Tolkien's Prophetic Poetic Proficiency

This is one of my favorite Tolkien poems, partially because it has an aurora of mystery and age to it. It's in LOTR, referring to Aragorn.


"All that is gold does not glitter,
Not all those who wander are lost;
The old that is strong does not wither,
Deep roots are not reached by the frost.
From the ashes a fire shall be woken,
A light from the shadows shall spring;
Renewed shall be blade that was broken,
The crownless again shall be king."


I found this on Wikipedia, since I didn't want to have to find it and then manually write it onto the computer. Interestingly enough, I found that there was an earlier version to it, though it isn't quite as flowing and mysterious.


"All that is gold does not glitter;
all that is long does not last;
All that is old does not wither;
not all that is over is past.
Not all that have fallen are vanquished;
a king may yet be without crown,
A blade that was broken be brandished;
and towers that were strong may fall down."

Here's another Tolkienish poem. In LOTR, Theóden says this just before they charge into the fray to break the siege around Minas Tirith.


"Arise, arise, Riders of Theoden!
Fell deeds awake: fire and slaughter!
spear shall be shaken, shield be splintered,
a sword-day, a red day, ere the sun rises!
Ride now, ride now! Ride to Gondor!"


And there's one more of my favorites. Actually, three. The major favorite and two lesser. Guess what they are and win a gold star! ;)

--
Jake