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We remember JRR Tolkien for his Magnum opus The Lord of the Rings. We remember him through hobbits, elfs, dwarfs, orcs, trolls, wizards and dragons and… Gollum. But seldom do we talk about his poems and songs. The lyricism in his writings is quite extraordinary and must be appreciated. Which is why I have picked some of my favourite poetry of Tolkien and now sharing it with you.

The first one is from The Hobbit. Right after the unexpected arrival of dwarfs, there comes the song. The dwarfs hum this song as the night arrives and they start dreaming of getting their home back.

Far over the misty mountains cold
To dungeons deep and caverns old
We must away ere break of day
To seek the pale enchanted gold.

The dwarves of yore made mighty spells,
While hammers fell like ringing bells
In places deep, where dark things sleep,
In hollow halls beneath the fells.

For ancient king and elvish lord
There many a gleaming golden hoard
They shaped and wrought, and light they caught
To hide in gems on hilt of sword.

On silver necklaces they strung
The flowering stars, on crowns they hung
The dragon-fire, in twisted wire
They meshed the light of moon and sun.

Far over the misty mountains cold
To dungeons deep and caverns old
We must away, ere break of day,
To claim our long-forgotten gold.

Goblets they carved there for themselves
And harps of gold; where no man delves
There lay they long, and many a song
Was sung unheard by men or elves.

The pines were roaring on the height,
The winds were moaning in the night.
The fire was red, it flaming spread;
The trees like torches blazed with light.

The bells were ringing in the dale
And men looked up with faces pale;
Then dragon’s ire more fierce than fire
Laid low their towers and houses frail.

The mountain smoked beneath the moon;
The dwarves, they heard the tramp of doom.
They fled their hall, to dying fall
Beneath his feet, beneath the moon.

Far over the misty mountains grim
To dungeons deep and caverns dim
We must away, ere break of day,
To win our harps and gold from him!


Later that night, while Bilbo lay in bed trying to fall asleep, he could still hear Thorin humming in the next room over:

Far over the misty mountains cold
To dungeons deep and caverns old
We must away, ere break of day,
To find our long-forgotten gold.

While we are discussing the wonderful poetry of Tolkien, how can we ignore the rings and their story. This is how it goes.

Three Rings for the Elven-kings under the sky,
Seven for the Dwarf-lords in their halls of stone,
Nine for Mortal Men doomed to die,
One for the Dark Lord on his dark throne
In the Land of Mordor where the Shadows lie.
One Ring to rule them all, One Ring to find them,
One Ring to bring them all, and in the darkness bind them,
In the Land of Mordor where the Shadows lie.

One of my favourite poems is called The Riddle of the Strider. It comes from Bilbo in appreciation of Aragorn. Notice the wordplay with the Shakespearean verse.

All that is gold does not glitter,
Not all those who wander are lost;
The old that is strong does not wither,
Deep roots are not reached by the frost.

From the ashes a fire shall be woken,
A light from the shadows shall spring;
Renewed shall be blade that was broken,
The crownless again shall be king.

Talking about Bilbo, it’s hard to ignore his love for the Shire. The below poem captures his longing and nostalgia for home.

I sit beside the fire and think
of all that I have seen
of meadow-flowers and butterflies
in summers that have been;
 
Of yellow leaves and gossamer
in autumns that there were,
with morning mist and silver sun
and wind upon my hair.
 
I sit beside the fire and think
of how the world will be
when winter comes without a spring
that I shall ever see.
 
For still there are so many things
that I have never seen:
in every wood in every spring
there is a different green.
 
I sit beside the fire and think
of people long ago
and people who will see a world
that I shall never know.
 
But all the while I sit and think
of times there were before,
I listen for returning feet
and voices at the door.

Lastly, a poem called The Road Goes Ever On. This poem not just tells us about the style and beauty of the poetry of Tolkien, but also captures the emotions of a Hobbit at different points in life. The poem has multiple versions as mentioned below.

The original version is sung by Bilbo at the end of The Hobbit when he returns home.

Roads go ever ever on,
Over rock and under tree,
By caves where never sun has shone,
By streams that never find the sea;
Over snow by winter sown,
And through the merry flowers of June,
Over grass and over stone,
And under mountains in the moon.

Roads go ever ever on
Under cloud and under star,
Yet feet that wandering have gone
Turn at last to home afar.
Eyes that fire and sword have seen
And horror in the halls of stone
Look at last on meadows green
And trees and hills they long have known.

In The Lord of the Rings, we find three separate versions varying slightly as you would notice. The first is sung by Bilbo as he leaves the Shire.

The Road goes ever on and on,
Down from the door where it began.
Now far ahead the Road has gone,
And I must follow, if I can,
Pursuing it with eager feet,
Until it joins some larger way
Where many paths and errands meet.
And whither then? I cannot say.

The second version is identical except the word 'eager' changes to 'weary' in the fifth line. The third version is towards the end of Bilbo's life journey. 

The Road goes ever on and on
Out from the door where it began.
Now far ahead the Road has gone,
Let others follow it who can!
Let them a journey new begin,
But I at last with weary feet
Will turn towards the lighted inn,
My evening-rest and sleep to meet.

These were only a handful of the poems from the large respository of Tolkienverse. Do share your favourite Tolkien poems with us. We will be happy to share.