"When reading Lord of the Rings do you skip past elf songs?" Topic

Errr, yes I do.
It annoys me when Aragorn, Legolas and Gimli take the time to lay out the slain Boromir in the boat and shove him into the river.
Okay, fine. But then each of them takes two pages apiece to chant some sad heroic ditties.
Hey, guys!
"They're taking the hobbits to Isengard! Get a move on!
The book implies that the Orcs have a full day head start on them, and they're not sure if Frodo and Sam are with them or not. (Unlike the movie.)

Yes, usually. Never been a huge fan of poetry and my musical tastes run towards, well, they run amok.

No. (a) I enjoy the songs. (b) We already know these guys are immortals or close to, and they don't have our sense of rapidly-disappearing time. Look at all that trip prep time at Rivendell, with winter coming. And the time vanished at Lothlorien.

If you want people to move out as fast as they can refuel and draw rations and ammo, I recommend David Drake, who can be a great read.

You just need the right ditty.
youtube.com/watch?v=I3yy1RGuDE4

A Elbereth Gilthoniel,
silivren penna miriel,
o menel aglar elenath!
Na-chaered palan-diriel
o galadhremmin ennorath,
Fanuilos, le linnathon
nef aear, si nef aearon!

The Bug has mutated and is now scrambling posts!

I skim them more than skip them. Their removal would not have a negative impact for me.

Agreed. I skip past the Tom Bombadil songs too.

Yes, otherwise I would die a slow death each time I read the books,…

Skip over that and skip over Sam and Frodo taking the ring. I stay with the fighting and action.

Read them the first time. Skipped over them after. No music. 😉

I probably skimmed them the first time, but since then I have taken the time to read and enjoy them on subsequent reading. For me, they add a lot to the story.

Big fan of the poetry and songs, it's what makes the world Tolkien created seem so real.

I was upset they left Tom Bombadil out of the films too.

If you only read the fighting bits that's about 10 pages of the book….

Dont forget the Ra Hoom Rah of the Ents

List of Songs from the Books and below the Movies
link

Indeed, even as a dyed in the wool Tolkien aficionado I skip the songs, once was enough.

Nah, I like the Elves singing…it's the Orcs singing in The Hobbit, though.. *sigh* but then it was a bedtime story he wrote for his kids…

I have to agree with the OFM about the lament for Boromir. Time was pressing considering the pursuit of the Uruks and Orcs. What a shock they couldn't catch up. Who would have thought that? "We must haste to catch the Orcs and save the hobbits, but first a few epic (aka LONG) songs of lament for brave Boromir!"

I appreciate Tolkien's work and read the whole thing. And love it.

Tolkien was recreating the classic epic story structure, which in literature predates, well, literature. One of the elements is long, poetic speeches by the protagonists and antagonists, particularly as lead-ins for heroic actions. Time is irrelevant to such things in an epic. Funeral rites are sacrosanct— the hero who has just perished in combat, overwhelmed by his foes in a last, grand noble fight must be honored in a manner worthy of his sacrifice. To focus on mundane realities is to miss the point of the epic entirely.

Poetry and songs are also essential elements of the dramatic epic narrative. The idea isn't to reproduce the tawdry banalities of the modern era (or for that matter, earlier eras). It's to create a sense of another time, another place, and another culture, one where words are rich in meaning and purpose. You will never find a cliché in the mouth of a truly epic character. But you will find poetry.

(What, you thought you were reading some schlock pushed out by Hollywood hacks?)

So, yes, I read Tolkien's songs and poems. I also read Les Miserable unabridged, and Dumas, and Melville, and Shakespeare… I'm in no hurry. And when I read a book such as this, my desire is to be within the world it creates. Reality can go to blazes.

I did skip most of them. In fact I was halfway thru the 2nd book and said to myself, "If I see one more song the books go." Next page, there was a song. Never did finish them, they got donated.

If you sing it to Rammstein (a German heavy metal band) it's more bearable… ;-)

I skipped all the songs. Although if Goldberry made a music video I might watch it.

Yes I skip hem. No interest

No. Tolkien meant for everything to be read, and the more I read (and reread) his works, the more I gain from it.

Parzival +1

Guilty as charged

Tolkien was recreating the classic epic story structure, which in literature predates, well, literature. One of the elements is long, poetic speeches by the protagonists and antagonists… (snip)

The idea isn't to reproduce the tawdry banalities of the modern era (or for that matter, earlier eras). It's to create a sense of another time, another place, and another culture, one where words are rich in meaning and purpose.

And in his work, Tolkien was drawing inspiration from the legends and myths of various northern European cultures, stretching back to the mists of time. In these ancient stories, and in Tolkien's work, the protagonists are often driven (for good or bad) by honour, pride and mighty oaths, rather than by modern utilitarianism.

In these mythical realms music, song, poetry and words can not only rouse the hearts and spirits of men (and dwarves and elves…) but can sometimes channel supernatural powers. In Lord of the Rings, the right words can drive away the Nazgul (Elbereth Gilthoniel) or open the gates of Moria (Mellon). And when Gandalf recites the words of Black Speech from the One Ring in Rivendell, the effect is described as if one had cast a shadow over the place in the middle of the day.

Songs and poems also convey a means of transiting information, with the rhytmic nature helping in memorising them – particularly important for earlier cultures where oral tradition was more dominant than written lore. In LotR, the main characters are not only well-versed in oral tradition, reciting old songs, but are able to also compose their own – commemorating not just Boromir, but also Gandalf who fell in Moria. And they are ready to perform themselves deeds worthy of songs, even if they acknowledge that nobody might survive to actually write such songs. And sometimes they are commenting that they are feeling as if living in an elven song (on entering Lorien) or wondering how their story will be told (Sam as Mount Doom erupts around them).

There are many other places in the book where the music is being referred, though lyrics are not explicitly mentioned. Boromir blows his mighty horn at least twice, when leaving Rivendell and in his final fight. And when the Rohirrim charge initially in the Pelennor field, they break into a song – though eventually they end up chanting instead "Death!".

(And for diclosure, I first read through LotR when I was eleven years old. Took the whole summer, but I particularly enjoyed many of the songs and poems.)

I heartily recommend the recordings by the Tolkien Ensemble.

The BBC radio adaptation also had excellent settings if many of the songs. They were released as an album as well.

I find nothing odd about the ents singing as they march to war

"I don't know but I've been told
It's somewhat of a common feature to this day"

I'd definitely skip THAT, Grizzly.

Thanks for the tip 20th. I've followed that group in Spotify now!

I read 'em. Wondering how long I'd have to wait to read it all again with a sense of freshness. I don't think I'll live that long.