Customer Reviews

The Lays of Beleriand

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4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(2)
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1 star:		(2)

 

 

Contrary to popular belief, this is not a book about Middle-earth. Middle-earth didn't exist when Tolkien wrote the poems contained in this book. But the legends they established were taken up into the later Middle-earth mythology even though we were only treated to glimpses of them in the years preceding the publication of this book.

Lays of Beleriand unveils the true source of the Beren and Luthien story told in The Silmarillion. Although the characters predate "Lay of Leithian", Tolkien brought them forward in a radical evolutionary process which changed many things. The product of his changes was a fantastic poem which would make a wonderful book in its own right. Alas! He never finished the lay.

Deemed too "Celtic" by an early reader at Allen & Unwin, the poem was set aside by Tolkien as he turned to lighter projects. And though he tried to return to it later in life, the flame had dwindled and he was unable to rekindle the ancient fire which inspired this masterpiece. The last lines of the poem seem to describe the work's own fate: "An gleam of swords in fire there flashed/the fangs of Carcharoth, and crashed/together like a trap, that tore/the hand about the wrist, and shore/through brittle bone and sinew nesh,/devouring the frail mortal flesh;/and in that cruel mouth unclean/egulfed the jewels holy sheen."

A few snippets followed, disconnected from the primary narrative. All that could have been, that should have been, was lost forever, unless Tolkien is singing the final stanzas for his beloved Edith beneath the trees in a faraway paradise even now....

"The Lays of Beleriand" is one of my favorite books by Tolkien. It is the epitome of his poetic achievement. As the previous reviewer said, no praise formed by me would be worthy of this exquisite work. Truly, only Tolkien himself has the deep linguistic skill needed to properly laud this work. I had long loved Tolkien's prose before I read this book. But once I was exposed to his poetry, I quickly realized that he is as masterful in verse as he is in prose. Reading "Lays" was a euphoric revelation of another aspect of Tolkien's ingenius literary style. Rich, archiac language coupled with smooth-flowing meter and rhyme is employed to weave into verse the captivating tales of the star-crossed loves of Luthien Tinuviel with Beren Erchamion, and of Turin Turumbar with Neinor Niniel. The noble and deeply touching epics immerse you in their plots, engraving in memory an unforgetable image of this vastly intricate world. The verse, especially in "The Lay of Leithian", is spangled with particularly entrancing descriptions of the grandeur of Elven kingdoms long lost and the starlit enchantment of the Dancer of Doriath. These passages contain such delicate imagery presented in metaphor so elegantly phrased that they surely could entrall even Morgoth himself. Any devotee to Tolkien, and especially those who savor poetry, will be thoroughly enamoured with "The Lays of Beleriand".

"The Lays of Beleriand" contains two of the most ambitious (but sadly unfinished) of J. R. R. Tolkien's retellings of stories from his "Silmarillion" mythology in various literary forms. "The Lay of the Children of Hurin" tells the story of the early life of Turin in alliterative verse. "The Lay of Leithian" tells the story of Beren and Luthien and their quest for a Silmaril in octosyllabic couplets.

"The Lay of Leithian" is considered by many Tolkien fans, including myself, to be one of the greatest pieces of literature composed by Tolkien, ranking alongside "The Lord of the Rings" itself. Although unfinished, it is the most complete and elaborate version he ever wrote of the story of Beren and Luthien, which was probably closer to his heart than any other legend of his Middle-earth. Reading this poem lets one see that, in a very real sense, Beren and Luthien are the heart of Tolkien's entire legendarium.

"The Lay of the Children of Hurin" also holds an important place in Tolkien's total corpus of writings as the only source for fully detailed versions of important episodes in the story of Turin: his accidental slaying of his best friend, his healing by the Lake of Ivrin, and his coming to Nargothrond and first meeting with Finduilas. This poem should be read in tandem with "The Children of Hurin" (the book published in 2007) to gain a full picture of Tolkien's total imagination of Turin's tragic story.

"The Lays of Beleriand" is one of the three or four most important volumes in "The History of Middle-earth," and is my own personal sentimental favorite of all of J. R. R. Tolkien's books.

Tolkien outdid himself with these two long poems. Although never completed, these alliterative verse versions of the "Lay of the Children of Hurin" and "The Lay of Beren and Luthien" are vivid, thrilling and deeply moving. There is little different about these stories from their versions in The Silmarillion, but they are more detailed, and in VERSE. Not only do they make very enjoyable reading, but students of Old, Middle and Early Modern English poetry will be in awe of Tolkiens completely unaffected ability to render his story in alliterative verse, complete with caesura. I was very frustrated not to be able to read complete versions, but the lies of Delu Morgoth live even today, and the ends of these tales are lost in the mists of time...

This book of poetry is extremely beautiful and inspiring. Tolkien captures a true sense of nobility, heroism, wonder, and great and terrible deeds. The poems themselves are excellent, with finely-turned phrases, evocative imagery, and scarcely a word out of place, especially the Lay of Beren and Luthien (which, admittedly, has always been a personal favorite story with me). A must-have for any serious Tolkien fan or anyone who appreciates noble and beautiful poetry!

The Lays of Beleriand is basically a book of poems that J.R.R. Tokien wrote about the tales of the Silmarillion. Poems such as that of Turin Turambar, as well as a few other noteworthy works. It's probably best to have some background on the Silmarillon before reading this.

If you are a tolkien lover, poetry lover, or both like me then you will get the awesome experience of reading some of the origins of turin, beren, etc. There are not a lot of poems and they are all unfinished. But there are things in this book which you will treasure forever like the hate filled words spoken to eachother by morgoth and hurin. Just like tolkiens original writings in book 1 and 2, # 3 will show you more of the origins of where his silmarillion derived from. Christopher explains later in the series of these books on how he used the lost tales, lays, and annals to finish the silmarillion for his father. Let me explain that the lost tales came 1st, lays 2nd, and then the annals. Since these are all different versions of ALL the tales Christopher would be the judge of what parts of what tale or lay would be published in the silmarillion. So essentially just to use turin as an example, Christopher is telling one tale, but basically trying to put a puzzle together mxing AND matching different parts of different versions of the tale. It sounds like an extremely difficult process.


Everybody gives credit to tolkien for making the lord of the rings his lifes work, but his son seeds to be equally credited for putting the time in to analyze and even try to think for his father, adn since Christopher was the main reviewer of the pre-published lord, I am very, very appreciative of the fact that he decided to make this his lifes work.

Again thank you Christopher tolkien for making all of your father's works available.

Anything I say in this review could never do this book justice. Tolkien has done a wonderful job putting together these two long poems (The Lay of Leithian and The Lay of the Children of Hurin). Although neither of these poems was ever finished, it is their only flaw. The Lay of Lethian or perhaps better said as "The Gest of Beren One-hand and Luthien the Fay--Release From Bondage" is one of my favorite poems and anyone who loves rhyming couplets will really enjoy this poem. The Lay of the Children of Hurin is in an alliterative verse and occasionally makes for difficult reading, but it is still great all the same. I recommend this book to both Tolkien fans and poetry fans (especially Tennyson and Byron), I'm sure you will enjoy it as much as I do.

When a friend gave me the five-volume "Histories of Middle-Earth," this was the one I grabbed for right away, and I have reached for it many times since.
Although I really do prefer the "hobbitry" in Tolkien's better-known works (and this book has no hobbits), I loved this book. It contains two unfinished long poems, much in the style of "Beowulf" or "Paradise Lost," that tell the stories of Beren and Luthien and of Turin Turambar. The poems are beautifully written and shed light on themes and scenes only hinted at in the Silmarillion. As good reading as the Silmarillion is, I think this type of poetry was the ideal medium for telling these two epic tales. I wish Tolkien had finished them, but that is my only criticism of this book!
Highly recommended gift for anyone who likes Tolkien or has that rare taste for epic poetry.

When I read LotR, or The Adventures of Tom Bombadil, Tolkien's poetry didn't seem to me good enough. That is, I liked those verses, but I thought them too plain for those from an epic saga. Now this book is quite another. The Lay of Leithian is a most romantic story of love-and-adventure (the corresponding chapter in the Silmarillion describes the same events much simpler), and in the poem about Thurin, we get to know some missing details of his story. So, if you're interested in the First Age events and personalities, this book is a very good reading for you.