Tolkien’s Poetry | Octosyllabic Couplets + New Project Announcement

 

The Lay of Aotrou and Itroun and The Lay of Leithian are, in my opinion, two masterly-crafted long, epic poems (even though the latter, alas, remains unfinished).

I am no poetry expert, having never managed to successfully appreciate many poems (especially those of the modern sort, with free verse and all that), but there was something in Tolkien’s own poetic writings which I found accessible, instant and attractive. And while Tolkien might not be considered one of the great poetry writers, his verses seem to embody a character of their own — steeped in history and language, harking back to the style and tone of the great classical works, The Odyssey, The Divine Comedy and, naturally, Beowulf.

Debating Tolkien’s Magnum Opus

Stephen King has The Dark Tower series. George Orwell has 1984. Dante Alighieri’s The Divine Comedy is the author’s own unparalleled piece of writing.

“Magnum Opus” (translated from Latin as “masterpiece”) is a term that can be applied to virtually any piece of art or literature that has somehow had a significant impact upon those who experience it, and was brought about by a sophisticated, high standard and excellent creative impulse on the part of its creator.