The Lament for the Rohirrim

Dusty

May 8

To view more poems I have examined, click HERE.

The Lament for the Rohirrim

by J.R.R. Tolkien

Where now the horse and the rider? Where is the horn that was blowing?
Where is the helm and the hauberk, and the bright hair flowing?
Where is the hand on the harpstring, and the red fire glowing?
Where is the spring and the harvest and the tall corn growing?
They have passed like rain on the mountain, like a wind in the meadow;
The days have gone down in the West behind the hills into shadow.
Who shall gather the smoke of the dead wood burning,
Or behold the flowing years from the Sea returning?

__________________________

This 8 line poem by Tolkien has an AABBCCDD rhyme scheme.

Tolkien uses anaphora (repetition of the same word to start multiple lines) in the first four lines of the poem, repeating the "where" question for each line to emphasize the reality that the object of the question is not merely missing, but is gone forever.

My favorite line is Line 7:

Who shall gather the smoke of the dead wood burning,

This sums up the feelings of both desperation and impossibility in a really unique and vivid way.

The poem - like much of Tolkien's poetry - is part of one of his books. In this case, it is from The Lord of the Rings.

(via tolkiengateway.net)

The poem was written by a forgotten poet for Eorl, long before the War of the Ring.

On the way to Edoras, Aragorn chants a poem in Rohanese to characterize the Rohirrim. The text is not given. After Legolas comments that the sound of the words resembles the land of Rohan, Aragorn recites his translation of it, which is this poem.

Inspiration

The first two lines are inspired by "The Wanderer", an Old English poem that also contains the words "mathom-giver" and "theoden".

Hwær cwom mearg? Hwær cwom mago?
Hwær cwom maþþumgyfa?
Hwær cwom symbla gesetu?
Hwær sindon seledreamas?
Eala beorht bune!
Eala byrnwiga!
Eala þeodnes þrym!
Hu seo þrag gewat,
genap under nihthelm,
swa heo no wære.

Where is the horse gone? Where the warrior?
Where is the treasure-giver?
Where are the seats at the feast?
Where are the revels in the hall?
Alas for the bright cup!
Alas for the mailed warrior!
Alas for the splendour of the prince!
How that time has passed away,
dark under the cover of night,
as if it never were.

In the film adaptation, Bernard Hill, as Théoden, delivers some of the lines of Tolkien's poem.