Every year, I reread the Lord of the Rings. I feel like I pick up something new every time. This time, I thought I would take some notes and pay extra attention to the poems and songs. I think as a kid, I tended to skim over them, but now I've come to appreciate them much more. Not only do they serve as world building and provide interesting bits of lore, many are beautiful, moving, or just plain fun.
We start with Bilbo's song about traveling. It shows up in the Hobbit as well, and is repeated in a few places in LOTR, sometimes with different verses. Structurally, it is iambic tetrameter (so eight syllables per line, alternating stressed and unstressed). I think the simple iambic pattern and ABAB rhyme give it a rolling feel, like footsteps on the road. It gives a sense of adventure, setting out into the unknown. I think that's why this poem has always stuck with me.
The inscription on the one ring itself consists of the 6th and 7th lines and this is how Gandalf confirms his suspicion that Bilbo's ring is in fact the ruling ring. Gandalf mentions this as a 'verse long known in Elven lore'. This will come up again, but I love the idea of poetry encoding important historical or factual information. It just feels like such an ancient idea. Poetry as an aid to memory.
This is where I reveal my lack of poetic knowledge and admit the meter of this poem escapes me. The rhyme is clear, but I can't feel much rhythm, except those two lines beginning with 'One Ring', which feel almost like a chant or incantation.
Another traveling song, said to made up by Bilbo. Also mostly iambic tetrameter with AABB rhyme. It's explicitly described as a song with the hobbits singing as they walk from the Shire to Buckland, though I'm not musical enough to imagine a tune. I find this one less memorable, but with a similar feeling to The Road Goes Ever On.
Frodo hears this being sung by a procession of high elves en route to the Gray Havens. It is described as being in 'the fair elven tongue, of which Frodo knew only a little,' so we can assume this is a translation. It is praising the Valar Elbereth (aka Varda) who created the stars (hence the third stanza about stars). The last stanza tells us these are indeed high elves who remember Valinor in the west. These are wandering exiles remembering their lost home and the beauty of star light.
More hobbit walking songs. Not too much to say about this one, just a fun song. We are still in the Shire and the poetry reflects that.