There was a really nice poem in Tales from the Perilous Realm. I think it was called "A Cat", and it has just lovely rhymes. It's such a funny and simple poem .

Any of the poems in LOTR would be good, but I'd have to put in a word for the dwarves song in The Hobbit.

Far over the misty mountains cold/To dungeons deep and caverns old/We must away, ere break of day/To seek our long-forgotten gold

I love the rhyme scheme in that one.
And also for Sam's in the tower

Though here at journey's end I lie
In darkness buried deep
Beyond all towers strong and high
Beyond all mountains steep
Above all shadows rides the Sun
And Stars forever dwell
I will not say the Day is done
Nor bid the Stars farewell

I just loved that second verse.
There was also a poem in The Silmarillion, a sort of love poem, that was really pretty.

Farewell sweet earth and northern sky
Forever blest, since here did lie
And here with lissom limbs did run
Beneath the Moon, beneath the Sun
Lúthien Tinúviel
More fair than mortal tongue can tell
Though all to ruin fell the world
And were dissolved and backward hurled
Unmade in to the old abyss
Yet were it's making good, for this--
The dusk, the dawn, the earth, the sea
That Lúthien for a time should be

As you can see, I love Tolkien's poetry

Last night, I finished a re-read of The Hobbit and I thought I would come post my thoughts in here.

I remember loving Tolkien's humor in past readings of TH, but this time through that was more of a highlight than a constant element. I enjoyed the humor when it was there (his comments on social figures like the Master of Esgaroth, commentary regarding hobbits and Bilbo, etc.) but I found myself getting distracted by the style of the book. Maybe this is my creative writing workshops speaking, but I thought that Tolkien could have written TH much better than he did, especially given the prosaic music that flowers LotR in so many places. I found myself falling a little more in love with the story versus the words, and that is okay. Scenes that I vaguely remembered are now more firmly planted in my mind, like Bilbo's conversation with Smaug and his farewell to Thorin. I won't be starting my LotR re-read for a few weeks. I felt the need to read a new book in between the old ones.

Cool-io, Liberty!

narnian_at_heart, it would be wonderful if somehow it worked for you to be down in Wichita for the Hobbit Moot!

Very fun graphics *♥mushrooms♥*, Lady Courage.

I've never been overly impressed with Evangeline Lilly, so am rather disappointed she's in The Hobbit. I was much rather hoping for Saoirse Ronan.

Booky, what Tolkien poetry did you end up choosing?

*waves at Mehinen* Is this the cat poem you're thinking of?

Lady Haleth, I especially love those first two you posted: the throaty, deep, mighty, determined, adventurous Dwarf song, and one of my all-time favourites, Samwise's song in the Tower.

Even though I am not a huge poetry lover, I thoroughly enjoy some of Tolkien's, and realize this is way past your post, Booky, but I can't resist. Ready? Here goes ...

*probably JRRT's best-known poem: Three Rings for the Elven-Kings

*One of the hobbits' walking songs (Upon the Hearth the Fire is Red)

*The Riddle of Strider

*Over the Misty Mountains Cold

*The Song of Eärendil: I'm not big into longer poems, but I do love Eärendil's tale, and always think of the planet, Venus, as that honourable Mariner.

*Bilbo's Song (I Sit Beside the Fire and Think)

*Song of Durin

*Frodo's Lament for Gandalf

*Lament for Boromir

*Lament of (for) the Rohirrim

*Malbeth the Seer's Words

*Sam's Song in the Orc Tower

*Legolas' Song of the Sea

*The Eagle's Song

*The Road Goes Ever On (I very much enjoy each version of this poem)

*collapses*

Of these, my top-of-the-list favourites are any by the hobbits, with some of the others are close seconds.

EDIT:

I thought that Tolkien could have written TH much better than he did,

From biographies I have read, JRRT felt the same way. So, you're not alone. Even that beloved author agrees!

I ended up going with the poem about Beren and Luthien that Aragorn recites on the road to Rivendell.

I recently read The Hobbit again and I was struck by the humour. It definitely feels like the younger brother of LotR, in terms of depth, writing style and character and story complexity. In some ways The Hobbit is better-written than LotR. It has a delightful simplicity missing from LotR. Tolkien doesn't feel the need to describe every blade of grass on the journey and for that, I'm very thankful.

Johobbit: Yes, that's the poem! I can just imagine a cat thinking like that .

It's been a while since I read The Hobbit, but it's writing style seemed closer to that of Narnia instead of LotR.

I've only read FotR and like, the first chapter of TT, but I still do love the simplicity of The Hobbit, like Warrior said. Along with that, there is a less intense air of adventure in it that is more relaxing. Within it's mood, the adventure for conquesting evil that has polluted the land in every race of the land is enthralling and interesting to immerse one's self into, but I've always been rather partial to The Hobbit. Probably because I read it first.

It's been a while since I read The Hobbit, but it's writing style seemed closer to that of Narnia instead of LotR.

*nods* It's more whimsical, isn't it, intertwined with such grand adventure. I do notice that towards the end of The Hobbit, the tone seems to change somewhat. Maybe around the time of Thorin's reconciliation with Bilbo, and his subsequent (very moving) death, through the Battle of the Five Armies.

*encourages Bella to persist in reading The LotR, every mention of each blade of grass and all. * at Warrior* (Btw, Bella, that's one lovely avatar!)

Well, happy 65th birthday to Howard Shore today!!! My tribute to him on FB is as follows:

Happy Birthday, Howard Shore! You have delved into Middle-earth deeply and exquisitely, with great integrity, thought, and respect, and we are so grateful to you for this. The beauty you have further added to Tolkien's already complex and awesome world, as expressed in the utter joy of music, is beyond words for me. In fact, I don't know how I lived 43 years without the glory of that beloved music, for truly we are hushed in its presence, as our hearts become "wounded with sweet words, overflowed, and their joy was like swords, and they passed in thought out to regions where pain and delight flow together and tears are the very wine of blessedness."

Yet most importantly, for me, it points me to the Creator of all that is beautiful and the One True Myth! When I listen to the music of The Lord of the Rings (which is pretty much daily ), I am brought to my knees in adoration of the glory of God, and thankfulness for how His beauty is ineffably expressed through the medium of music.

Haha, Jo, Ella is trying to convince me too, and now that you encourage me to, I'll go push it a couple numbers up my to-read list. I enjoy the descriptions, because it gives me a good vivid mental picture of what image Tolkien was trying to convey to his readers. (by simplicity, I meant more along the lines that the Council of Elrond/all the history behind Middle Earth kind of impresses and overwhelms me. ) But I definitely do need to finish it! (Thank-you so much!! )

Happy Birthday, Howard Shore!! I enjoyed reading your tribute, Jo.

I'm not saying I don't enjoy the more intense parts of the book, just that something is lost due to it's overly serious nature. Something that The Hobbit manages to retain. I think the Council of Elrond scene is one of the toughest parts of The Lord of the Rings to slog through.

I think I understand where you're coming from. I was able to enjoy Fellowship of the Ring, but watching the movie definitely helped understand what I didn't. (but I did make sure to notice the differences, lol) I've only read it once, so I can't analyze it very concretely; I just know I enjoyed it, only was a little overwhelmed: I overall liked it, but I definitely like The Hobbit better because of the simplicity and air the book has.

I think the Council of Elrond scene is one of the toughest parts of The Lord of the Rings to slog through.

I read the first four pages, wondered if it was absolutely necessary to read it, and alltogether skipped it. My sister wasn't too happy about that... I do admire Tolkien's persistence and committedness to the book, language, and world he invented, though.
*really needs to read all the LotR...*

I think I understand where you're coming from. I was able to enjoy Fellowship of the Ring, but watching the movie definitely helped understand what I didn't.

OK, I'll jump in here. I definetly agree! LotR is an amazing series but it is easy to get bogged down. I've read it four or five maybe six times through and I still am uncovering new things I didn't know on each new read-through. For instance, when I watched the movies (after having read the books four or five times), I was shocked at the part with the Dead Army. I said that was never in the book! But upon inspecting the book to make sure, I found the section with them. I'd never noticed before.

I think the Council of Elrond scene is one of the toughest parts of The Lord of the Rings to slog through.

I read the first four pages, wondered if it was absolutely necessary to read it, and alltogether skipped it. My sister wasn't too happy about that... I do admire Tolkien's persistence and committedness to the book, language, and world he invented, though.

Another total agreement from me. It wasn't until my fifth read through that I realized that it was at the Council of Elrond where

and every time they mentioned something about the Council later on, I was confused and figured I must have just missed something. It wasn't until that fifth read through that I realized exactly what I had missed.

I agree The Hobbit was much simpler. And it's simply hilarious in parts! Especially the section with something to the effect of "Bilbo found himself running aorund in circles yshouting, 'Bimbur, Bombur, Boffur, [insert other dwarves names], Dwalin, Balin, Thorin Oakenshield' while various other voices around him were shouting the exact same thing with an occaisonal 'Bilbo' thrown in." And also the parts where

The Lord of the Rings had zero parts (that I recall) that were actually funny; funny enough to make me laught out loud. It was altogether a very serious series. Which is understandable, I suppose, considering it's a series about an evil lord trying to enslave one's entire world. But still, the funny parts in Bilbo were often at parts that would have been extremely scary and dangerous and not at all funny while they were happening.

It's quite funny how people like different parts of the same book. I have always thought that the Council of Elrond was one of the more interesting parts of FotR . It's actually a useful chapter, because it provides the information you need to understand the situation in Middle-Earth at that moment (dwarves' problems with Sauron, for example) and worth reading, at least in my opinion.

I think the Council of Elrond scene is one of the toughest parts of The Lord of the Rings to slog through.

I have always thought that the Council of Elrond was one of the more interesting parts of FotR.

I will admit, I'm with Mehinen here. "The Council of Elrond" is one of my favourite chapters in The FotR because we learn so much about many aspects of the story to that date, and from such diverse characters. Plus I love the detail! But, W4J, I do think you are in the majority, because most folk I talk to about "The CoE" agree with you.

I've read [The LotR]it four or five maybe six times through and I still am uncovering new things

Ditto, n_a_h! I've been reading it biennially (once every two years)—'though sometimes more often—for the past nearly 40 years, and the story becomes more meaningful each time, with new layers uncovered. Also, it has hugely helped me in my life journey at many different points during both struggles and joys, and always speaks to me where I'm at at the time ... similar to the Narnia Chronicles, actually, even though the writing style is so very different.