Happy Tolkien Reading Day! On March 25 every year – the date of the fall of Barad-dûr – Tolkien lovers worldwide celebrate by reading the Professor’s works aloud. The theme for 2017 is Poetry and Songs in Tolkien’s Fiction, so Alan and Shawn read their favorite poems and songs from the legendarium, discuss the ways in which Tolkien used poetry to shape his world, and quite possibly make fools of themselves. Again.
Recommended Reading:
Tolkien, J. R. R. The Hobbit (Mariner Books, paperback)
Tolkien, J. R. R. Tales from the Perilous Realm (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, hardcover)
In your survey of the poetry of the people of Middle Earth, I notice a pattern. The dwarf and hobbit poems were all iambs and troches. The poetry of Men and Elves was full of anapests, dactyls, and amphibrachs. This is doubtless why hobbits refer to us as big-footed folk.
I feel like we need to come up with a Best Metrical Analysis Pun award for that. Bravo!