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Summary
Summary
"Poems and Stories shows J.R.R. Tolkien's vast talents as storyteller and critic through an important collection of his shorter works." "The Adventures of Tom Bombadil is a collection of delightful songs and verses featuring a number of hobbit legends, from tales of princesses, dwarves and trolls, to stories of Old Oliphaunt and the Man in the Moon." "The dramatic poem The Homecoming of Beorhtnoth, unavailable in any other edition, is a moving lament for the death of Beorhtnoth at the Battle of Maldon in the year 991." "Tolkien's essay On Fairy Stories is central to an understanding of his work. In it, he discusses the nature of fairy stories, arguing that they should not be treated as stories written only for children. They are as relevant and universal as any form of fiction." "Two further stories in this collection aptly illustrate his point: Smith of Wootton Major which tells of the preparation of the Great Cake to mark the Feast of Good Children, and the strange events which follow, and Leaf by Niggle, which recounts the strange adventures of the painter, Niggle." "Farmer Giles of Ham is one of Tolkien's most popular stories, full of wit and humour, set in the days when giants and dragons walked the earth. Farmer Giles is fat and unheroic but he is also very shrewd. When a large and stupid giant blunders into his fields, it sets off a surprising chain of events." "Poems and Stories is complemented throughout by Pauline Bayne's delightful illustrations."--BOOK JACKET.Title Summary field provided by Blackwell North America, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Author Notes
A writer of fantasies, Tolkien, a professor of language and literature at Oxford University, was always intrigued by early English and the imaginative use of language. In his greatest story, the trilogy The Lord of the Rings (1954--56), Tolkien invented a language with vocabulary, grammar, syntax, even poetry of its own. Though readers have created various possible allegorical interpretations, Tolkien has said: "It is not about anything but itself. (Certainly it has no allegorical intentions, general, particular or topical, moral, religious or political.)" In The Adventures of Tom Bombadil (1962), Tolkien tells the story of the "master of wood, water, and hill," a jolly teller of tales and singer of songs, one of the multitude of characters in his romance, saga, epic, or fairy tales about his country of the Hobbits.
Tolkien was also a formidable medieval scholar, as evidenced by his work, Beowulf: The Monster and the Critics (1936) and his edition of Anciene Wisse: English Text of the Anciene Riwle.
Among his works published posthumously, are The Legend of Sigurd and Gudrún and The Fall of Arthur, which was edited by his son, Christopher.
In 2013, his title, The\Hobbit (Movie Tie-In) made The New York Times Best Seller List.
(Bowker Author Biography)
Reviews (1)
Kirkus Review
A collection of pieces, 1949-75, that barely touches upon the Middle-Earth scenario for which Tolkien (1829-1973) is justly famous; overall, however, it renders a much more complete account of this scholar, poet, critic, and storyteller's talents. The charming, deceptively light poems of ``The Adventures of Tom Bambadil'' contain intriguing sidelights on Middle-Earth lore, while the dramatic poem ``The Homecoming of Beorhtnoth'' (``unavailable in any other edition,'' according to the publisher), complete with scholarly introduction, describes the aftermath of the Battle of Maldon, which occurred in the year 991. The essay ``On Fairy-Stories'' has won critical acclaim, as have the tales ``Farmer Giles of Ham'' and ``Smith of Wootton Major,'' as well as the story that most closely reflects Tolkien's personal philosophy (``Leaf by Niggle''). Some of these may be familiar, or available individually; still, this collection is a splendid accompaniment for existing fans, or an excellent introduction for newcomers.
