LotR -- Book 6 - Chapter 6 - Many Partings

[Bêthberry]

After the excellent opening posts of Estelyn and Lalwendë, my own thoughts will be but scattered and brief.

I think Lal's observation about the thematic importance of story in this chapter is wonderfully suggestive. This is part of the source of the wistfulness in this chapter, the winding down of adventure and the contemplation of its translation into story. These coments suggest one very important reason why the Jackson interpretation could not capture all of Tolkien, for part of Tolkien's theme has been story after all, and that aspect does not blend well with the action-adventure movie genre.

I have just a few observations to make. First, Celeborn's farewell to Aragorn, replete with sadness, even tragic longing, worthy of a longer story:

Originally Posted by Tolkien

Kinsman, farewell! May your doom be other than mine, and your treasure remain with you to the end!

My other observations concern Saruman and Wormtongue. How much Grima seems to have taken on aspects of Gollem's behaviour, talking about himself in the third person and seeming to lack much self-dignity, being dominated by some other will.

For myself, I don't quite know just how believable this Saruman is. I suppose readers do need to see his maliciousness and pettyness. And obviously Tolkien felt that the tale of good and evil required that we see mercy held out to Saurman and it refused. Is this a depiction of the sardonic cynic?

Bilbo seems to prefer to write poetry now rather than story, we are told. I rather fancy this is a very much an unfair representation of poetry as somehow shorter and simpler! However, his recitation of "The Road goes ever on" raises a thought: What is the function or purpose of the poetry in the story? Does the poetry advance the plot or does it satisfy more some sort of emotional function? When do characters 'break out into song/poetry' and why?