The Complaint of Mîm the Dwarf
The Complaint of Mîm the Dwarf is a short poem accompanied by a more extensive prose text about the petty-dwarf Mîm, written by J.R.R. Tolkien.
Description
The poem consists of twenty-six lines of verse, and then continues with six paragraphs of prose, all of which composes one fictional work. It is a tale about the aging Mîm, lonely and bitter, and how he struggles with not being able to forgive.[1]
It is unknown when Tolkien wrote The Complaint of Mîm the Dwarf,[1] as well as where the manuscript is kept.
Nonetheless, while the dating of the texts is never explicitly shown, it might be possible that the prose text, at least, dates from the 1950s or later. This is based on the appearance of the term "Tarn Aeluin" within the prose text, which first appears in the Grey Annals[2] and The Lay of Leithian Recommenced,[3] both of which date from the 1950s.
However, it is also possible that the term "Tarn Aeluin" makes its first appearance in the prose text, potentially being even older than both the Grey Annals and The Lay of Leithian Recommenced.
Publication history
The original text has never been published, but a German translation was included in Klett-Cotta's anniversary volume Das erste Jahrzehnt 1977–1987: Ein Almanach (pp. 302-5), titled as "Mîms Klage" (translated from English by Hans J. Schütz). A one-paragraph summary of the poem and prose text was included in the second edition of The J.R.R. Tolkien Companion and Guide.[1]
See also
External links
- Mîms Klage (The Complaint of Mîm the Dwarf) at TolkienGuide.com
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Wayne G. Hammond and Christina Scull, The J.R.R. Tolkien Companion and Guide Revised and Enlarged Edition (2017), p. 261
- ↑ Christina Scull and Wayne G. Hammond (2006), The J.R.R. Tolkien Companion and Guide: I. Chronology, entry ?Summer 1951-?early 1952, p. 377
- ↑ Christina Scull and Wayne G. Hammond (2006), The J.R.R. Tolkien Companion and Guide: I. Chronology, entry ?Late 1949-1950, p. 355
