Week 3 - Poetry in Books

[Prof. Sky Alton]

Upon the hearth the fire is red
Beneath the roof there is a bed
But not yet weary are our feet
Still round the corner we may meet…

That’s just a fragment from just one of the songs and poems that feature in J. R. R. Tolkien’s ‘The Lord of the Rings’. Songs/poems are very important to many of the characters of Middle Earth. They’re also used at a technical level to pass on useful information, add to emotional moments and even to help the plot along.

LOTR isn’t the only book where songs and poems play an important role. Think about Harry Potter: from the doors of Gringotts to the message inside the golden egg, poems crop up everywhere.

Pick a book where poetry plays an important part. It could be a prose book which uses poetry or even a book that’s written in a more poetic format (though try not to pick a straightforward poetry collection for this particular task). Tell us about it and the role the poetry/songs play. What do they add?

Your response should be at least 80 words for full credit. Please feel free to include quotes from the book in question but make sure there’s at least 80 words of your own in there too.

Post your responses below by 23:59 HOL-time on the 20th of August to earn 20 beans!

Note: Feel free to talk about one of the books I’ve already mentioned, just make sure you pick different examples and add your own thoughts, please.

[Dibyarup James Potter]

Thelomen Tartheno Toblakai...
Find the names of a people so reluctant to fade into oblivion...
Their legend rots my cynical cast and blights my eyes with bright glory
Cross not the loyal cage embracing their unassailable heart...

In Steven Erikson's "Gardens of the Moon", a gem within the "Malazan Book of the Fallen" series, each chapter commences with some brief poetry that imbues the narrative with opulence and verity, artfully encapsulating the chapter's essence and foreshadowing what lies ahead. This unique amalgamation renders the reading experience a captivating odyssey, a defiance of conventional norms where poetry seldom takes centre stage. The poems, like irreplaceable keystones, bestow wholeness upon the books, their absence leaving an aching void for any discerning reader. As one delves deeper, these verses become a compass, navigating the heart through the boundless literary cosmos of wonder woven by the author's ingenuity.

[Janne Halla]

Poetry plays a not-insignificant part in Neil Gaiman's The Sandman comic book series. It's rather fascinating how Gaiman incorporates poetry and various literary elements into the narrative of the story.

Dream speaks very eloquently, almost poetically, and his son was Orpheus, a poet and musician, whose death(s) plays a pivotal part in the comic books' conclusion. My favourite part, however, was the battle between Dream and Choronzon during the former's quest to regain his items of office.

Poetry plays a key role during this linguistic battle, also called 'The Oldest Game'. They use words as weapons, employing poetic and symbolic language to challenge and outwit each other. Their words also appear as images, though in the TV adaptation, the effect of the words had a physical effect on the players.