The Bidding of the Minstrel: Difference between revisions

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The short (36 lines in its final version) poem consists of an exhortation to recount the tale of "Eärendel the wandering", perhaps referring to ''[[Éalá Éarendel Engla Beorhtast]]'' composed earlier that year, and a reply from the eponymous minstrel. He laments:
The short (36 lines in its final version) poem consists of an exhortation to recount the tale of "Eärendel the wandering", perhaps referring to ''[[Éalá Éarendel Engla Beorhtast]]'' composed earlier that year, and a reply from the eponymous minstrel. He laments:
{{blockquote|But the music is broken, the words half-forgotten,<br>
{{blockquote|<poem>But the music is broken, the words half-forgotten,
[...]<br>
[...]
The song I can sing is but shreds one remembers<br>
The song I can sing is but shreds one remembers
Of golden imaginings fashioned in sleep,<br>
Of golden imaginings fashioned in sleep,
A whispered tale told by the withering embers<br>
A whispered tale told by the withering embers
Of old things far off that but few hearts keep.}}
Of old things far off that but few hearts keep.</poem>}}


In total four drafts were written at St. John's Street, Oxford in the winter of [[1914]]. Earlier titles were ''The Minstrel renounces the song'' and ''The Lay of Eärendel''.
In total four drafts were written at St. John's Street, Oxford in the winter of [[1914]]. Earlier titles were ''The Minstrel renounces the song'' and ''The Lay of Eärendel''.

Revision as of 20:39, 4 August 2010

The Bidding of the Minstrel, from the Lay of Eärendel is an poem by J.R.R. Tolkien. It is one of several early poems concerning Eärendil published in The Book of Lost Tales Part Two[1].

The short (36 lines in its final version) poem consists of an exhortation to recount the tale of "Eärendel the wandering", perhaps referring to Éalá Éarendel Engla Beorhtast composed earlier that year, and a reply from the eponymous minstrel. He laments:

But the music is broken, the words half-forgotten,
[...]
The song I can sing is but shreds one remembers
Of golden imaginings fashioned in sleep,
A whispered tale told by the withering embers
Of old things far off that but few hearts keep.

In total four drafts were written at St. John's Street, Oxford in the winter of 1914. Earlier titles were The Minstrel renounces the song and The Lay of Eärendel.

References