J.R.R. Tolkien discussion
First & Second Ages
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The Lay of Leithian
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If I remember correctly, the Turin poem was done in a sort of Germanic long-line, where you don't count syllables but have a certain number of accented beats per half line, and two half lines alliterate with each other to form a long line. I can't remember whether Tolkien wrote it out as single halflines, or long lines, with an extra space marking the division between halflines, or maybe nothing marking half lines. Voluspa (Seeress' Prophecy), Beowulf, etc, would be in this meter. But it's been a long long time since I looked at this poem, so I could be misremembering exactly what Tolkien did.
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The rhyming couplets of this epic poem do feel contrived; the rhythym lilts and flows beautifully.
I highly reccomend reading this out loud (unless you're on the subway cause then people might think you're crazy).
I had a harder time getting into the epic Turin poem that's in The Lays of Beleriand. I couldn't quite place the meter of the poem, and that was frustrating to me. Perhaps a real poet or poetic critic could help me appreciate it.