he is.

As Strider was speaking they watched his strange eager face, dimly lit in the red glow of the wood fire. His eyes shone and his voice was rich and deep.

And once more, I was very intrigued by Frodo calling out "A Elbereth, Gilthoniel". (That scene in the movie is nothing like that! )