| Refresh my memory please [message #295306] |
Sa, 01 Juli 2006 00:39 |
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In The Hobbit, does Bilbo have any contact with the Old Forest just East of
The Shire?
Does he have any contact with the Men of Bree? Does he have any encounters
with Men except the Men of The Lake in Dale?
What explains the great difference in overall mood between the Elves of
Rivendell and the Elves of Mirkwood?
Just answers from The Hobbit itself, thanks.
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| Re: Refresh my memory please [message #295310 ] |
Sa, 01 Juli 2006 02:25 |
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David Gray Porter <portniek [at] earthlink.net> wrote:
> In The Hobbit, does Bilbo have any contact with the Old Forest just
> East of The Shire?
No. I don't think The Old Forest was created until LotR.
> Does he have any contact with the Men of Bree?
No. I don't think Bree was created until LotR.
> Does he have any encounters with Men except the Men of The
> Lake in Dale?
Beorn should count as a Man.
> What explains the great difference in overall mood between the Elves
> of Rivendell and the Elves of Mirkwood?
"Tra-la-la-lally!
Come back to the valley!
[...]
Tra-la-la-lally
Fa-la-la-lally"
That suitably sums up the Elves of Rivendell.
As for the Elves of Mirkwood:
"The feasting people were Wood-elves, of course. These are not wicked
folk. If they have a fault it is distrust of strangers. Though their
magic was strong, even in those days they were wary. They differed from
the High Elves of the West, and were more dangerous and less wise. For
most of them (together with their scattered relations in the hills and
mountains) were descended from the ancient tribes that never went to
Faerie in the West."
And a few sentences later:
"In the Wide World the Wood-elves lingered in the twilight of our Sun
and Moon but loved best the stars; and they wandered in the great
forests that grew tall in lands that are now lost. They dwelt most often
by the edges of the woods, from which they could escape at times to
hunt, or to ride and run over
the open lands by moonlight or starlight; and after the coming of Men
they took ever more and more to the gloaming and the dusk. Still, elves
they were
and remain, and that is Good People."
But maybe, at this point, it might be prudent to ask what you think the
"great difference in overall mood" actually is between the Elves of
Rivendell and Mirkwood? I suspect that any such differences are merely
motivated by the story that Tolkien was telling, rather than any
story-internal explanation.
Christopher
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Reply clue: Saruman welcomes you to Spamgard
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