Mechtild's

From "The Field of Cormallen", The Return of the King:

But Gandalf lifted up his arms and called once more in a clear voice: 'Stand, Men of the West! Stand and wait! This is the hour of doom.'

And even as he spoke the earth rocked beneath their feet. Then rising swiftly up, far above the Towers of the Black Gate, high above the mountains, a vast soaring darkness sprang into the sky, flickering with fire. The earth groaned and quaked. The Towers of the Teeth swayed, tottered, and fell down; the mighty rampart crumbled; the Black Gate was hurtled in ruin; and from far away, now dim, now growing, now mounting to the clouds, there came a drumming rumble, a roar, a long echoing roll of ruinous noise.

'The realm of Sauron is ended!' said Gandalf. 'The Ring-bearer has fufilled his Quest.' And as the Captains gazed south to the Land of Mordor, it seemed to them that, black against the pall of cloud, there rose a huge shape of shadow, impenetrable, lightning-crowned, filling all the sky. Enormous it reared above the world, and stretched out towards them a vast threatening hand, terrible but impotent; for even as it leaned over them, a great wind took it, and it was all blown away, and passed; and then a hush fell.

~*~

I never can let go uncelebrated the anniversary of the fall of Barad-dûr, Sauron's defeat the hard-won fruit of so much sacrifice, particularly Frodo's. March 25 must be lifted up. ( Read more... )

In this piece, Frodo is thinking back from the vantage point of the Lonely Isle, Tol Eressëa. "Lonely" not because it is home to the lonely, but because it is by itself, off the coast of Aman, just across the Bay of Eldamar, whither it was brought to carry the first Elves to Valinor from Middle-earth .

jan-u-wine and I were discussing the role of the Sea in Frodo's life, and of the phenomenon of "Sea-longing" in Tolkien's stories, as well as its relation to the Music of the Ainur that made the world, still to be heard in all its waters. I asked if Jan had written anything that touched upon the Sea in relation to Frodo. Indeed she had.
( Read more... )

Here begins a series of entries featuring poems by jan-u-wine, paired with art chosen to set off the pieces. The poem below twists my heart with its emotional power, yet it's written with Jan's characteristic reserve. In it, her eye for detail and painterly way with words depict with vivid economy what might have been Elanor's interior experience as she braces herself for the departure of her beloved father.( Read more... )

This post features jan-u-wine's new poem, The Road Back. In it, the Shire is lifted up, as perceived through the senses of Frodo. Jan's poem was actually inspired by a 19th century English landscape called "Twilight", painted by William J. Webbe (for more about Webbe, or Webb, go here). I think it's a magical painting, and deeply Shire-ish. As soon as I saw it I thought, "Frodo walked here, Frodo saw this, Frodo laid in this grass and looked at this sky." I sent a copy of it on to Jan, who immediately agreed and soon began to write.

( Read more... )

Happy Birthday, Bilbo and Frodo!


Note: This is the second of this year's two birthday posts. For Jan's birthday poem from Primula's pov, click HERE.

( Read more... )

This is another beautiful EE scene. The way it's filmed, lit, scored, acted, it's gorgeous. Best of all for me, the scene restores the character of Faramir. ( Read more... )

( Read more... )

Notes: Very long essay ahead, wrapping up the final part of my last Frodo screencap series. I don't plan to do any other large-scale capping projects. I'll still make new caps to illustrate reflections or poems, but the ongoing project I've been working on since 2005 is at an end. I'll post a brief entry providing links for browsing the full collection in the coming days. But feel free to skip the essay and go straight to the caps and poem. As with the previous entry, in addition to my caps there are several spectacular caps by Blossom. Don't miss them. And visit Blossom's gorgeous Frodo website, In Dreams. Also featured is the brilliant conclusion to jan-u-wine's Lórien Suite. It appears below the fullscreen caps.

( Read more... )

( Read more... )

The following quote from "The Mirror of Galadriel" (fuller excerpt below), is a passage etched indelibly on my mind's eye:

She lifted up her white arms, and spread out her hands towards the East in a gesture of rejection and denial. Eärendil, the Evening Star, most beloved of the Elves, shone clear above. So bright was it that the figure of the Elven-lady cast a dim shadow on the ground. Its rays glanced upon a ring about her finger; it glittered like polished gold overlaid with silver light, and a white stone in it twinkled as if the Elven-star had come down to rest upon her hand. Frodo gazed at the ring with awe; for suddenly it seemed to him that he understood.

None of my favourite Tolkien illustrators have been able to capture this moment for me in visual art. I wondered what the filmmakers would do with it, considering the iconic nature of the vision invoked. ( Read more... )

( Read more... )

I love the caps for this scene. Except for "Nuclear Gladys" (as it was called on the messageboard I frequented while the films were coming out), the scene is uninterrupted cinematic gorgeousness. It's a different animal from the book's Lothlórien scenes, but as cinema it really works. The book's Lórien, with its images of jewel-fresh nature sparkling with "poignant freshness" under a golden sun, becomes a world of shadows , cold and luminous as if lit by a winter moon. Instead of a sense of safe haven, the Fellowship enters a realm pulsing with a feeling of foreboding and danger. Their Elven hosts warn rather than welcome. My book-reading self says, "this is wrong, wrong, wrong!" but my film-going self is mesmerised. Why does it work, and why does it seem faithful, even though it is so wide of the original? I think it's because it strongly evokes what Tolkien elsewhere said about Faerie.

( Read more... )

( Read more... )

To go with jan-u-wine's poem are screencaps, and passages from The Return of the King. They include Frodo and Sam's scenes, from the entry into the Sammath Naur to their rescue by the Eagles. A selection of caps made from the widescreen version of RotK is followed by the featured poem.

( Read more... )

( Read more... )