The Silmarillion

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Now, most of you are probably familiar with my rambling concerning J.R.R. Tolkien's The Silmarillion, and many of you have read it... now, i would like to know o your thoughts concerning it.

I love The Silmarillion. I like it more than any other works of Tolkien... I prefer it over The Hobbit and LotR. The Sons of Feanor, the Smiths of Eregion, the hidden kingdom, Beren and Luthien... it is amazing. Incredible.


Me, I can recite most of the elven genealogies, know Finwe from Fingolfin, Finarfin, Fingon and Finrond, frown at people who can't thell Aegnor from Angrod or Amras from Amrod... I can recite the names of the Sons of Feanor, and I know that elrond married his grandmother's second cousin.

I am an anal Tolkien snot when it comes to the Silmarillion.

What about you?

 

'Tis truly a wonderful book. The stories of Turin and Fingolfin are pulled off bloody brilliantly. It's been a while since I read it though, but IIRC, Tokien didn't actually write down the Oath of Fëanor, which would have been a nice addition (plus an excuse to put in some more Quenya).

 

I believe the exact wording was never given, but what IS said is:

And no, for once I did not type it from memory.

Another thing I would love to see in Quenya is the Fall of Gil-Galad, but I am not sure if it has been written, or translated?

*glares at Tal* fter all, SOMEONE dared me to learn it in Quenya....

 

Write it up here and I'll see about translating it.

 

here goes....

Gil-Galad was an elven King
Of him the Harpers sadly sing
The last whose realm was fair and free
Between the Mountains and the Sea

His sword was long, his lance was keen
His shining helm afar was seen
The Countless stars of heaven's field
Were mirrored in his Silver shield

But long ago he rode away
Where he dwelleth, none can say
For into Darkness fell his Star
In Mordor, where the Shadows are

---

There you go, Aik! *hugs*

Thankies beforeheand!

 

Gil-Galad i Eldar Aran
Utúvienyes i tyalangani (make up our own word for sadly) lirin
Métima arda vanima ar latina
Imbë i oroni ar i Rása

There is the first verse as best as I can do. Of course my grasp on the quenyan gramatical system is nom-existant, so trust that to be not how it should be.

 

The Silmarillion is a fantastic book. I only wish it was about four times longer.

 

I'm nowhere near that in love with this book. I've read it at least twice and thoroughly enjoyed it, but the absorption doesn't continue once the cover is closed on the final page. Now I love mythology and folklore as much as any of you, and it's always good to have the backstory, but I find LOTR more engrossing every time.

 

I've just bought the book due to Arabwel's recommendation, but haven't summed up the courage to read it yet so I will let you know what I think when I have

 

Funny this post should come up -- I just cracked the book last night for the first time. Sadly, due to my present social condition, I was unable to focus my mind sufficiently to engage the text, and so I had to put it down. This depresses me, for I used to have a very focusable mind and I would love to be able to enjoy a book that all seem to agree is excellent.
Someday I'll be ready!

 

I totally enjoyed the Silmarillion. However I think it is a little bit unfair to compare it with LotR. Both were written by Tolkien, but that´s IMO where the similarity ends.
Besides the differences in styles and scopes, LotR is book that was written "for the masses" (i.e. it was meant to be published from the beginning), whereas the Silmarillion was a labor of love, never meant to be published, but only to be used as reference. It used to be, again IMHO, Tolkien's "private world". Sure it can get a little rough in some spots, but hey, what do you expect from a book written by a philology professor for himself ?

 

*hugs LKD*

Hey Shell, if you ever feel confused, just PM me or something and I'llt ry to sort out whatever difficulties you may have regarding the book....

Although like Kralizek noted, Silmarillion IS TOlkien's own private palyground. I think it is alarming that I find cross-referencing the Silmarillion, LotR, the Hobbit and other works of his fun... *shudder*

 

To paraphrase Christopher Tolkien (or to paraphrase whoever he was quoting): 'The Silmarillion couldn't be anything but hard.' There's no way you can make a 'history' book like that any easier to read for the general population than it was without it losing something.

 

tolkien did give the oath of feanor, in feanor's own words, in two spots, both in the lays of beleriand. once in aliterative verse in the unfinished and very brief "flight of the noldoli from valinor" (apt place for it) and a few times in the lay of leithian. If you found the prose of the silmarillion moving and you haven't read the lay of leithian, i highly recommend it. it's the story of beren and luthien (sadly incomplete) in several thousand rhyming couplets and has extensive references to most major events of the first age.

his description of fingolfin's challenge to morgoth is amazing.

 

That reminds me, the names of all start to fade from my head, I need to reread it, fast!