| Poems by J.R.R. Tolkien | |
| The Dale-lands | |
|---|---|
| Poem Information | |
| Other names | Spring, Deep in the Vales, The Dale Lands, Valley-Lands, On néolum dalum’ |
| Written | May, 1910 |
| Revised | Early 1914, 18 May 1914 |
| Published | The Collected Poems of J.R.R. Tolkien |
| Subject(s) | Non-legendarium poetry |
The Dale-lands[1] is a poem written by J.R.R. Tolkien in May of 1910 when he was still at King Edward's School in Birmingham.[2]
Poem excerpt
Deep in the vale where the bluebells ring
'Neath the young gay trees that heavenward spring;
Down in the dale where the emerald spreads
Round the prouder grasses flaunting heads: —[3]
Background
In May of 1910,[2] Tolkien wrote the first version of the poem.[2] He originally entitled it Spring, but soon thereafter changed it to Deep in the Vales before contemplating changing it to either The Dale Lands[2] or Valley-Lands.[3]
In early 1914, Tolkien rewrote the poem Wood-sunshine on a manuscript containing a version of The Dale Lands.[3]
On May 18 of the same year,[4] Tolkien rewrote The Dale Lands,[4] changing the name to The Dale-lands.[4] Following this, Tolkien made two nearly identical manuscripts of the poem, adding the Old English words On néolum dalum’ ("In deep dales") as a heading on both. Tolkien eventually made a professional typescript of the poem, inscribing "1907?" on it much later, possibly misremembering when he wrote the poem.[3]
In September of 2024, the poem was published for the first time as entry 2 in The Collected Poems of J.R.R. Tolkien along with the earliest version.[3]
References
- ↑ Christina Scull and Wayne G. Hammond (2006), The J.R.R. Tolkien Companion and Guide: I. Chronology, "Poetry by J.R.R. Tolkien", p. 843 (entry "The Dale-lands")
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 Christina Scull and Wayne G. Hammond (2006), The J.R.R. Tolkien Companion and Guide: I. Chronology, p. 19 (entry "May 1910")
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 J.R.R. Tolkien; Christina Scull, Wayne G. Hammond (eds.), The Collected Poems of J.R.R. Tolkien, "2. The Dale-Lands (1910-14)"
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 Christina Scull and Wayne G. Hammond (2006), The J.R.R. Tolkien Companion and Guide: I. Chronology, p. 52 (entry "18 May 1914")