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Favourite one-liners -

SirDennisC
Gondolin


Sep 6 2021, 3:41pm

Post #1 of 11 (2894 views)
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Favourite one-liners - Can't Post

As I listen again to the Harper Collins Audio versions of The Lord of the Rings, I am struck by the many brilliant bits of dialogue our Professor gave to his characters. Somehow though, the lines, in spite of their depth or brilliance, often are not made as grand pronouncements, rather—don’t blink or you’ll miss it—as throwaway lines, as if such are the ordinary fare of everyday speech.

One such line, is what Theoden (lightheartedly, I think) says of Hama and Eomer in TT:

”The guilty shall bring the guilty to judgement.”

One could make an entire lecture (or sermon ;) ) about this line.

Do you have any favourite one line bits of dialogue or words straight from the narrator to share, from any of Tolkien’s works?


(This post was edited by SirDennisC on Sep 6 2021, 3:43pm)


Ataahua
Forum Admin / Moderator


Sep 6 2021, 7:56pm

Post #2 of 11 (2848 views)
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'His cat, he calls her, but she owns him not.' [In reply to] Can't Post

I adore this sly line about cat 'ownership' during an ominous section of the book. I imagine cat owners around the world let out a collective smirk when they came across it for the first time. Cool

Celebrimbor: "Pretty rings..."
Dwarves: "Pretty rings..."
Men: "Pretty rings..."
Sauron: "Mine's better."

"Ah, how ironic, the addictive qualities of Sauron’s master weapon led to its own destruction. Which just goes to show, kids - if you want two small and noble souls to succeed on a mission of dire importance... send an evil-minded beggar with them too." - Gandalf's Diaries, final par, by Ufthak.


Fantasy novel - The Arcanist's Tattoo

My LOTR fan-fiction


SirDennisC
Gondolin


Sep 7 2021, 2:51am

Post #3 of 11 (2842 views)
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Ha, they be like that [In reply to] Can't Post

Do we know whether JRRT kept, but was not kept by, cats?


Ataahua
Forum Admin / Moderator


Sep 10 2021, 1:57am

Post #4 of 11 (2753 views)
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A quick Google search says he owned neither a cat or a dog. [In reply to] Can't Post

But he certainly picked up that quirk about cats' attitudes. Cool

Celebrimbor: "Pretty rings..."
Dwarves: "Pretty rings..."
Men: "Pretty rings..."
Sauron: "Mine's better."

"Ah, how ironic, the addictive qualities of Sauron’s master weapon led to its own destruction. Which just goes to show, kids - if you want two small and noble souls to succeed on a mission of dire importance... send an evil-minded beggar with them too." - Gandalf's Diaries, final par, by Ufthak.


Fantasy novel - The Arcanist's Tattoo

My LOTR fan-fiction


(This post was edited by Ataahua on Sep 10 2021, 1:57am)


cats16
Gondolin


Sep 10 2021, 5:32am

Post #5 of 11 (2734 views)
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"I liked white better." [In reply to] Can't Post

There are many little nuances in how a line like that can be read by a reader's "inner voice" that is serving as the narrator. Yet it captures so much of Gandalf the Grey, for me.

Join us every weekend in the Hobbit movie forum for this week's CHOW (Chapter of the Week) discussion!




SirDennisC
Gondolin


Sep 11 2021, 4:00am

Post #6 of 11 (2711 views)
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Merry thinking of Pippin - [In reply to] Can't Post

“Merry wished he was a tall rider like Eomer, and could blow a horn or something, and go galloping to his rescue.” ROTK The Ride of the Rohirram

I love this phrase, in which Tolkien captures all at once Merry’s frustration, youthfulness, naďveté, and heart. It has the rustic tone I reckon the inner-voice of a hobbit would have.


Ethel Duath
Gondolin


Sep 11 2021, 8:05pm

Post #7 of 11 (2661 views)
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“I don't keep water in my pockets." [In reply to] Can't Post

Missed it the first 2 or 3 readings. Been laughing ever since. Laugh



Hamfast Gamgee
Dor-Lomin

Sep 16 2021, 11:18pm

Post #8 of 11 (2505 views)
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Not quite a one-liner [In reply to] Can't Post

But one I have always liked is Boromir's comments in the Ring goes South after he and Aragorn have moved some snow with there bare arms, 'and doughty men too. Though lesser men with spades might have served you better,' shown his pride but also a little humility and a sense of humour!


nothinglikethesun9
Lindon

Oct 1 2021, 9:07pm

Post #9 of 11 (2314 views)
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Favourite one-liners [In reply to] Can't Post

I have not heard it was the fault of the elves.


Voronwë_the_Faithful
Doriath

Oct 2 2021, 1:37pm

Post #10 of 11 (2286 views)
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Tolkien was definitely not a cat-person [In reply to] Can't Post

Beyond the portrayal of cats in the person of Tevildo and his cohorts in the Lost Tales, and the cats of Queen Berúthiel, Tolkien wrote in a letter to Allen and Unwin in 1959, in response to an inquiry about a Cambridge cat breeder who had asked if she could register a litter of Siamese kittens under names taken from The Lord of the Rings:


Quote
My only comment is that of Puck upon mortals. I fear that to me Siamese cats belong to the fauna of Mordor, but you need not tell the cat breeder that.


(Presumably the reference to "Puck" is a reference to the character from Shakespeare's Midsummer Night's Dream, which is interesting given Tolkien's well-known ambivalent feelings toward Shakespeare.)

'But very bright were the stars upon the margin of the world, when at times the clouds about the West were drawn aside.'

The Hall of Fire


Ataahua
Forum Admin / Moderator


Oct 3 2021, 9:19pm

Post #11 of 11 (2202 views)
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Well, [In reply to] Can't Post

my feelings about Siamese cats aren't all that far from Tolkien's - that particular breed gives me a weird vibe. Not sure why.

Celebrimbor: "Pretty rings..."
Dwarves: "Pretty rings..."
Men: "Pretty rings..."
Sauron: "Mine's better."

"Ah, how ironic, the addictive qualities of Sauron’s master weapon led to its own destruction. Which just goes to show, kids - if you want two small and noble souls to succeed on a mission of dire importance... send an evil-minded beggar with them too." - Gandalf's Diaries, final par, by Ufthak.


Fantasy novel - The Arcanist's Tattoo

My LOTR fan-fiction

 
 

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