sador
Half-elven
Sep 2 2012, 4:33pm
Views: 441
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What makes the forest so gloomy? The dark, and perhaps the shapes of the trees. Was Tolkien drawing on any experience in wooded wilderness? Not that I know of. Of course, the name Mirkwood (Myrkvidr) is well-known in Germanic mythology. How does Tolkien's portrayal of this forest compare to that in other works, by him or different authors? 'Yes, it is all very dim, and stuffy, in here,' said Pippin... Look at all those weeping, trailing, beards and whiskers of lichen! And most of the trees seem to be half covered with ragged dry leaves that have never fallen. Untidy. I can't imagine what spring would look like here, if it ever comes; still less a spring-cleaning.' 'But the Sun at any rate must peep in sometimes.' said Merry. 'It does not look or feel at all like Bilbo's description of Mirkwood. That was all dark and black, and the home of dark black things. This is just dim, and frightfully tree-ish. You can't imagine animals living here at all, or staying for long.' Was C.S. Lewis influenced by the "quiet ... so deep" and "everlastingly still and ... stuffy" forest when creating the wood between the worlds in The Magicians' Nephew? That's a nice idea! It seems to the expedition that "all the trees leaned over them and listened". Should this motif have been further developed? It will be in the Old Forest. Is Tolkien's color symbolism in The Hobbit more or less interesting than in The Lord of the Rings? It is simpler. For what purpose do the eyes in the night stare at the party? Ther spiders might be stalking them for prey. The other animals - fear, or curiosity. How much water could the party possibly carry? Enough not to refill for more than a month, as seems to be implied by the text? Yes, that sounds a lot. Another less-than-realistic detail. Are there top-hats in this proto-Middle-earth? Why not? If Bilbo receives his morning mail - why wouldn't he be familiar with those items? Isn't it contradictory for the forest that brings feelings of being "suffocated" to also have an "enormous uncanny darkness"? Not quiet; compare to Shelob's Lair. Does the party stray even a little from the path, so narrow they must walk it in single file? I suppose so. The cobwebs on the sides should be frightening enough. They only get to taste squirrel after shooting one on the path, but do they all sleep on the trail itself? As above - it's probably the best. Further thoughts on this section? Was the river really black - or did it just look so?
"When light finally begins to come into our lives after a long darkness, only to reveal that one has still farther to go, what various ways might one react?" - Dreamdeer The weekly discussion of The Hobbit is back. Join us in the Reading Room for a somewhat less clever discussion of Flies and Spiders!
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