Chapter 1 I found quite interesting. I read the Hobbit quite a few years ago but I am surprised at how much I remember. What I really enjoyed was the different epic poems and references to old literature that is mentioned by Shippey. I, of course, am not an English scholar and had no idea how much Tolkien took from other literature. Like the concept of the Smaug, I did not know that before Bilbo and Smaug’s conversation that there was only one well-known one in existence.
The concept of the different styles of speech was also interesting. Since I read The Hobbit when I was younger I did not make the connection with how people speak to what era they represent. I think even today I would not particularly point that out unless I was clearly searching for it. Shippey fully illustrates how grammar and speech can create a character to only with a distant voice but through what the character represents of his/her values through what the era in which they speak like also believed.
The riddles are also explained. Bilbo’s are more modern whereas Gollum’s are ancient. I did not know this, considering I am one who is not familiar with riddles and their origin. It is incredible how detailed and precise Tolkien is. The average reader would not notice the time period or date of the riddles, but yet Tolkien made sure the riddles were specific to the character’s era.
Another interesting note made by Shippey is about Mirkwood. Tolkien’s inspiration seems to come in a single passage from the Middle English romance, Sir Orfeo. Here, King Orfeo dimly sees elves with hounds on a hunt. In the Hobbit, Bilbo and company hear the bark of hounds in the distance as they enter a dim, murky forest.
Brittany Thrun? October 23, 2008, at 04:12 PM
