The Silmarillion
Unlike The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings Trilogy which are two of the most well loved stories ever told, J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Silmarillion was met with mixed reviews by various critics. Since its posthumous release in 1977, (the year before I was born) Tolkien’s poetic mythological epic has been panned and praised, lauded and lambasted for a variety of reasons by the pundits of the literary world. The New York Book of Reviews, a prominent fortnightly magazine and favored journal of America’s intellectual elite, called it “an empty and pompous bore”. In contrast, TIME described it as a “majestic, a work held so long and so powerfully in the writer’s imagination that it overwhelms the reader” Personally, I belive Horn Book Magazine’s descripton of the book as a “remarkable set of legends conceived with imaginative might and told in beautiful language” encapsulated the very essence of the Book.
From the first page I, knew that The Silmarillion, which deals with the quest for the Silmarils, the 3 most precious jewels of Middle Earth which were stolen by the Dark Lord Morgoth, is one of the greatest mythical magnum opuses of the 20th century. In terms of beauty and scope, I’d say it ranks way up there with Homer, Ovid or even Alighieri’s works. Reading this book has the effect of appreciating the Holy Bible as a magnificent work of epic literature. Although the book lacks a unifying quest that was the staple of Tolkien’s most well loved books, I firmly believe this is way better than the more popular Hobbit and Rings since The Silmarillion laid the groundwork for the latter stories and characters who would populate middle earth in the Third Age.
The story itself has interesting origins. Most sources agree that Tolkien first began writing this novel as an enlisted personnel manning the trenches of Europe during the First World War around 1918. Through the years, various influences from Welsh, Celtic and Norse mythology found their way into the merry mix. Four languages and 6 decades later, the story still wasn’t finished. Thankfully, J.R.R’s son Christopher gathered all the notes and manuscripts and painstakingly assembled the pieces of the puzzle, filling in missing parts at times to bring the book to completion.
I’d rather not dwell on the storyline. I’d leave that to you readers to discover. I’d rather dwell on some highights and the impression they left me long after I’ve put the book down.
For starters, the book closely parallels Christian Mythology, with God represented by the all powerful Eru Iluvatar who created powerful angelic beings called the Valar and the Maiar. And Lucifer represented by the powerful Valar Melkor, who was incidentally the first Dark Lord and master of Sauron who would figure prominently in the LOTR trilogy.
It was Tolkien’s description of Melkor that had me hooked up to the book for good. Consider the following passage describing the Dark Enemy in his days of glory:
“And he descended upon Arda in power and majesty greater than any other of the Valar, as a mountain that wades in the sea and has its head above the clouds and is clad in ice and crowned with smoke and fire; and the light of the eyes of Melkor was like a flame that withers with heat and pierces with a deadly cold.”
Such powerful and beautiful language to describe something so awful.
In terms of my favorite passages in the book however, this one really takes the cake. This scene describes the climactic battle between Melkor, now known as Morgoth, and FIngolfin, the High King of the Elves in Beleriand:
“Therefore Morgoth came, climbing slowly from his subterranean throne, and the rumor of his feet was like thunder underground. And he issued forth clad in black armour; and he stood before the King like a tower, iron-crowned, and his vast shield, sable unblazoned, cast a shadow over him like a stormcloud. But Fingolfin gleamed beneath it as a star; for his mail was overlaid with silver, and his blue shield was set with crystals; and he drew his sword Ringil, that glittered like ice.
Then Morgoth hurled aloft Grond, the Hammer of the Underworld, and swung it down like a bolt of thunder. But Fingolfin sprang aside, and Grond rent a mighty pit in the earth whence smoke and fire darted. Many times Morgoth essayed to smite him, and each time Fingolfin leaped away, as a lighting shoots from under a dark cloud; and he wounded Morgoth with seven wounds, and seven times Morgoth gave a cry of anguish, whereat the hosts of Angband fell upon their faces in dismay, and the cries echoed in the Northlands.
But at last the King grew weary, and Morgoth bore down his shield upon him. Thrice he was crushed to his knees, and thrice arose again and bore up his broken shield and stricken helm. But the earth was all rent and pitted about him, and he stumbled and fell backward before the feet of Morgoth; and Morgoth set his left foot upon his neck, and the weight of it was like a fallen hill. Yet with his last and desperate stroke Fingolfin hewed the foot with Ringil, and the blood gushed forth black and smoking and filled the pits of Grond.
Thus died Fingolfin, High King of the Noldor, most proud and valiant of the Elven-Kings of old. The Orcs made no boast of that duel at the gate; neither do the Elves sing of it, for their sorrow is too deep.”
Its impact upon me was such that I immediately scrambled for my sketchpad and hastiy scribbled this scene using a typical mongol pencil and an 18 x 12 paper. in my haste I just took a camera phone picture of the drawing and adjusted the contrast in photoshop. The piece is called “Morgoth and Fingolfin”
- Morgoth and Fingolfin
Overall, for mythology buffs, reading The Silmarillion is like reading Edith Hamilton’s greek mythology for the frist time: it just blows you away. I highly recommend this to readers young and old alike, especially those who have never lost their sense of wonder and inner child within.
com.ments