Tag Archives: poetry

Song of the Entwives, by J.R.R. Tolkien

Since finishing The Hobbit, I’ve been re-reading The Lord of the Rings. I finished Fellowship a month or so ago, and am now well into The Two Towers. It’s a lovely, enlightening read. It’s been at least a decade since I’ve read this book — most of my Tolkien-reading being spent among The Silmarillion and its spinoffContinue reading “Song of the Entwives, by J.R.R. Tolkien”

“A Christmas Legend” by Frank Sidgwick

At the Dickens Fair  this year, I saw this poem performed with a brilliance that brought its every image and emotion to life. Reading the text by itself cannot, of course, deliver the same experience, but nonetheless it is a joy to read. I know nothing of this Frank Sidgwick, but his poem sounds likeContinue reading ““A Christmas Legend” by Frank Sidgwick”

“A Song of Aryador” by J.R.R. Tolkien

The recent dearth of posts is not what I had planned for this month, but is caused by intensive training for my new job. The review for Series 3 of Doctor Who is in the works (as it should have been long ago), and I am happily taking notes on Series 4 now. I amContinue reading ““A Song of Aryador” by J.R.R. Tolkien”

Chesterton’s “Chord of Colour”

Ah, Chesterton, witty Christian sage! Here he expounds again on his favorite subject: how the unspiritual man blinds himself to the magnificent glories of God’s creation. In this poem, we appear to have a narrator utterly besotted with his Lady fair; and yet not so besotted as to worship her at the exclusion of theContinue reading “Chesterton’s “Chord of Colour””

Treasure Our Young Folks and Nurture Their Minds

At some point last year, on the shelf at my library where they sell unwanted books cheaply, I spent $1.50 for a green leather-bound Volume One of The Young Folks Treasury published in 1919 by The University Society. It is in wonderfully good condition, with a cover as smooth as the day it was printedContinue reading “Treasure Our Young Folks and Nurture Their Minds”

“The Last Voyage of Eärendel” by J.R.R. Tolkien

This is the first poem written by Tolkien about the character of Eärendil, the famous voyager who in Middle-Earth mythology carried the morning star on his brow across the sky. Interestingly enough, the character’s name comes from the Anglo-Saxon word Éarendel, a name associated with the star Rigel in Orion, which is a wandering starContinue reading ““The Last Voyage of Eärendel” by J.R.R. Tolkien”

“The Vampyre” by Rudyard Kipling

I should say right up front that I don’t understand this poem. Because I can make so little sense of it, I don’t like it. I have read it and reread it, and broken it down logically and grammatically, and still have reached no satisfying conclusion on the natures of the narrator (a “fool” heContinue reading ““The Vampyre” by Rudyard Kipling”