| Poems by J.R.R. Tolkien | |
| Dark Are the Clouds about the North | |
|---|---|
| Poem Information | |
| Other names | Dark are the clouds, Dark are the Clouds about the North |
| Written | 14 September of 1915 |
| Revised | October, 1915 |
| Published | The Collected Poems of J.R.R. Tolkien |
| Subject(s) | Darkness, Edith Tolkien, Withered Heath |
Dark Are the Clouds about the North[1] is a poem written by J.R.R. Tolkien in 1915 at Whittington Heath in Lichfield.[2]
Poem excerpt
Dark are the clouds about the North
And a pale flare's in the sky,
As Orion with his flaming belt
Strides dazzlingly by: —
O! can you see the same far light
And swinging constellations bright
Afar, where you and I
Beyond the weir of silver streams
In a sunlit boat all oared with dreams
Went gliding up the mere?[3]
Background
On 14 September of 1915, Tolkien wrote an unnamed[3] first version of the poem.[2]
Tolkien followed the initial draft with four more unnamed versions. It was only after Tolkien wrote the fifth and final version that he gave it the name Dark Are the Clouds about the North and wrote the date of the first version on it. Tolkien eventually made a professional typescript of the poem, inscribing "Whittington Heath Lichfield Oct[ober] 1915" on it.[3]
In October,[3] Dark Are the Clouds about the North was among some poems that were sent to Geoffrey Bache Smith. On 24 October, Smith sent a letter "from the Wisemans' house in London" to Tolkien thanking him for the poems, as he had apparently "never read anything in the least like them, and certainly nothing better than the best"[3], further noting that he was "particularly impressed" by The Happy Mariners and Dark Are the Clouds about the North.[4]
Two days later, Tolkien wrote a letter to Edith, mentioning to her that the sad poem he wrote for her was appraised by G.B. Smith.[3]
In 2024, the poem was published for the first time in September as entry 38 in The Collected Poems of J.R.R. Tolkien.[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. 844 (entry "Dark Are the Clouds about the North")
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Christina Scull and Wayne G. Hammond (2006), The J.R.R. Tolkien Companion and Guide: I. Chronology, p. 73 (entry "14 September 1915")
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 3.6 J.R.R. Tolkien; Christina Scull, Wayne G. Hammond (eds.), The Collected Poems of J.R.R. Tolkien, "38. Dark Are the Clouds about the North (1915)"
- ↑ Christina Scull and Wayne G. Hammond (2006), The J.R.R. Tolkien Companion and Guide: I. Chronology, p. 74 (entry "24 October 1915")