In chapter two of Shippey, he goes into detail the Council of Elrond. When reading that chapter in The Fellowship of the Rings, I did notice a slight change in speech. However, I did not think of the cultural context that Tolkien meant to imply. I am not an expert in linguistics so the things covered in this chapter were quite new to me.
The Council of Elrond is a long and sometimes tedious chapter to get through but Shippey makes a good point. Without the differences in speech and the attention to cultural details the chapter would not have been successful. Even the two men, Aragorn and Boromir have a different linguistic style. It is amazing considering they both are tied to the kingdom of Gondor. It shows that Tolkien took in consideration Aragorn’s many years abroad as well as his denial of his lineage and right to the throne of Gondor.
Shippey also notes the roundabout way the story of the ring is told. It is definitely not in chronological order. Also many discussions such as the recollection of Gladden Fields and the words of Gaffer Gamgee are not essential to the plot. The scene could have been significantly shorter had they quickly established that the ring was the one by Gandalf stating that he found the scroll of Isildur and had discovered the same writing on Frodo’s ring. When I first read this chapter my freshman year of high school I was frustrated at the pace and tediousness of this chapter. However, I now realize that it explains many things that will be explained and referred to later in the book.
In this chapter, Shippey also goes into the differences between Gondor and Rohan. I find this incredibly fascinating. Since starting this book as well as watching videos in this class I have become more interested in the Anglo-Saxon references made by Tolkien as well as the history itself. Possibly I would like to read Beowulf so I can see for myself the exact parallel to the arrival of Gandalf, Aragorn, Legolas and Gimli at Rohan and the arrival of Beowulf and his party at the hall of Hrothgar.
The differences in the accepting of Merry and Pippins services by Theoden and Denethor are clearly illustrated by Tom Shippey. I never really put much thought in these parallel events as well as the other events Shippey brings up. This instance tells a lot about the different races of men and I’m sure that is exactly what Tolkien meant to do.
Brittany Thrun ? October 22, 2008, at 10:30 PM
