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The Adventures of Tom Bombadil and Other Verses from the Red Book
‘Here is something that no devotee of the Hobbit epic can afford to miss, while awaiting a further instalment of the history of these fascinating people.’ So declared the jacket of this book when it was first published some fifty years ago.
One of the most intriguing characters in The Lord of the Rings, the amusing and enigmatic Tom Bombadil, also appears in verses said to have been written by Hobbits and preserved in the ‘Red Book’ with stories of Bilbo and Frodo Baggins and their friends. The Adventures of Tom Bombadil collects these and other poems, mainly concerned with legends and jests of the Shire at the end of the Third Age.
This special edition has been expanded for the first time to include earlier versions of some of Tolkien’s poems, a fragment of a prose story with Tom Bombadil, and comprehensive notes by acclaimed Tolkien scholars Christina Scull and Wayne G. Hammond.
One of the most intriguing characters in The Lord of the Rings, the amusing and enigmatic Tom Bombadil, also appears in verses said to have been written by Hobbits and preserved in the ‘Red Book’ with stories of Bilbo and Frodo Baggins and their friends. The Adventures of Tom Bombadil collects these and other poems, mainly concerned with legends and jests of the Shire at the end of the Third Age.
This special edition has been expanded for the first time to include earlier versions of some of Tolkien’s poems, a fragment of a prose story with Tom Bombadil, and comprehensive notes by acclaimed Tolkien scholars Christina Scull and Wayne G. Hammond.
296 pages, Hardcover
First published November 22, 1962
About the author
J.R.R. Tolkien
544 books72.7k followersJohn Ronald Reuel Tolkien: writer, artist, scholar, linguist. Known to millions around the world as the author of The Lord of the Rings, Tolkien spent most of his life teaching at the University of Oxford where he was a distinguished academic in the fields of Old and Middle English and Old Norse. His creativity, confined to his spare time, found its outlet in fantasy works, stories for children, poetry, illustration and invented languages and alphabets.
Tolkien’s most popular works, The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings are set in Middle-earth, an imagined world with strangely familiar settings inhabited by ancient and extraordinary peoples. Through this secondary world Tolkien writes perceptively of universal human concerns – love and loss, courage and betrayal, humility and pride – giving his books a wide and enduring appeal.
Tolkien was an accomplished amateur artist who painted for pleasure and relaxation. He excelled at landscapes and often drew inspiration from his own stories. He illustrated many scenes from The Silmarillion, The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings, sometimes drawing or painting as he was writing in order to visualize the imagined scene more clearly.
Tolkien was a professor at the Universities of Leeds and Oxford for almost forty years, teaching Old and Middle English, as well as Old Norse and Gothic. His illuminating lectures on works such as the Old English epic poem, Beowulf, illustrate his deep knowledge of ancient languages and at the same time provide new insights into peoples and legends from a remote past.
Tolkien was born in Bloemfontein, South Africa, in 1892 to English parents. He came to England aged three and was brought up in and around Birmingham. He graduated from the University of Oxford in 1915 and saw active service in France during the First World War before being invalided home. After the war he pursued an academic career teaching Old and Middle English. Alongside his professional work, he invented his own languages and began to create what he called a mythology for England; it was this ‘legendarium’ that he would work on throughout his life. But his literary work did not start and end with Middle-earth, he also wrote poetry, children’s stories and fairy tales for adults. He died in 1973 and is buried in Oxford where he spent most of his adult life.
Tolkien’s most popular works, The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings are set in Middle-earth, an imagined world with strangely familiar settings inhabited by ancient and extraordinary peoples. Through this secondary world Tolkien writes perceptively of universal human concerns – love and loss, courage and betrayal, humility and pride – giving his books a wide and enduring appeal.
Tolkien was an accomplished amateur artist who painted for pleasure and relaxation. He excelled at landscapes and often drew inspiration from his own stories. He illustrated many scenes from The Silmarillion, The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings, sometimes drawing or painting as he was writing in order to visualize the imagined scene more clearly.
Tolkien was a professor at the Universities of Leeds and Oxford for almost forty years, teaching Old and Middle English, as well as Old Norse and Gothic. His illuminating lectures on works such as the Old English epic poem, Beowulf, illustrate his deep knowledge of ancient languages and at the same time provide new insights into peoples and legends from a remote past.
Tolkien was born in Bloemfontein, South Africa, in 1892 to English parents. He came to England aged three and was brought up in and around Birmingham. He graduated from the University of Oxford in 1915 and saw active service in France during the First World War before being invalided home. After the war he pursued an academic career teaching Old and Middle English. Alongside his professional work, he invented his own languages and began to create what he called a mythology for England; it was this ‘legendarium’ that he would work on throughout his life. But his literary work did not start and end with Middle-earth, he also wrote poetry, children’s stories and fairy tales for adults. He died in 1973 and is buried in Oxford where he spent most of his adult life.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 672 reviews
April 16, 2017
Tom Bombadil is such an enigma. I mean who exactly is he? Some Tolkien fans would argue that he is Eru, the creator of all life within Tolkien’s Middle Earth, though I think somewhat differently. He breaks any sense of definition with his odd existence: he simply is. We can’t say for a certainty either way, but we do know that Tolkien wanted him to remain somewhat mysterious and beyond the realms of categorisation. I don’t think Tolkien quite knew what he wanted him to be. So that’s how I treat him.
He appears briefly in The Lord of the Rings, saving Frodo from the barrow wight, and spends most of the time singing in odd verses about himself. In this book the Hobbit poet captures his image:
Bombadil leads an odd, somewhat quaint, existence. His behaviour is equated with the natural world; he wonders in fields and exists among the trees. Perhaps his character, at least on the surface, is a simple version of man: a man who remains untroubled by the problems of the world and is just happy to spend his days singing, frolicking and remaining a complete mystery.
However, I don’t feel like the title of this is overly appropriate. If anything, it is very misleading. Only two of the poems actually focus on Bombadil, the rest talk about all manner of random things Middle Earth related. So we have two Bombadil adventures, followed by twelve other poems that address things from Cats to Oliphaunts. Then there’s one that’s rumoured to have been written by Frodo himself, describing a vague dream he had about his experience with the ring.
I find it truly hilarious that Tolkien effectively has a counter for any criticisms of weak poems within this book. In the preface, he says that this book was written by Hobbits. Their rhyming structures and metre are a watered down version of Elvish poetry; thus, any remarks about the weakness of such writing can be aimed at the limitations of Hobbit verse. He side-steps the negative reactions with such a statement, and it’s incredibly ironic and self-preserving. It made me laugh. So this book is a construct of Hobbit writing, and, once again, Tolkien gives his world more foundation.
It's a fun collection of verses, but by no means anything remarkable in Tolkien’s world. The scholarship that has gone into my edition is of a very good standard, it tells the history of this book’s publication. And if you are interested in reading this book, I do recommend this edition edited by Scull and Hammond. Other than that, I’d say that this one is likely to appeal more to the serious Tolkien enthusiast rather than the casual fan.
He appears briefly in The Lord of the Rings, saving Frodo from the barrow wight, and spends most of the time singing in odd verses about himself. In this book the Hobbit poet captures his image:
Old Tom Bombadil was a merry fellow;
Bright blue his jacket was and his boots were yellow
Green were his girdle and his breeches all of leather,
He wore in his hat a swan-wing feather.
He lived up under Hill, where the Withyywindle
Ran from a grassy well down into the dingle.
Bombadil leads an odd, somewhat quaint, existence. His behaviour is equated with the natural world; he wonders in fields and exists among the trees. Perhaps his character, at least on the surface, is a simple version of man: a man who remains untroubled by the problems of the world and is just happy to spend his days singing, frolicking and remaining a complete mystery.
However, I don’t feel like the title of this is overly appropriate. If anything, it is very misleading. Only two of the poems actually focus on Bombadil, the rest talk about all manner of random things Middle Earth related. So we have two Bombadil adventures, followed by twelve other poems that address things from Cats to Oliphaunts. Then there’s one that’s rumoured to have been written by Frodo himself, describing a vague dream he had about his experience with the ring.
I find it truly hilarious that Tolkien effectively has a counter for any criticisms of weak poems within this book. In the preface, he says that this book was written by Hobbits. Their rhyming structures and metre are a watered down version of Elvish poetry; thus, any remarks about the weakness of such writing can be aimed at the limitations of Hobbit verse. He side-steps the negative reactions with such a statement, and it’s incredibly ironic and self-preserving. It made me laugh. So this book is a construct of Hobbit writing, and, once again, Tolkien gives his world more foundation.
It's a fun collection of verses, but by no means anything remarkable in Tolkien’s world. The scholarship that has gone into my edition is of a very good standard, it tells the history of this book’s publication. And if you are interested in reading this book, I do recommend this edition edited by Scull and Hammond. Other than that, I’d say that this one is likely to appeal more to the serious Tolkien enthusiast rather than the casual fan.
February 24, 2024
La mia prima rilettura de "Il SIgnore degli Anelli", iniziata qualche giorno fa, mi ha portato dalle parti de La vecchia Foresta, luogo devo i quattro amici hobbit s'imbattono in inquietanti presenze e che quasi si perdono, ma poi arriva un personaggio, forse il personaggio più insolito e curioso di tutto l'universo di Arda, inventato da Tolkien, cioè Tom Bombadil. Durante la mia prima lettura de "Il SIgnore degli Anelli", arrivato proprio in questo punto, mi ero prenotato in biblioteca la raccolta delle poesie, filastrocche dedicate a questo bizzarro personaggio, ma all'epoca lo accantonai dopo poche pagine: non era il momento adatto a siffatte esperienze bislacche.
Così ora a diversi anni di distanza e soprattutto dopo aver letto "Il Silmarillion" ed avendolo trovato tra i libri più coinvolgenti mai letti prima, arrivato una seconda volta (anzi, per la precisione sarebbe la terza volta, perchè molti anni addietro avevo già iniziato l'avventura di Frodo ed amici, ma avevo letto soltanto "La Compagnia dell'Anello; ma son dettagli...) nei luoghi dove saltella Tom Bombadillo, non potevo non ritornare, per riprovare ad immergermi nei versi disincantati e spensierati di questo personaggio ed infatti l'esperienza è stato molto divertente e soprattutto magico!
Tolkien non mi delude mai.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RRVIV...
Così ora a diversi anni di distanza e soprattutto dopo aver letto "Il Silmarillion" ed avendolo trovato tra i libri più coinvolgenti mai letti prima, arrivato una seconda volta (anzi, per la precisione sarebbe la terza volta, perchè molti anni addietro avevo già iniziato l'avventura di Frodo ed amici, ma avevo letto soltanto "La Compagnia dell'Anello; ma son dettagli...) nei luoghi dove saltella Tom Bombadillo, non potevo non ritornare, per riprovare ad immergermi nei versi disincantati e spensierati di questo personaggio ed infatti l'esperienza è stato molto divertente e soprattutto magico!
Tolkien non mi delude mai.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RRVIV...
January 21, 2021
Normally I don't read poetry, but I do read everything with Tolkien's name on the cover 😋 The Adventures of Tom Bombadil are certainly worth reading!
It's a collection of Tolkien's poems, edited by Christina Scull and Wayne G. Hammond with lovely illustrations by Pauline Haynes. Honestly, the illustrations alone make me recommend this little book to everybody.
Some of the poems are related to Middle Earth, others talk about entirely different things. But all convey Tolkien's creativity and amazing sense of language.
I loved reading it last year and it remains one of my favourite books on my shelves - a huge surprise for me.
It's a collection of Tolkien's poems, edited by Christina Scull and Wayne G. Hammond with lovely illustrations by Pauline Haynes. Honestly, the illustrations alone make me recommend this little book to everybody.
Some of the poems are related to Middle Earth, others talk about entirely different things. But all convey Tolkien's creativity and amazing sense of language.
I loved reading it last year and it remains one of my favourite books on my shelves - a huge surprise for me.
September 12, 2021
"Tom Bombadillo!"
"No bella dol, bombadillo tu, ché mi vergogno."
"E va bene Tom, lo bombadico io"
Se c’è un personaggio avvolto nel mistero ed inclassificabile nel Signore degli Anelli, questo è certamente Tom Bombadil; persino un catalogatore patologico come Tolkien esitò a darne una definizione soddisfacente. Sappiamo che non è un uomo, perché è incorruttibile, sappiamo che non è un elfo, perché non ha interesse per gli artefatti magici e non sente il richiamo del mare, sappiamo che non è un nano, perché ama troppo vivere all'aria aperta, sappiamo che non è uno stregone, nonostante la sua saggezza, o un Hobbit, nonostante il suo amore per la terra, o un Ent, nonostante conosca la lingua degli alberi, e di certo sappiamo che non può, in nessun caso, essere un orco.
Le cose che sappiamo finiscono qua.
C’è chi sostiene si tratti di una divinità, chi di un non precisato spirito dei boschi, ma forse non è tanto importante capire chi sia Tom Bombadil, ma piuttosto perché Tolkien lo abbia voluto inserire nella sua opera magna.
Io credo che Tolkien amasse il suo personaggio, nato originariamente per altre storie, per quelle splendide avventure che narrava ai suoi figli, e che lo amasse a tal punto da volerlo rendere immortale.
Questo libro, che in realtà è una raccolta di sedici componimenti poetici del Professore, solo due dei quali dedicati a Tom Bombadil, mi ha permesso di ritornare a riflettere su questo buffo personaggio che ho sempre trovato affascinante, questa nota solo apparentemente dissonante nella sinfonia tolkeniana, cosa che ne ha determinato la rimozione in entrambe le trasposizioni su pellicola del Signore degli Anelli, purtroppo.
Fra le altre poesie, ho particolarmente amato quelle dalle tinte più cupe, come la seguente:
I Mewlips
Le ombre ove dimora dei Mewlips la gente
son come inchiostro nere e tenebrose;
e soffice suona la campana lentamente
mentre affondi in un fango melmoso.
Il fango che inghiotte colui che osa
alla loro porta bussare;
mentre scroscia l’acqua rumorosa
i doccioni, col ghigno, ti stanno a guardare.
Accanto alla riva del fiume marciscente
piangono i salici incurvati,
e i corvi nel sonno mestamente
gracchiano addormentati.
Al di là dei monti Merlock c’è un lungo sentiero
che porta a una valle ove ogni albero è nero
alle rive di uno stagno senza vento o marea alcuna
dove i Mewlips si nascondon, non c’è sole e neanche luna.
Le caverne buie dove vivono costoro
son umide, fredde e ime,
e lì contano tutto il loro oro
alla luce fioca di un sol lume.
Le pareti sono umide e i soffitti gocciolanti
e i lor piè sul pavimento
fanno cicche-ciac striscianti
mentre sguscian furtivamente.
Spian con astuzia ed un dito
da una fessura fan passare
e in un sacco, quando hanno finito,
metton le tue ossa – per poterle conservare.
Al di là dei monti Merlock, un solitario cammino
attraversa ombre di ragno e di Tode l’acquitrino
attraverso boschi di alberi curvi ed erbe malsane
tu li vai a visitare – e i Mewlips non han più fame.
"No bella dol, bombadillo tu, ché mi vergogno."
"E va bene Tom, lo bombadico io"
Se c’è un personaggio avvolto nel mistero ed inclassificabile nel Signore degli Anelli, questo è certamente Tom Bombadil; persino un catalogatore patologico come Tolkien esitò a darne una definizione soddisfacente. Sappiamo che non è un uomo, perché è incorruttibile, sappiamo che non è un elfo, perché non ha interesse per gli artefatti magici e non sente il richiamo del mare, sappiamo che non è un nano, perché ama troppo vivere all'aria aperta, sappiamo che non è uno stregone, nonostante la sua saggezza, o un Hobbit, nonostante il suo amore per la terra, o un Ent, nonostante conosca la lingua degli alberi, e di certo sappiamo che non può, in nessun caso, essere un orco.
Le cose che sappiamo finiscono qua.
C’è chi sostiene si tratti di una divinità, chi di un non precisato spirito dei boschi, ma forse non è tanto importante capire chi sia Tom Bombadil, ma piuttosto perché Tolkien lo abbia voluto inserire nella sua opera magna.
"Non intendevo farne una figura allegorica - altrimenti non gli avrei dato un nome così particolare, così caratteristico e buffo - ma l'allegoria è l'unico modo per dire certe cose: lui è un'allegoria, un esempio, la scienza naturale pura (reale) che ha preso corpo; lo spirito che desidera conoscere le altre cose, la loro storia e la loro natura, perché sono «diverse» e totalmente indipendenti dalla mente che indaga, uno spirito che convive con una mente razionale, e che non si preoccupa affatto di «fare» qualcosa con la conoscenza"
Io credo che Tolkien amasse il suo personaggio, nato originariamente per altre storie, per quelle splendide avventure che narrava ai suoi figli, e che lo amasse a tal punto da volerlo rendere immortale.
Questo libro, che in realtà è una raccolta di sedici componimenti poetici del Professore, solo due dei quali dedicati a Tom Bombadil, mi ha permesso di ritornare a riflettere su questo buffo personaggio che ho sempre trovato affascinante, questa nota solo apparentemente dissonante nella sinfonia tolkeniana, cosa che ne ha determinato la rimozione in entrambe le trasposizioni su pellicola del Signore degli Anelli, purtroppo.
Fra le altre poesie, ho particolarmente amato quelle dalle tinte più cupe, come la seguente:
I Mewlips
Le ombre ove dimora dei Mewlips la gente
son come inchiostro nere e tenebrose;
e soffice suona la campana lentamente
mentre affondi in un fango melmoso.
Il fango che inghiotte colui che osa
alla loro porta bussare;
mentre scroscia l’acqua rumorosa
i doccioni, col ghigno, ti stanno a guardare.
Accanto alla riva del fiume marciscente
piangono i salici incurvati,
e i corvi nel sonno mestamente
gracchiano addormentati.
Al di là dei monti Merlock c’è un lungo sentiero
che porta a una valle ove ogni albero è nero
alle rive di uno stagno senza vento o marea alcuna
dove i Mewlips si nascondon, non c’è sole e neanche luna.
Le caverne buie dove vivono costoro
son umide, fredde e ime,
e lì contano tutto il loro oro
alla luce fioca di un sol lume.
Le pareti sono umide e i soffitti gocciolanti
e i lor piè sul pavimento
fanno cicche-ciac striscianti
mentre sguscian furtivamente.
Spian con astuzia ed un dito
da una fessura fan passare
e in un sacco, quando hanno finito,
metton le tue ossa – per poterle conservare.
Al di là dei monti Merlock, un solitario cammino
attraversa ombre di ragno e di Tode l’acquitrino
attraverso boschi di alberi curvi ed erbe malsane
tu li vai a visitare – e i Mewlips non han più fame.
November 27, 2017
Eğlenceli, sımsıcak, yuvaya dönmek gibi ve tüm bunların altında inanılmaz bir sembolizme sahip. Neyse ki kitabı hazırlayan iki Tolkien araştırmacısı 16 şiir için de sembolizmine iniyor da bir şey kaçırmıyoruz.
Bombadil'in kökeni, buram buram Orta-Dünya ve nicesi için biçilmiş kaftan.
Niran Elçi'nin güzel çevirisi ve İthaki'nin harika baskısı da cabası!
Bombadil'in kökeni, buram buram Orta-Dünya ve nicesi için biçilmiş kaftan.
Niran Elçi'nin güzel çevirisi ve İthaki'nin harika baskısı da cabası!
April 5, 2022
Titolo ingannevole. Solo alcune delle poesie che compongono l'opera si riferiscono a Tom Bombadil. Le altre narrano di altri personaggi ugualmente "mitologici" (passatemi il termine...). Personalmente non mi ha lasciato granché. Alcune sono ben scritte e narrano storie profonde: altre sembrano fini a se stesse, poco più che piccole facezie. Solo per i super super cultori di Tolkien...
October 31, 2018
I have no interest in Tolkien but picked up this 1963 edition at the library for Pauline Baynes's illustrations. They are black and white and gray tone, the smaller ones, some in the margins, all monocolor, and the fullpage ones with orange added.
None of the poetry really roused me although some of the poems, like "The Man in the Moon Came Down Too Soon," would be good to read to children for their rhythmic quality; sample:
He'd have seas of blues, and the living hues
of forest green and fen;
And he yearned for the mirth of the populous earth
and the sanguine blood of men.
He coveted song, and laughter long,
and viands hot, and wine,
Eating pearly cakes of light snowflakes
and drinking thin moonshine.
March 11, 2021
“Old Tom Bombadil is a merry fellow,
Bright blue his jacket is, and his boots are yellow.
None has ever caught him yet, for Tom, he is the Master:
His songs are stronger songs, and his feet are faster.”
<3
Bright blue his jacket is, and his boots are yellow.
None has ever caught him yet, for Tom, he is the Master:
His songs are stronger songs, and his feet are faster.”
<3
September 19, 2021
This is a collection of poems relating to the character of Tom Bombadil and places inside of Middle Earth. The contents were supposedly penned by various hobbits and I could imagine many of the rhymes chanted or sung over tankards of ales and next to a roaring fire in the inns located in the Shire.
Tolkien already proved himself a wonderful poet, through the various rhymes that featured throughout The Hobbit, or There and Back Again and The Lord of the Rings. The same could also be said here. I enjoyed the clever use of language and the beautiful natural scenes that were evoked.
This volume did not wholly appeal, however. After the poems, which were responsible for filling roughly the first half of the book, there featured original versions of the poems with accompanying texts dictating the differences. This will obviously be of great interest to many readers but I preferred reading solely the final versions.
Tolkien already proved himself a wonderful poet, through the various rhymes that featured throughout The Hobbit, or There and Back Again and The Lord of the Rings. The same could also be said here. I enjoyed the clever use of language and the beautiful natural scenes that were evoked.
This volume did not wholly appeal, however. After the poems, which were responsible for filling roughly the first half of the book, there featured original versions of the poems with accompanying texts dictating the differences. This will obviously be of great interest to many readers but I preferred reading solely the final versions.
April 22, 2017
I miss middle earth so much!!
April 27, 2020
Tom Bombadil's travels.
A collection of poems loosely linked to one another, some of which are part of The Lord of the Rings saga.
My first bilingual book.
THE POEMS :
The Adventures of Tom Bombadil
Bombadil Goes Boating
Errantry
Princess Mee
The Man in the Moon Stayed Up Too Late
The Man in the Moon Came Down Too Soon
The Stone Troll
Perry-the-Winkle
The Mewlips
Oliphaunt
Fastitocalon
Cat
Shadow-bride
The Hoard
The Sea-Bell
The Last Ship
AN EXCERPT :
"Beyond the Merlock Mountains, a long and lonely road.
Through the spider-shadows and the marsh of Tode,
And through the wood of hanging trees and the gallows-weed,
You go to find the Mewlips — and the Mewlips feed."
*
« Au-delà des Monts des Merlock, après une route et désolée,
À travers les Marais de la Tode et les ombres par les araignées tissées,
Par la forêt des arbres suspendus et les herbes folles des potences,
Il vous faut aller, pour trouver les Mialaubres — et là, les Mialaubres font bombance. »
Mewlips - Les Chats-gluants
Voilà mon tout premier livre bilingue ! L'histoire des pérégrinations, aventures et mésaventures du citoyen Tom Bombadil, un être fantastique qui cherche les problèmes et les trouve ! Au-delà de ça, c'est tout un recueil de poèmes légers à tonalité folklorique, dont certains se trouvent dans la bouche des personnages du Seigneur des Anneaux !
LES TEXTES :
Les Aventures de Tom Bombadil
Bombadil en bateau
Errance
Princesse Moa
L'Homme dans la lune a veillé trop tard
L'Homme dans la lune est descendu trop tôt
Le Troll de pierre
Perry-le-Bigorneau
Les Chats-gluants
Oliphant
Fastitocalon
Chat
La Femme de l'ombre
Le Trésor
La Cloche marine
Le Dernier Vaisseau
A collection of poems loosely linked to one another, some of which are part of The Lord of the Rings saga.
My first bilingual book.
THE POEMS :
The Adventures of Tom Bombadil
Bombadil Goes Boating
Errantry
Princess Mee
The Man in the Moon Stayed Up Too Late
The Man in the Moon Came Down Too Soon
The Stone Troll
Perry-the-Winkle
The Mewlips
Oliphaunt
Fastitocalon
Cat
Shadow-bride
The Hoard
The Sea-Bell
The Last Ship
AN EXCERPT :
"Beyond the Merlock Mountains, a long and lonely road.
Through the spider-shadows and the marsh of Tode,
And through the wood of hanging trees and the gallows-weed,
You go to find the Mewlips — and the Mewlips feed."
*
« Au-delà des Monts des Merlock, après une route et désolée,
À travers les Marais de la Tode et les ombres par les araignées tissées,
Par la forêt des arbres suspendus et les herbes folles des potences,
Il vous faut aller, pour trouver les Mialaubres — et là, les Mialaubres font bombance. »
Mewlips - Les Chats-gluants
Voilà mon tout premier livre bilingue ! L'histoire des pérégrinations, aventures et mésaventures du citoyen Tom Bombadil, un être fantastique qui cherche les problèmes et les trouve ! Au-delà de ça, c'est tout un recueil de poèmes légers à tonalité folklorique, dont certains se trouvent dans la bouche des personnages du Seigneur des Anneaux !
LES TEXTES :
Les Aventures de Tom Bombadil
Bombadil en bateau
Errance
Princesse Moa
L'Homme dans la lune a veillé trop tard
L'Homme dans la lune est descendu trop tôt
Le Troll de pierre
Perry-le-Bigorneau
Les Chats-gluants
Oliphant
Fastitocalon
Chat
La Femme de l'ombre
Le Trésor
La Cloche marine
Le Dernier Vaisseau
March 25, 2016
A collection of verse by the author of Lord of the Rings -- given a frame to fit in the universe. Most existed and were in fact published in places before that work. . . Tom appeared in Lord from here, not vice versa.
Sam's Oliphant poem and another piece of beast lore. Frodo's Man In the Moon one and another expanded nursery rhyme. Two narratives of Tom. Ranging in tone from the cheery and frivolous to the rather sinister.
Sam's Oliphant poem and another piece of beast lore. Frodo's Man In the Moon one and another expanded nursery rhyme. Two narratives of Tom. Ranging in tone from the cheery and frivolous to the rather sinister.
October 2, 2016
i only read the actual adventures and poems that tolkien wrote.
i loved it so much, some of them came straight from the lord of the rings.
i loved it so much, some of them came straight from the lord of the rings.
January 11, 2022
It is splendid how Tolkien managed to put so much sweetness and firmness in his poems and songs.
There are some poems that I didn't enjoy so much but the last one won my heart and mind. It reminded me when Frodo went away from men's world.
Gosh, I really miss Middle Earth...
There are some poems that I didn't enjoy so much but the last one won my heart and mind. It reminded me when Frodo went away from men's world.
Gosh, I really miss Middle Earth...
July 10, 2024
70th book of 2024.
Taking a short break from the Great Tales, I dove into this strange little collection. Tom Bombadil is a funny part of Middle-earth. In a way, he seems very disjointed from the rest of the world, and yet, at the same time, an ancient and powerful part of it. He was inspired by a doll Michael, Tolkien's son, played with as a child. In my introduction, the letters are quoted, where Tolkien himself answered some questions by saying he preferred to leave Tom as a mystery. To Peter Hastings, 'I don't think Tom needs philosophising about, and is not improved by it. But many have found him an odd or indeed discordant ingredient.' My feelings about him are paradoxical. On the one hand, I am enamored with the early bits of The Lord of the Rings, where everything feels more playful, before the adventure truly begins. The Shire is a place of contentment and whimsy.
I returned to my copy of The Lord of the Rings to consider Tom Bombadil in the light of this first poem, which predates the trilogy. Bombadil is introduced the same in both, only with a tense change. In the poem:
And in LOTR (bk.i, ch. vii):
It is here that Frodo questions Goldberry.
It is easy to see Bombadil as God, though Tolkien himself denies such claim. And later, Frodo, questions again, but this time Bombadil himself.
Once again, it puts us in mind of God. But Bombdail in the poem, though there is Old Man Willow, Goldberry, Barrow-wights, etc., everything (perhaps because of the rhyme?) feels happy and childlike. 'You let me out again, Old Man Willow! / I am stiff lying here; they're no sort of pillow'.
Middle-earth appears in a few, like "The Sea-Bell" (which Auden considered Tolkien's best poem), "The Last Ship", "Oliphaunt". The latter is penned, supposedly, by Samwise Gamgee himself, along with a few others. And there are a few credited to Bilbo too. So they become stories within the Middle-earth universe. One can see, the introduction says, how many of the poems would be told and loved by hobbits. There is also "The Man in the Moon Stayed Up Too Late", penned by Bilbo and sung by Frodo in Bree in LOTR.
So once again, as I read more of Tolkien's expanded Middle-earth texts, I see how many crossovers there are. Of course, he had been working on the stories and characters for some twenty years before The Fellowship of the Ring was published. It was all gathering, overlapping. These are cute, whimsical and fun. If I had a small child (and/or hobbit) to read them too, they'd be all the sweeter. It doesn't unlock too much more, but reinforces the history of Bombadil as an old Tolkien character, reformed, repurposed, and fitted into the trilogy. I do have a soft spot for him, all things told.
Taking a short break from the Great Tales, I dove into this strange little collection. Tom Bombadil is a funny part of Middle-earth. In a way, he seems very disjointed from the rest of the world, and yet, at the same time, an ancient and powerful part of it. He was inspired by a doll Michael, Tolkien's son, played with as a child. In my introduction, the letters are quoted, where Tolkien himself answered some questions by saying he preferred to leave Tom as a mystery. To Peter Hastings, 'I don't think Tom needs philosophising about, and is not improved by it. But many have found him an odd or indeed discordant ingredient.' My feelings about him are paradoxical. On the one hand, I am enamored with the early bits of The Lord of the Rings, where everything feels more playful, before the adventure truly begins. The Shire is a place of contentment and whimsy.
I returned to my copy of The Lord of the Rings to consider Tom Bombadil in the light of this first poem, which predates the trilogy. Bombadil is introduced the same in both, only with a tense change. In the poem:
Old Tom Bombadil was a merry fellow;
bright blue his jacket was and his boots were yellow
And in LOTR (bk.i, ch. vii):
Old Tom Bombadil is a merry fellow;
bright blue his jacket was, and his boots are yellow
It is here that Frodo questions Goldberry.
'Fair lady!' said Frodo again after a while. 'Tell me, if my asking does not seem foolish, who is Tom Bombadil?'
'He is,' said Goldberry, staying her swift movements and smiling.
It is easy to see Bombadil as God, though Tolkien himself denies such claim. And later, Frodo, questions again, but this time Bombadil himself.
'Who are you, Master?' he asked.
'Eh, what?' said Tom sitting up, and his eyes glinting in the gloom. 'Don't you know my name yet? That's the only answer. Tell me, who are you, alone, yourself and nameless? But you are young and I am old. Eldest, that's what I am. Mark my words, my friends: Tom was here before the river and the trees: Tom remembers the first raindrop and the first acorn. He made paths before the Big People, and saw the little People arriving. He was here before the Kings and the graves and the Barrow-wights. When the Elves passed westward, Tom was here already, before the seas were bent. He knew the dark under the stars when it was fearless—before the Dark Lord came from outside.'
Once again, it puts us in mind of God. But Bombdail in the poem, though there is Old Man Willow, Goldberry, Barrow-wights, etc., everything (perhaps because of the rhyme?) feels happy and childlike. 'You let me out again, Old Man Willow! / I am stiff lying here; they're no sort of pillow'.
Middle-earth appears in a few, like "The Sea-Bell" (which Auden considered Tolkien's best poem), "The Last Ship", "Oliphaunt". The latter is penned, supposedly, by Samwise Gamgee himself, along with a few others. And there are a few credited to Bilbo too. So they become stories within the Middle-earth universe. One can see, the introduction says, how many of the poems would be told and loved by hobbits. There is also "The Man in the Moon Stayed Up Too Late", penned by Bilbo and sung by Frodo in Bree in LOTR.
So once again, as I read more of Tolkien's expanded Middle-earth texts, I see how many crossovers there are. Of course, he had been working on the stories and characters for some twenty years before The Fellowship of the Ring was published. It was all gathering, overlapping. These are cute, whimsical and fun. If I had a small child (and/or hobbit) to read them too, they'd be all the sweeter. It doesn't unlock too much more, but reinforces the history of Bombadil as an old Tolkien character, reformed, repurposed, and fitted into the trilogy. I do have a soft spot for him, all things told.
December 24, 2021
Pek şiir insanı değilim ama onları yazan Tolkien olunca başka tabii. 🤤😅 Objektiflik who?
November 15, 2022
When it comes to LOTR characters, one of my top three is Tom Bombadil (and his Goldberry). . .this short little offering by JRRT feels like a quick doodle one day, not the in-depth compendium of all things TomBombadil that I long for. . . .I want every little detail, theory, aspect and truth about TB because I'm pretty darn sure he is . . .(dare I say it??? I've got my shoes off, and I've lit up our shrubs) . . . . . if it's so, then. . .that makes Herself, well. . .yeah. If He's Heavenly Father, she's Heavenly Mother and that really works for me.) I've clearly crossed a line, and LOTR always been my religion back-up. . . .
I'm only going with 4 stars because this is just a doodle, and the subject deserves more than doodles. If anyone knows where I can find a Book of Bombadil, please direct me further. . . .
I'm only going with 4 stars because this is just a doodle, and the subject deserves more than doodles. If anyone knows where I can find a Book of Bombadil, please direct me further. . . .
August 18, 2024
⭐⭐⭐⭐💫 4.5 stars
June 4, 2021
تام بامبادیل یکی از شخصیتهای فرعی سهگانهی ارباب حلقههاست که خیلی هم شخصیت مرموزی داره و به قول تالکین یکی از معماهای سرزمین میانه است.داخل این کتاب سرودههای تالکینه که فقط سه تاش راجع به تام بامبادیل بود و شعرای دیگه به بقیه موجودات سرزمین میانه مثل ترولها،الفها،دورفها و ... میپردازه.
ترجمه به نظر من خوب نبود و تا حد زیادی از شفافیت و وضوح شعرا کم کرده بود🤦🏻♀️😑فکر کنم باید یه بار دیگه انگلیسیشو بخونم😕.
ترجمه به نظر من خوب نبود و تا حد زیادی از شفافیت و وضوح شعرا کم کرده بود🤦🏻♀️😑فکر کنم باید یه بار دیگه انگلیسیشو بخونم😕.
January 6, 2018
Tom Bombadil is an enigma! He is old enough to have seen the first raindrop and the first acorn. He cares nothing for worldly things, he's young at heart and body enough to frolic in the forest, sing, laugh and always remain merry, free and unfathomable like nature itself. His magical powers are just as mysterious and even the ring of doom had no effect upon him.
Tom Bombadil is different from all the characters Tolkien created and difficult to categorise as he has no origin. I like this sense of mystery. I never really appreciated Tom Bombadil's brief appearance in The Fellowship of the Rings book (although he is important to the survival of Frodo and company), his random singing and quirks got on my nerves but after several rereads of the trilogy old Tom started to grow on me. I like his character's sense of mystery and like Tolkien was reported to have said, "some things should remain mysterious in any mythology".
Tom Bombadil is different from all the characters Tolkien created and difficult to categorise as he has no origin. I like this sense of mystery. I never really appreciated Tom Bombadil's brief appearance in The Fellowship of the Rings book (although he is important to the survival of Frodo and company), his random singing and quirks got on my nerves but after several rereads of the trilogy old Tom started to grow on me. I like his character's sense of mystery and like Tolkien was reported to have said, "some things should remain mysterious in any mythology".
December 20, 2016
Siempre es un placer leer a Tolkien.
Este libro es muchísimo mejor en inglés porque los poemas traducidos pierden parte de su magia; pero es Tolkien y es genial en cualquier idioma.
Este libro es muchísimo mejor en inglés porque los poemas traducidos pierden parte de su magia; pero es Tolkien y es genial en cualquier idioma.
March 15, 2022
It kind of surprised me how light hearted this was. It almost had the feel of Beatrix Potter or something. Very cottage core and fairy tale like.
December 5, 2023
در بوکدیتِ ۵ دسامبر ۲۰۲۳ خوانده شد:)🩵🩷
حقیقتا فکر میکنم اگر این مجموعه شعر رو زبان اصلی خونده بودم بیشتر لذت میبردم ولی خب محتوای جالبی داشت و متفاوت بود.
حقیقتا فکر میکنم اگر این مجموعه شعر رو زبان اصلی خونده بودم بیشتر لذت میبردم ولی خب محتوای جالبی داشت و متفاوت بود.
September 23, 2021
I did not realize this is a collection of poetry! I thought it was going to be short stories like "Smith of Wootton Major" and "Farmer Giles of Ham," but about Tom Bombadil instead. But it's not, it's poetry.
The edition I read contains the poems that Tolkien published under this title in the '60s, plus a whole lot of commentary on the poems, earlier variations of them, explanations of their history, discussions of how they fit into his Middle-earth world, and so on. There's more of that than of the poetry itself, really.
The poems themselves are not long, and quite varied. Tolkien states, in his preface, that they come from the Red Book of Westmarch, in the Shire, but they were collected from different places. Some of them are attributed to Bilbo Baggins and Samwise Gamgee.
My favorites were "The Hoard" and "Shadow-Bride."
"The Hoard" is about a sort of cursed treasure that various people acquire and then waste their lives guarding, only to lose it to someone else when they die. It doesn't do anyone any good, least of all those who 'own' it, and is rather a dark and cautionary tale.
"Shadow-Bride" is mysterious and ethereal and a little spooky. An immovable man-statue suddenly comes to life when a shadowy woman comes near him, they embrace, and become a double-statue that only comes back to life at certain times. Or something. Like I said, it's fairly mysterious -- but that's what I liked about it.
The edition I read contains the poems that Tolkien published under this title in the '60s, plus a whole lot of commentary on the poems, earlier variations of them, explanations of their history, discussions of how they fit into his Middle-earth world, and so on. There's more of that than of the poetry itself, really.
The poems themselves are not long, and quite varied. Tolkien states, in his preface, that they come from the Red Book of Westmarch, in the Shire, but they were collected from different places. Some of them are attributed to Bilbo Baggins and Samwise Gamgee.
My favorites were "The Hoard" and "Shadow-Bride."
"The Hoard" is about a sort of cursed treasure that various people acquire and then waste their lives guarding, only to lose it to someone else when they die. It doesn't do anyone any good, least of all those who 'own' it, and is rather a dark and cautionary tale.
"Shadow-Bride" is mysterious and ethereal and a little spooky. An immovable man-statue suddenly comes to life when a shadowy woman comes near him, they embrace, and become a double-statue that only comes back to life at certain times. Or something. Like I said, it's fairly mysterious -- but that's what I liked about it.
January 28, 2024
The Adventures of Tom Bombadil and Other Verses from the Red Book was published on 22nd November 1962.
In the first part of The Lord of the Rings, Frodo, Sam, Merry, and Pippin are crossing the Old Forest when they are attacked by the Old Man Willow. They are rescued by Tom Bombadil. Tom also appears in verses said to have been written by Hobbits and preserved in the 'Red Book' with stories of Bilbo and Frodo Baggins and their friends.
This book collects these and other poems, mainly concerned with legends of The Shire.
This book not only contains the poems but also commentaries on those poems and explanations of how they came to be in the book. There's also information as to where the poems occur in The Lord of the Rings.
In the first part of The Lord of the Rings, Frodo, Sam, Merry, and Pippin are crossing the Old Forest when they are attacked by the Old Man Willow. They are rescued by Tom Bombadil. Tom also appears in verses said to have been written by Hobbits and preserved in the 'Red Book' with stories of Bilbo and Frodo Baggins and their friends.
This book collects these and other poems, mainly concerned with legends of The Shire.
This book not only contains the poems but also commentaries on those poems and explanations of how they came to be in the book. There's also information as to where the poems occur in The Lord of the Rings.
December 14, 2014
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
February 3, 2013
Hobbit poems. It's Middle Earth like you've never seen it before. And once you've read it, you'll know why. Yikes.
I enjoyed this book very much. Tolkien is probably better at prose than poems, but in this small book, he's expanded a great deal on Middle Earth mythology. He has poems by Bilbo and by Sam. He has goofy Hobbit folk poems. He's got Hobbits being silly and serious, sometimes trying to imitate Men and Elves with varying degrees of success. It's got Elvish gibberish, words that Hobbits have made up to sound Elvish but which don't mean anything. If this sounds funny, it is. I know that real languages and their histories inspired Tolkien to invent his own languages, and I also know that his own languages were the inspiration for Middle Earth. Reading these poems, I kind of felt like I was getting closer to some of the joy of invention; I could really understand why so many people have loved Middle Earth. Tolkien even makes some fun of his own poetry skills. Most of his poems keep a rigid rhyme scheme, but Tolkien also complains about all the rhyming, saying, "in their simplicity Hobbits evidently regarded such things as virtues." He also describes an annoying-on-purpose kind of poem by saying that it "may be recited until the hearers revolt." It really is cute.
However, this book is not perfect. It has a very uneven tone, and I'm not sure that I like either extreme.
This is a children's book, yet parts of it don't seem all that children-y to me. For one thing, it assumes that the reader has read The Lord of the Rings, and for another, it gets pretty dark (really, really creepy-dark) in some places. One of the poems, for example, tells of Frodo: "Like a dark mole groping I went, to the ground falling . . . beetles were tapping in the rotten trees, spiders were weaving . . . I saw my hair hanging grey . . . I have lost myself". This poem touches on old age and insanity and solitude; while I'm certainly not denying that children's literature can be dark, this just doesn't seem to be trying to appeal to children. Frodo isn't even described in the book--you'd have to read The Lord of the Rings for that.
On the other hand, this book has some lighthearted moments, to put it mildly, and those are certainly geared for children. If I could just quote one stanza:
"He battled with the Dumbledors,
the Hummerhorns, and Honeybees,
and won the Golden Honeycomb;
and running home on sunny seas
in ship of leaves and gossamer
with blossom for a canopy,
he sat and sang, and furbished up
and burnished up his panoply"
That about says it all. What a mouthful.
I enjoyed this book very much. Tolkien is probably better at prose than poems, but in this small book, he's expanded a great deal on Middle Earth mythology. He has poems by Bilbo and by Sam. He has goofy Hobbit folk poems. He's got Hobbits being silly and serious, sometimes trying to imitate Men and Elves with varying degrees of success. It's got Elvish gibberish, words that Hobbits have made up to sound Elvish but which don't mean anything. If this sounds funny, it is. I know that real languages and their histories inspired Tolkien to invent his own languages, and I also know that his own languages were the inspiration for Middle Earth. Reading these poems, I kind of felt like I was getting closer to some of the joy of invention; I could really understand why so many people have loved Middle Earth. Tolkien even makes some fun of his own poetry skills. Most of his poems keep a rigid rhyme scheme, but Tolkien also complains about all the rhyming, saying, "in their simplicity Hobbits evidently regarded such things as virtues." He also describes an annoying-on-purpose kind of poem by saying that it "may be recited until the hearers revolt." It really is cute.
However, this book is not perfect. It has a very uneven tone, and I'm not sure that I like either extreme.
This is a children's book, yet parts of it don't seem all that children-y to me. For one thing, it assumes that the reader has read The Lord of the Rings, and for another, it gets pretty dark (really, really creepy-dark) in some places. One of the poems, for example, tells of Frodo: "Like a dark mole groping I went, to the ground falling . . . beetles were tapping in the rotten trees, spiders were weaving . . . I saw my hair hanging grey . . . I have lost myself". This poem touches on old age and insanity and solitude; while I'm certainly not denying that children's literature can be dark, this just doesn't seem to be trying to appeal to children. Frodo isn't even described in the book--you'd have to read The Lord of the Rings for that.
On the other hand, this book has some lighthearted moments, to put it mildly, and those are certainly geared for children. If I could just quote one stanza:
"He battled with the Dumbledors,
the Hummerhorns, and Honeybees,
and won the Golden Honeycomb;
and running home on sunny seas
in ship of leaves and gossamer
with blossom for a canopy,
he sat and sang, and furbished up
and burnished up his panoply"
That about says it all. What a mouthful.
June 5, 2019
تام بامبادیل پیرمرد شاد و خوشحالی بود
لباسش آبی روشن و چکمه هایش زرد بود
کمربندش سبز و شلوارش از چرم
پوشیده بود کلاهی بلند با پر قوی نرم
تام بامبادیل مرموزترین شخصیت ساختۀ تالکین است. الفها او را اروِین بن-آدار یعنی پیرترین و بدون پدر میخواندند. تام در کتاب یاران حلقه در در جنگل کهن به فردو و دوستانش کمک میکند. تناقضهایی که در تام بامبادیل وجود دارد از او چهرهای عجیب و مرموز ساخته. او چنان پیر است که اولین قطرات باران را دیده و چنان جوان است که با گلدبری دختر رودخانۀ ویتیویندل که به زیباییِ الف بانوهاست ازدواج میکند. تام مدام شعرهای بی معنی و بی قافیه میخواند و همیشه شاد و خندان است. اما پشت این ظاهر خندان، نیرویی بسیار عظیم و ناشناخته پنهان است و توانایی شکست دادن پلیدترین موجودات جنگل کهن را دارد. اما عجیبترین قابلیت تام این است که حلقۀ یگانه هیچ تأثیری روی او ندارد. زمانی که فردو حلقه را به دست میکند تام همچنان او را میبیند و بعد که تام حلقه را دست میکند نامرئی نمیشود و بعد خیلی راحت حلقه را به فردو برمیگرداند. در شورای الروند فردو داستان ملاقاتش با تام بامبادیل و نجاتشان از گورپشته توسط او را تعریف میکند و پیشنهاد میشود که حلقه به تام سپرده شود اما گندالف مخالفت میکند. گندالف میگوید اگر حلقه به تام داده شود او به زودی آن را فراموش میکند یا دور میاندازد
فرضیههایی در مورد نژاد تام مطرح شده که همگی هم درستاند و هم غلط. حتی بعضی او را ایلوواتار یا ارو (یکتا) دانسته اند. جواب هر چه که باشد، تام یکی از جالب ترین شخصیتهای تالکین است. دلیل حذف تام بامبادیل از فیلم پیتر جکسون برای من عجیب بوده و هست. برای حلّ معمای تام بهترین کار این است که به سراغ نامههای تالکین رفت:
حتی توی یه دوره اسطورهای باید معماهایی وجود داشته باشه که هست؛ و تام بامبادیل هم یکیشونه.نامههای جی.آر.آر.تالکین .شماره 144 سال 1954
تصویر روی جلد هیچ شباهتی به چیزی که تالکین تصویر کرده ندارد. تام بامبادیل در اصل پیرمردی چاق و سرخروست با ریش قهوهایِ انبوه
June 22, 2021
Tolkien Tuesday!
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