It is the poem that signals the end of JRR Tolkien’s association with his greatest creation, the mythical land of Middle Earth. [More]
Month: August 2002
TOLKIEN’S RING CYCLE FAREWELL HAS BILBO BOUND FOR A BOOK
It is the poem that signals the end of JRR Tolkien’s association with his greatest creation, the mythical land of Middle Earth.
Now Bilbo’s Last Song, a short poem marking the end of the famous Hobbit’s adventures, is to be published to cash in on the new wave of interest in Lord of the Rings.
The poem, illustrated by Pauline Baynes -who is also known for illustrating the Narnia Chronicles of CS Lewis – is best known for having adorned the walls of Tolkien fans in the form of a poster in the 1970’s.
Now, following the commercial and critical success of Peter Jackson’s Oscar winning film of the Fellowship of the Ring, the first book in Tolkien’s trilogy, it is being republished in book form.
Baynes, 80, was the only illustrator that Tolkien approved of, and it was she who adorned the poster version in 1974, which was published a year after he died.
The poem was given as a gift to Joy Hill, one of Tolkien’s assistants.
Baynes, who became a close friend of JRR Tolkien, spoke yesterday of her delight at the poem’s re-emergence accompanoied by pictures she created in 1990.
She said Tolkien had not only written it as a valediction for Middle Earth, but also his own life. “With this poem, I think he was sighing with relief: that’s done. He was getting pretty old when he wrote it in the late 1960’s, and so it is climactic in two ways. The poem is like a full stop, siganlling the end of it all,” she said.
Bilbo’s Last Song is onlt three verses long, and represents the last song Bilbo Baggins, the hero of The Hobbit and uncle to Frodo in Lord of the Rings, sings before he sails west and leaves Middle Earth. In Tolkien’s world, at the end of Lord of the Rings, the remaining elves and other friends sail west and leave the realms of the mortal world forever, and pass into myth. It ends: “Farewell to Middle Earth at last: I see the star above your mast.”
Bilbo’s Last Song was a gift from Tolkien to Ms Hill, who was seconded from Allen and Unwin, the author’s publisher, to help him with correspondence.
He used to joke that if ever a diamond bracelet fell out of an envelope it would be hers. When she was helping him pack up before he moved house, Bilbo’s Last Song fell out of a book and she loved it so much he said it could be her ‘diamond bracelet’.
Another list of all the FOTR stars you can catch this week on the silver screen! [More]
To get more information, use the sites I use like the ones below. Simply find a movie or actor you want to see, go to one of the sites below and see if the film is playing in your area. mydigiguide.com, tv-now.com and IMDB.com
Ian Mune (Bounder)
Martyn Sanderson (Bree Gatekeeper Harry Goatleaf)
David Weatherly (Barliman Butterbur)
Noel Appleby (Everard Proudfoot)
Alexandra Astin (Elanor Gamgee)
Peter Mckenzie (Elendil)
Cameron Rhodes (Farmer Maggot)
Bruce Hopkins (Gamling)
Mark Ferguson (Gil Galad)
Stephen Ure (Gorbag)
Craig Parker (Haldir)
Timothy Bartlett (Hobbit)
Lawrence Makoare (Lurtz)
Robbie Magasiva (Mahur)
Robyn Malcolm (Morwen)
Megan Edwards (Mrs. Proudfoot)
Billy Boyd (Pippin)
Sarah McLeod (Rosie Cotton)
Sala Baker (Sauron)
Brian Sergent (Ted Sandyman)
Nathaniel Lees (Ugluk)
Stewart from Billyboyd.net writes: We have an interview with Paul Holmes, director of Billy’s recently released short film “Sniper440” [More]
In the wake of the release of The Fellowship of the Ring on VHS and DVD, we’ve decided there’s no better time than now to update the Cast section on the site. To begin with, each exisiting cast page has received major updates, with quotes added from each actor, extended biographies and new pictures. Also, we’ve added some new cast members to the section; Alan Howard, the voice of the One Ring, Noel Appleby as Everard Proudfoot, Megan Edwards as his wife and Michael Elsworth as the Gondorian Archivist. So if you have some spare time on your hands and are wondering who’s playing Uglúk or if you’re wondering who it was who uttered ‘ProudFEET!’ at Bilbo’s party, check out our update! [More]