Week 6: "The Hills of Faraway" (The Adventures of Tom Bombadil/ Lud in the Mist)

"He went upon the troll's back

to the hills of Faraway"

(J. R. R. Tolkien "Perry-The-Winkle")

This week I read many of the poems from The Adventures of Tom Bombadil and Lud in the Mist. They each present fascinating adventures in different forms. I think that the couple lines from "Perry-the-Winkle" perfectly sum up Tolkien's idea of adventure. It beautifully sums it up in a limited way that allows for the imagination to fill in the beautiful, fantastical details. The idea of the "hills of Faraway". Somewhere for not only the characters to escape to, but also for the reader's mind to escape from the mundane of day to day life.

I enjoyed many of the poems from The Adventures of Tom Bombadil. Some of them I found harder to follow than others. Their metering often threw me off. I wanted all of the stanzas to follow a smooth rhythm that I could easily follow but they often fought against that. In my head, I tried to read them somewhat musically.

After reading the collection, I found a version of “The Man in the Moon Stayed Up Too Late” from the extended version of the first Hobbit movie. Listening to Bofur sing the poem helped me to understand the structure of many of the poems I had already read. I was thrilled to see a version of the poem adapted to the film as it was one of my absolute favorites from the collection of poems.

One of its stanzas talks about a cow as if she were a queen. But it says that the music brings her to a place of ease where she’s free too. It compares this to the consumption of alcohol. I took particular interest in this part of the poem. I’ve always fascinated with music. I enjoy consuming, creating it, and learning about its theory. I’ve often felt that music can be a direct outlet for the soul. Music connects to emotions in a way that I don’t think people always fully comprehend. Based on the way I personally do feel about music; I think it’s fully accurate to compare music to a mood-altering substance. While I don’t believe Tolkien meant for it to be that deep, it still made a very personal connection with me as I read it. I think the idea is both engaging and charming.

I enjoyed some of the other poems; "The Man in the Moon Came Down Too Soon", "Perry-the-Winkle", and "Bombadil Goes Boating". But I think my absolute favorite poem out of the lot was the one about Oliphaunts. It was much more simple than many of the other poems, as well as much shorter. But that was a large part of what made it so special. I think I was drawn to this poem mostly based on nostalgia. The poem seems well suited for little ones. Based on my first viewing of The Lord of the Rings trilogy when I was a kid, I want other children to experience the same feeling of awe and fascination with Oliphaunts.

The Hobbit (1966)

I also watched an animated short based one of Tolkien’s works. It was an animation created in the 1960’s by William L. Snyder based on The Hobbit. The visuals were intense in an off-putting way at points; however, in the same way, they were fascinating. The story was so far off from the original book that it was almost frustrating. Unless I just don’t remember Bilbo marrying the princess of “The City of Golden Bells”. It was sweet and short but also something I would never want to show anyone who hasn’t read the original story.

I enjoyed reading Lud in the Mist for some of the same reasons I enjoyed The Adventures of Tom Bombadil. I loved the inclusion of musical elements. Nathaniel’s fixation on a singular note in a way that gave it supernatural properties. The power that music held over him was fascinating to me. The story is haunted by the Duke of Lud in the Mist in some ways but also by the music itself.

When Professor Wisp was teaching the girls to dance music brought about a form of haunting. “And the curious thing was that, in spite of all the crossings and recrossings . . . demanded by the intricate figures of this dance, the newcomer was never beside you.” (p. 31) This appearance of what seems to be the Duke reminded me a lot of China Miéville’s story about New Death. This idea of everyone having the same personal experience at once that creates implausibility. In new death, the dead’s feet faced everyone at all times. In this case, the dancer was never beside anyone in the dance while dancing among them.

I also found the interactions between generations interesting. There were ties that held them together and aspects that alienated them from one another. Along with this, Nathaniel wasn’t motivated to make any changes until fairy fruit threatened his son. But along with this, he also didn’t appear to care almost at all for his son until the boy was in danger. Through the danger, he found connections between himself and his son.
There is a clashing between elements of the story. Between generations as well as between the natural and all that lies beyond the limits of "natural". When harmony is struck between these elements, the story comes to a place of rest.

The Fairy Wood, Henry Meynell Rheam (British, 1859 - 1920)

The hills of Faraway, or fairyland, only offer escape and peace if we choose to accept them as they are. The sense of mystery that surrounds them can be intimidating. It's easy to reject things that we don't understand. I'm excited to continue reading other fantasy novels to explore a wider variety of different authors' versions of that far away fairyland.