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Post by Sparrow on Jul 12, 2004 6:25:19 GMT -6
The elves sing to welcome the traveling party to Rivendell. This is the third poem/song we have encountered. Compare and contrast the elves' song to the dwarves' kitchen song and gold song in Chapter 1. What does each song reveal about those to whom it belongs? For those participants who have read the Lord of the Rings, how does what the elves' song reveal about them hear compare to the elves in LotR?
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Post by Stormrider on Jul 13, 2004 6:10:48 GMT -6
The Elves' song in Chapter 3 is light and inquisitive in nature. The Elves are playful and don't mind poking some fun at the arriving travellers. It also seems as if the Elves have some insight into the Dwarves' mission because they ask in the poem what they are seeking and where they are they going--or is that just curiosity on their part?
Would Gandalf have mentioned something about the Dwarves' mission to the Elves he met in Chapter 2 (Those who told him that Trolls were about)? I know that Gandalf had long acquantances with the Elves of Middle-earth, but I don't think he would have blabbed the the Dwarves' mission to the Elves, even if he did trust them. I think he would have left that for Thorin to entrust to the Elves.
This song is very different from the more refined and sad songs in LOTR. The Elves in the later books are more regal and mysterious than they are in The Hobbit.
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Post by Stormrider on Jul 28, 2012 14:10:36 GMT -6
The Dwarves Kitchen Song, while sung in jest, did poke fun a Bilbo and his neat hobbit habits. It irritated Bilbo and he did not appreciate it. It was a way that the Dwarves could help Bilbo do his clean up and make a game of it so they did not seem as if they were loosing their dignity by doing menial kitchen chores.
The Kitchen Song is quite different from their song about their ancient days: deep dungeons and old caverns, spells and hammers and ringing bells, ancient kings and lords and gleaming hoards with gems in hilts of swords, dragon-fire and his fierce ire, dwarves fleeing from their hall and dying as they fall. This song had quite a different affect on Bilbo: it stirred images of the beauty and magic of the old days and woke up the Tookish side in Bilbo and made his love of maps and adventure come forth.
The Elves were also poking fun at the Dwarves and Bilbo but in a more inquisitive way as if they knew all the details but were asking the arriving party anyway. While Gandalf and Bilbo seemed to enjoy the Elves and want to stay longer, the Dwarves wanted to get settled and have a good meal. At least the doors of the Last Homely House were flung open wide and welcomed them all.
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