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I can't say I'm all that impressed based on the quoted passages, either... Legolas Send a noteboard - 27/06/2013 07:51:37 PM

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Arthur eastward in arms purposed

View original post his war to wage on the wild marches,

View original post over seas sailing to Saxon lands,

View original post from the Roman realm ruin defending.

View original post Thus the tides of time to turn backward

View original post and the heathen to humble, his hope urged him,

View original post that with harrying ships they should hunt no more

View original post on the shining shores and shallow waters

View original post of South Britain, booty seeking.

View original post – from Canto I, lines 1-9 (p. 17)

"Booty seeking" really had me wincing. I don't object to taking liberties with word order for the sake of good rhythm or putting the right things in the most stressed places, but in these lines above it starts to look like a gimmick very fast. The passage at the beginning of your post strikes more of a chord, but really only because of the obvious links that you mentioned to Tolkien's established works and themes. Tolkien's rhyming poetry may have a tendency towards the tacky, but on occasion (the "Though here at journey's end I lie" poem) it does work, better I would say than what you quoted here. Perhaps this is no worse than most of his other poetry, but I see little reason to call it better; and I definitely don't agree (again, based on the very little you've quoted) that this seems more promising than the Lord of the Rings.



View original postBut yet like so much of his superior work (The Lord of the Rings I consider to be one of his lesser achievements as a writer), The Fall of Arthur tragically was left undone. If it were complete and published during the author's lifetime, it easily could have cemented Tolkien's legacy as a writer. Instead, he is now primarily known for a lesser-accomplished work that influenced over two generations of pulp writers to write fictions that are bereft of the soul of the original masters. But for those who do love Arthurian tales and who do have some knowledge of the various poetic and prose compositions over the past millennium, The Fall of Arthur will certainly be a work well worth reading. For those who are not as familiar with these works, Christopher Tolkien has provided three long essays on the poem's origins, its connections to his father's fantasy writings, and how the poem evolved during various drafts. In addition, Tolkien's 1938 BBC radio lecture on "Anglo-Saxon Verse" is provided as a coda to the work. Some will find these essays to enhance the work, others might find them to be less useful due to their own prior knowledge of the subject. Regardless, The Fall of Arthur, incomplete as it is, I consider to be Tolkien's best composition and it is a shame that it was left unfinished during the final 30+ years of the author's life.

The Lord of the Rings, I'm sure you'll agree, should be judged on its own merits, not on those of the works influenced by it. Of course there are many valid criticisms of it that can be made, but it is well-written, a more original work than these Arthurian verses and certainly more notable. If these verses hadn't been written by a man who would later become famous with The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings, I feel they would not have left any lasting impression on the literary world (they won't even as it is).
This message last edited by Legolas on 27/06/2013 at 07:51:56 PM
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J.R.R. Tolkien, The Fall of Arthur (2013 posthumous release) - 23/06/2013 11:10:39 PM 1385 Views
Re: J.R.R. Tolkien, The Fall of Arthur (2013 posthumous release) - 25/06/2013 03:42:58 AM 658 Views
Huh? - 25/06/2013 08:50:25 AM 947 Views
I almost bought it, but unfortunately there's very little text. - 25/06/2013 07:37:20 PM 715 Views
I have to say, in this case it sounds like a pile of shit. It's awful. - 27/06/2013 03:42:00 PM 591 Views
Tennyson is the last point of comparison I'd make here - 29/06/2013 08:18:45 AM 2432 Views
I can't say I'm all that impressed based on the quoted passages, either... - 27/06/2013 07:51:37 PM 1169 Views
I completely agree - 28/06/2013 06:56:57 PM 628 Views

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