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10-13-2006, 10:55 AM | #1 | |
Late Istar
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Silmarillion - Chapter 01 - Of the Beginning of Days
What a lot of material the first chapter of the Quenta Silmarillion covers! Within the space of about ten pages, we learn of the fashioning of Arda by the Valar, their first war with Melkor, the coming of Tulkas, the Lamps and the first growth and flowering of life, the destruction of the lamps, the building of Valinor, and to top it all off, the “Gift of Iluvatar” to Men – death.
It is striking that all this is covered with such speed. I suppose a rationale for this is that these are events that took place before the awakening of the Elves and about which they know little. I’ve always been intrigued by the Lamps. It is quite a strange and striking image: two huge pillars at the top of which are light sources of comparable power to the sun, shining in an endless and unchanging day. The whole Age of the Lamps is passed over very quickly and is rarely mentioned again. It’s interesting that while the Age of the Trees is eventually seen as a kind of Edenic age, a lost paradise, the Age of the Lamps is not. The Two Trees are, I suppose, no less strange and striking than the Lamps. The idea of trees providing light is, as far as I know, unique. The idea of light as a substance, even a liquid, is present here: Telperion drops “a dew of silver light” from its leaves; Laurelin “spilled a golden rain upon the ground”; the light spilled from the trees “was taken up into the airs or sank down into the earth”; Varda hoards the light in “great vats like shining lakes”. The final portion of the chapter, concerning Iluvatar’s gift to Men, raises again some of the metaphysical mysteries of the Ainulindale. Men are given “a virtue to shape their life, amid the powers and chances of the world, beyond the Music of the Ainur, which is as fate to all things else”. This has been interpreted as a statement that Men have free will; but what then of the Elves? Are their lives predestined, completely determined by the Music of the Ainur? The textual history of this chapter in itself is fairly simple; the text given in the published Silmarillion traces its origins back to the “Sketch of the Mythology” of the 1920s, which was revised and expanded in several stages: the “Quenta Noldorinwa” in 1930, the “Quenta Silmarillion” of 1937, and finally the two stages of the “Later Quenta Silmarillion” in the 1950s. One point worth noting is that the final section of this chapter, concerning Iluvatar’s Gift, was actually not part of the Quenta Silmarillion in any version written by Tolkien; rather it formed the conclusion of the Ainulindale. Christopher Tolkien moved it to the position in which it stands in the published Silmarillion, presumably for aesthetic reasons. It is also perhaps worth noting that the predecessor to this chapter in The Book of Lost Tales is of an entirely different character. It is, first of all, a longer and much “closer” account. To give but one example: Quote:
Additional readings: HoMe I (for the earliest, BoLT, version described above) HoMe IV (for the “Sketch of the Mythology” and “Quenta Noldorinwa” versions) HoMe V (for the 1937 “Quenta Silmarillion” version) HoMe IX (for the 1950s “Later Quenta” revisions; also for projected changes in “Myths Transformed”) |
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10-16-2006, 11:59 AM | #2 | ||
Cryptic Aura
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Another excellent introduction to the chapter, Aiwendil. I like particulalry how you focus on the liquidity of the light of the Trees. It is intriguing that the creation of the lamps, a mechanical means of light, predated the birth or growth of the trees, a much more fecund creation. Their action as well is described with imagery of fecundity.
This chapter provides the second instance of a major alteration to Tolkien Sr.'s texts by Christopher Tolkien, the placing of the Gift of Illuvatar. I wonder, would it be valuable to have a thread devoted to identifying these changes--at least such major ones as this and the change to the end of the Valaquenta. I don't think there is here on the Barrow Downs one place where the major changes and emendations which CT made are listed. It might be helpful to see those listed. I find it intriguing that the first sentence of "Of the Beginning of Days"--which is literally a chapter on how time came to enumerated--refers already to "the First War." This no doubt suggests the preoccupation of the Valar with their battles with Melkor, but to place warfare so dominantly is a measure perhaps of how central strife is to Tolkien's mythology. It does not have the petty jealousies and rivalries of the Greek pantheon of gods, but a central theme of battle between good and evil. Two other quick observations. Tulkas has a characteristic which is very intriguing, and it is one which also defeats Melkor: Quote:
My last observation relates to the depiction of change. The beauty the Valar create is unchanging. The perfection of this beauty lies in large part to this quality. It is due to Melkor's hatred that change, decay, destruction, rot enter. Quote:
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10-18-2006, 11:29 AM | #3 | ||
Eagle of the Star
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Last edited by Raynor; 10-20-2006 at 12:28 PM. Reason: Repairing the entropy blunder |
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10-18-2006, 06:01 PM | #4 | |||
Late Istar
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Bethberry wrote:
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Raynor wrote: Quote:
I think (and I know I'm getting a bit ahead of myself here) that the Elvish nostalgia that Tolkien depicts is more complicated than a reactionary "life was good long ago and now it's bad". Tolkien sympathizes with the Elves' nostalgia and their longing for Arda Unmarred by the evil of Melkor, but he also seems to see that nostalgia as a potentially bad thing. As the ages pass, the Elves (like the Valar) become less involved in the world, less able to really live because they are lost in the past. If I may quibble, though: Quote:
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10-19-2006, 02:17 AM | #5 | |
Eagle of the Star
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Here is the passage I had in mind:
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10-20-2006, 11:08 AM | #6 | ||
Cryptic Aura
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The connection between Tulkas' wrath and his humour is fascinating, and, as I said, I wish more had been made of it. Even keeping in mind Mister Underhill's observation that the old injunction to show rather than tell can often be overly ascribed, it would have been intriguing to see a demonstration of Tulkas' humour. Yet some of western culture's most scurrilous and scandilous humorists--Laurence Sterne, Jonathan Swift, Rabelais, Voltaire--have been passionately indignant about many shortcomings in human society. Can humour change things more effectively and less violently than rationality? Obviously, I am sitting here with my cuppa and that engenders wild speculation. Quote:
I suppose my question was more philosophical than analytical. What happens to the story as a consequence of the idea that Arda's Spring, the fresh young growth, was lead to decay and disease by Melkor? Look at all those words connoting disgust for what is, after all, a biological process. I mean, there was T.S. Eliot writing at the same time as Tolkien but who wrote that "April is the cruellest month", in contrast to poetic traditions of lovely Spring. It is one thing for Tolkien to argue about Melkor's nihilism but as so often when I read his Letters, I sense here someone working out a justification after the fact, rather than presenting an original motivation. I could be wrong, of course, as I haven't read all of HoME. Is "the long defeat" not possible without this sense that life's decay is 'corruption'? Again, second cuppa, more ruminations.
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10-20-2006, 12:29 PM | #7 |
Eagle of the Star
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What a blunder! I meant the exact opposite: that life is the antinomy of decay and constancy; life evolves and adapts to "ever more advantageous and orderly patterns". Edit added...
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10-25-2006, 08:59 AM | #8 | |
Alive without breath
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An interesting (to my mind at least) thought occurred to me while reading this chapter. After Tulkas first comes to Arda and puts fear into Melkor's heart, the Dark Lord apparently;
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So why did Melkor never 'flee into the outer darkness' again? I think the answer lies in his loss of power. After causing so much destruction and perversion of Middle Earth, Melkor is weakened and becomes lesser than the other Valar, losing his ability to change shape among other things. I think that Tolkien is perhaps suggesting that evil wears itself out and although it seems easier to destroy than to make, the Valar do not diminish, even after healing many hurts and making Valinor etc... Thoughts?
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10-25-2006, 02:59 PM | #9 | ||||
Eagle of the Star
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10-25-2006, 03:35 PM | #10 |
Alive without breath
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Good points, Ray. I've not read HoME X as yet, else I may have spotted that.
I'll add a little to the theory about The Valar. They do fade, but it seemed to me that Melkor faded faster. He lost his powers pretty quickly, didn't he? All the while, the Valar did not fade as much and not so quickly. Okay, so Melkor loved the light to begin with (and probably retained some of this love in his theft of the Slimarills [among his other motives]), but what turned his heart to the darkness? Perhaps shame? The principle of 'men hate the light for it reveals their misdeeds'* It occurs to me, then, that maybe Melkor suspected deep down, that what he was doing was wrong. Perhaps he had convinced himself that he was right but still something niggled at the back of his mind. Some remnant of a conscience, perhaps? I don't know. We'd need a psychologist, and I'm not one. *I'm not sure if that's the correct phrase, but you see my point?
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I think that if you want facts, then The Downer Newspaper is probably the place to go. I know! I read it once. THE PHANTOM AND ALIEN: The Legend of the Golden Bus Ticket... |
10-25-2006, 04:04 PM | #11 | ||||||
Eagle of the Star
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I also remembered that Ulmo states in Unfinished Tales:
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10-26-2006, 02:52 AM | #12 |
Alive without breath
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Thanks for clearing that up, Ray.
On a different subject, I'd like to know if anyone fully understands the whole subject of time in this chapter. The lamps continuously burned until destroyed and so there was no real method of telling the time. But the waxing and weigning of the trees was something I always found odd... According to one of the HoME books* the times were something like this: 1 hour of Tees = 7hours, our time 1 Day of Trees = 84 hours, our time 1 year of Trees = 84000 hours, our time Now, there are approximately 8766 hours in a 'sun' year (365.25 X 24) and thus: 1 year of the Trees = 84000/8766 = 9.582 sun years This has me baffled. Why did Tolkien do this? Why were the years of the sun so much shorter? Or, perhaps a better question would be, why did he make the years of the trees so much longer? *You'll have to bare with me as I can't remember which one, I just have my battered old copy of the Silmarillion next to me with it's pages of notes shoved in. I think it was HoME 4: The Shaping of Middle Earth, but I've lent it to a friend and cannot check.
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I think that if you want facts, then The Downer Newspaper is probably the place to go. I know! I read it once. THE PHANTOM AND ALIEN: The Legend of the Golden Bus Ticket... |
10-26-2006, 11:29 AM | #13 | |||
Eagle of the Star
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To solve this issue, we should first note that the length of a sun year isn't the proper one, as intended:
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10-26-2006, 01:29 PM | #14 | ||
Fading Fëanorion
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Would Tulkas have come at all if there was no battle? The power of his laughter was essential in his victory over Melkor, but I don't think the source of his laughter was comedy and lightness of heart, but enjoyment of battle (and lightness of heart too, but for a different reason). I'm straying a bit off topic now, but I think it's interesting that Tulkas enjoys battle, but the higher Aratar, like Oromë, don't (at least we're not told they did when at the same time it's emphasized in the case of Tulkas). At the same time, the Rohirrim sing in battle, but I don't recall* the higher Elves or (Dún-)Edain sing when killing orcs anywhere. Am I right to follow that, though Tolkien clearly had no disfavour to enjoy the slaughter and killing (of orcs), he did not let characters or people who "stand higher in a moral way" do it? *which does not mean a lot. |
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10-28-2006, 10:55 AM | #15 | ||
Late Istar
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Macalaure wrote:
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Bethberry wrote: Quote:
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11-01-2006, 08:22 AM | #16 |
Byronic Brand
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On Tulkas's laughter -
I was reminded both of the Eomerish war ethic brought up by Macalaure, and, more incongruously, of the Druedain in the Unfinished Tales. The Druedain are unlovely of countenance, but the Elves felt a keen affinity with them all the same. It is mentioned that Druedain and Orcs are most clearly shown as separate in their laughter; the beauty and joy of the Druedain's gurglings compared with the essentially mirthless cacklings of Orcs. I say this because I differ ever so slightly from Aiwendil's analysis of Tulkas's laughter. It is taking pleasure in the killing of enemies and the spilling of blood, certainly, but I would not describe it as grim or indeed as fell, though Orcs and Morgoth flee before it. Tolkien seems to describe it, to my mind, as a force terrible only to those who oppose it; like the roaring of Aslan, for instance. It makes Morgoth sick with fear because it shows him his inadequacies and weaknesses - he knows nothing of laughter, only twisted ridicule. Tulkas doesn't take himself or anyone else seriously. If anyone here is a fan of Asterix, then you'll understand that I see him as a rather Obelixian figure, running around gleefully piling up Roman, or Orcish, helmets. The Valar, as I think I said in the Valaquenta discussion, seem to singularly lack this anarchic, but benevolent spirit of Tulkas as the First Age grows grimmer. We don't hear of Tulkas at all after the Silmarillion's early stages are over and the Noldor strive in exile - unless Tulkas is to be seen in the Leap of Beren, the badinage of Legolas and Gimli, and similar acts of throwaway courage.
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