Ere iron was found or tree was hewn
Ere iron was found or tree was hewn is the first line of a short poem recited by Gandalf to King Théoden, when asked about what power that summoned the Huorns during the Battle of the Hornburg. Théoden identified Gandalf's answer as a riddle.
Ere iron was found or tree was hewn,
When young was mountain under moon;
Ere ring was made, or wrought was woe,
It walked the forests long ago.[1]
Composition
The poem contains four iambs in each line, and the lines rhyme in pairs.[2] Verlyn Flieger has described the poem as a piece of "folk verse".[3]
Name
Among fans, the poem is commonly called Gandalf's Riddle of the Ents.[4][5][6][2]
Inspiration
It has been noted that Tolkien re-used a phrase from his The Lay of Aotrou and Itroun:[7]
ere fire was found or iron hewn,
when young was mountain under moon.[8]
See also
References
- ↑ J.R.R. Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings, The Two Towers, "The Road to Isengard"
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 'Kamelen' (alias), "Gandalf's Riddle of the Ents/Gandalfs gåta om enterna [Swedish-language]" dated 17 October 2016, tolkien.mbor.se (accessed 5 December 2016)
- ↑ Verlyn Flieger, "Poems by Tolkien: The Lord of the Rings", in Michael D.C. Drout (ed), J.R.R. Tolkien Encyclopedia: Scholarship and Critical Assessment
- ↑ 'NenyaGold' (alias), "Gandalf's Riddle of the Ents", www.councilofelrond.com (accessed 5 December 2016)
- ↑ "Gandalf's Riddle of the Ents" dated 29 September 2003, www.henneth-annun.net (accessed 5 December 2016)
- ↑ "Gandalf's Riddle to the Ents" dated 9 August 2016, lotr.wikia.com (accessed 5 December 2016)
- ↑ Alan Reynolds, "Tolkien Society Facebook group post" dated 5 December 2016, Facebook (accessed 5 December 2016)
- ↑ J.R.R. Tolkien; Verlyn Flieger (ed), The Lay of Aotrou & Itroun, p. 14
