Wk10 Bk6 Ch4: The Song of Legolas

[Stormrider]

From: Annie2 (Original Message) Sent: 5/30/2003 5:17 PM

This picture was lost: Song of Legolas (artist unknown)

Wk10, Bk6, Ch4, DISCUSSION: The Song of Legolas

Previously we learn that Legolas dreams of the sea. Now he sings of the sea. What is the subject of Legolas's song? Is this one he composed in this moment or is he singing a traditional elvish song? In what ways does Legolas feel sadness? Nostalgia? Anticipation? Other emotions?

Why does he wish to be alone at this time? Why does he take a walk into the woods? If he is singing of the sea, I would think that a walk along the Anduin would be more appropriate. It leads to the sea. Then I remember the words of Galadriel:

Legolas Greenleaf long under tree
'In joy thou hast lived. Beware of the Sea!
If thou hearest the cry of the gull on the shore,
Thy heart shall then rest in the forest no more.'

To me, choosing to be alone in the woods seems almost a farewell to the trees that he knows and which gives him so much joy. How do you interpret his song?

Can our Silmarillion scholars, or anyone having this information who would like to, share with us what they understand of the following words from the song? What significance do they have?

Last Shore
Lost Isle
West
Grey ship

[Stormrider]

From: Pearlbloom_Greenleaf Sent: 5/31/2003 11:01 AM

Legolas Greenleaf long under tree
In joy thou hast lived. Beware of the Sea!
If thou hearest the cry of the gull on the shore,
Thy heart shall then rest in the forest no more.

If I remember correctly, it was Galadriel who sent this message to Legolas, and Gandalf the White was the messenger. To Legolas, these lines speak of his death, or at least the end of his life in Middle Earth as he knows it. It seems to me, that they evoke a number of emotions in him: nostalgia and anticipation, but also regret that he must leave these shores one day, even though his destination is one of unequalled bliss and beauty. Many Elven hearts overflow with love for all good things, especially living things; and a Wood Elf, I think, has a special affection for all (good) creatures that live in the woods.

However, although Legolas indeed takes a walk in the woods, all by himself, it is no goodbye yet; after all, he will spend another 120 years in the fair woods of Ithilien and find much happiness there. Rather, I think he wants to be alone with the emotions Galadriel's message has evoked in him, to consciously 'live the moment' (now that there is time for that). Perhaps a sort of coming to terms with the future, although the actual leaving Middle Earth will not come to pass for a long while (long to humans, that is...)? Also, he may want to take a mental picture, so to speak, of that particular time and place, so that when he has eventually gone into the West, and can no longer visit the woods in Middle Earth, he can remember them clearly.

The Lost Isle and the West are, as I feel it, a kind of heaven and/or paradise - 'the Undying Lands'. For Elves that is, for most mortals cannot ever reach this place. The passage across the Sea may be symbolic for dying, literally crossing over to the other side. As for the Grey Ship - it has always struck me as otherworldly, or ghostly (in a pleasant, peaceful way), but I am not sure what its parallel would be in our world. Perhaps the ship and the actual crossing over should be interpreted as one, instead of two separate elements?

Pearl