I found it interesting how Shippey decided to describe the Fellowship of the Ring in a few sentences. Albeit not everyone necessarily does this, but isn’t this book read on the premise that at least one of Tolkien’s books have been read. This allows for the reader to already be familiar with the storyline and plot of the Lord of the Rings.
Shippey also talks about symmetry within the Lord of the Rings saying that books I and II both contain the same number of scene changes. Was this symmetry coincidence, subconscious, or intentional on Tolkien’s part? This symmetry could have been subconscious in that sometimes people like to keep the pattern of their writing consistent or they find it easier to use the same form as another paragraph to make things easier and more constant. This symmetry could also have been intended in that Tolkien wrote his work around this idea or style as he did other ideas. He may have wanted this incorporated into his books for flow, consistency, or preference.
I was interested to read that Tolkien placed the Council of Elrond in the Fellowship of the Ring for an opportunity to display the differences in speech between the races of Middle-Earth. This did not occur to me at all while reading the trilogy and watching the films. The fact that Tolkien uses this scene as a chance to show speech difference shows his passion for language and culture. It also shows the intricacy and detail in which he wrote the trilogy. It seems as if he wanted the Lord of the Rings to have a deeper meaning that required careful analysis and examination. Tolkien not only wrote a trilogy, but an intricate puzzle in which people feverishly want to solve.
I was also interest in how Shippey discusses the Council of Elrond as a place for Tolkien to gather his thoughts and finally decide in which direction the novel would take. This scene makes for an excellent transition into the rest of the novel and trilogy.
Steven Wilser? October 22, 2008, at 11:49 PM
