Michael’s Comments (group member since Jun 10, 2010)

Michael’s comments from the J.R.R. Tolkien group.

Yes - John and Michael are both references to God, in a humbling way.

"Oldest and Fatherless: The Terrible Secret of Tom Bombadil." That's an interesting article, Fran. Thanks for posting the link.

Mind you, I don't agree with it! And I'm not sure where he/she gets the idea that Tom is possibly the least liked character in the book - he's one of my favourite characters, and I don't think I'm alone in that.

The "mystery" of Tom's existence not being common knowledge could simply be that, as a being whom even the Ring of Power cannot affect, he simply chooses not to be well known. That said, every race has a name for him: Tom Bombadil (Hobbits), Forn (Dwarves), Orald (Men), Iarwain Ben-adar (Elves), so he's not that secret, though he is mysterious in many other ways.

I'd have to get The Silmarillion out and look at the genealogies to check that - I'm not quite so encyclopaedic of myself! But, I'm sure somebody else can weigh in :-)

Vanessa wrote: "I've designed logos for all of the pubs in LOTR...
except for the green dragon and prancing pony. I have the mugs for those that are from the fellowship movie days."

They sound cool, Vanessa. Would you be able to share them in the Photos section of the Group?

Lúthien is the daughter of the Maia, Melian and the Elf, Thingol.

Galadriel is not descended from the Maiar, but was one of the Calaquendi, those elves who dwelt in Eldamar in Valinor and had seen the light of the Two Trees.

Lórien and Lothlórien are variant names for the realm of Galadriel in Middle-earth - they are the same place, with Lothlórien, I think, being the older form.

Sounds like a great party! I hope you got up on the table to sing "The Man in the Moon Came Down Too Soon"!

The Istari were beings sent to Middle-earth by the Valar to oppose Sauron, but who were forbidden to do so by seeking to become as powerful as Sauron in order to overthrow him, hence Gandalf's machinations to unite the peoples of Middle-earth in opposition to the Dark Lord.

Tolkien said that they were a sort of Valar, and one of Gandalf's names is Olórin, which is also the name of one of the Maiar, so the Istari might have been a species of Maia.

Miko, I don't think I've been in a pub since before Christmas and that was the first time in months. I might go more often if my local was frequented by hobbits!

Thanks, Christa. I realised, after several people had already taken the quiz, that one question was not quite accurate - although the answer was correct nonetheless - and to have it right required that I re-word the question, which is now rather more complicated in wording than I would otherwise have it. Rather like the foregoing sentence!

I would say "some slight room for improvement" rather than "sucked," Stefan :-)

I've created a quiz about the inns and taverns of Middle-earth, If you'd like to have a go, it's here:

http://www.goodreads.com/quizzes/by_u...

My names in Sindarin are Erufael Eruen and in Quenya Erurish Erufaila. That's a lot of "Eru"!

Excellent score, Arok! There's a "Part 2" to the quiz (another 15 questions) if you fancy taking it :-)

Thanks for taking the quiz, Anne Marie. It's one that I actually had to research, rather than simply knowing all the answers myself, so I know that the questions are tough! My next LoTR quiz will, I think, be a little less abstruse!

Thanks for taking the quiz, Reno. I'm sure you'll love the Silmarillion. It's the foundation upon which Tolkien built his other works.

We recently had the Silmarillion as a Group Read, and now Lord of the Rings - I don't think I've ever read the two so closely together, and I'm getting more out of LoTR as a result. I'm only up to Bree, but once they join up with Aragorn and he starts quoting some of the old Elvish poems I think I'll really appreciate it.

I've just finished one of my favourite sections (possibly the favourite section) of the trilogy: The Old Forest, In the House of Tom Bombadil and Fog on the Barrow-Downs. These three chapters are redolent of eldritch mystery, black wells of time and earthy magic.

Tom Bombadil is one of the most magnetic characters Tolkien created, even though (or perhaps because) he appears so briefly. Added to Tom's puckish presence are the malice of Old Man Willow, slumberous yet watchful and the evil of the Barrow Wight, cold and hateful. But a character I often overlook, until I'm actually reading the book is Goldberry.

I think that she's unusual in Middle-earth: the only being I can think of that appears to be a direct personification of a natural feature, the Withywindle: she's the "River-woman's daughter (suggesting a lineage of such beings), or more simply the "River-daughter". She seems to be a species of Naiad or Rhine-maiden.

I don't think the Ents compare in the same way. They aren't personifications of the forest spirit, nor even spirits inhabiting trees, like dryads: they're creatures unto themselves, despite being treeish. And the mountain Caradhras, while seemingly capable of intent (of a malicious cast) is still actually a mountain, not a personification of one.

Can anybody think of another character that compares with Goldberry in this respect?

Thanks, Mary - glad you enjoyed it :-)

Welcome to the Group, Erin.

Before this topic goes any further I would remind members of this Group rule:

Tolkien was a children's author and many members are children themselves. Please do not use "adult," inappropriate or profane language.

I will be the arbiter of what constitutes inappropriate language in the Group and will have no hesitation in deleting comments I feel are inappropriate to it. Basically, this means comments should be appropriate for a 13 year old (the age limit for Goodreads members) - I am English and a prude ;-)

Hi Tanya - welcome to the Group. I see that you've joined our Group Read of the Lord of the Rings, which I hope you will enjoy as much as you did The Hobbit :-)

I know Tolkien vehemently opposed any interpretation of LoTR as allegory of WWII, and no doubt the same would go for WWI. But I can see him using his experience to inform the emotional state of a character, although I can't say that he definitely did that in the instance I mentioned - just wondering.

I know what you mean about the Scouring of the Shire not being in the films, but people I know who aren't Tolkienites already think that after the destruction of the ring the film went on too long. I would have liked to have seen the hobbit "militia" tackling Sharkey!