Country Elves

07/26/21 • 76 min

Exploring chapter 3 of The Hobbit, including the mythic history of elves both within Tolkien's world and without, and how elves were used in Canterbury Tales, and how they came to be associated with Christmas.
We look at the song and poetry of the elves. And we explore the idea that "things that are good to have and days that are good to spend are soon told about, and not much to listen to; while things that are uncomfortable, palpitating, and even gruesome, may make a good tale."

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Previous Episode

Working Class Trolls

In this episode we look at Chapter 2 of The Hobbit, "Roast Mutton." We talk about they mythic history of trolls and how the many incarnations they have had through the millennia. We talk about the opening stages of Bilbo's journey towards the Lonely Mountain, and how it looked when Tolkien first wrote it versus how he would have liked for it to look at the end of his life, we talk about Bilbo's incredible luck and we play with the idea that, by chapter 2, the story still really hasn't finished growing up yet.

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Next Episode

The Deep Places of the World

A look at Giants and at Goblins as Bilbo and Company head up into and then under the mountains. A look at the song of the goblins and at the prophetic nature of dreams.

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West of Valinor - Country Elves

Transcript

Chapter 3 – Country Elves
1. About 15 years ago, my family rented a farmhouse in rural Maryland for a week in June, just outside of Mount Airy. And one evening, sitting on the wrap-around porch, we watched as the sun set and the treeline 100 feet away lit up with fireflies. Thousands of them, maybe more, twinkled on and off under those trees for what felt like forever. I have never seen such a mystical, otherworldly, fey sight in my life. There was not a riv