Well, out of the blue yesterday a strong urge to
re-read Tolkien swept over me. I kinda know that this will happen when I find
myself dissatisfied with “life out there,” as well as when I’m looking to
recharge my reading activity. Yes, I have some hard SF paperbacks on deck, and
yes, I still want to read them. I am getting ready to crack open Kim Stanley Robinson’s
Red Mars, again, for the first time
in two decades, tomorrow. And after that, I’ll probably check out the John C.
Wright book I mentioned in an earlier post. I am looking forward excitedly to
those two reads, in light of my enjoyment of the hard SF I read in November and
December.
But Tolkien beckons. Yes, I did re-read the Hobbit
this time last year. Due mainly because the family bought me a special
leather-bound Hobbit/Lord of the Rings set. So after a couple of hard SF’s are
put in the can (and I can get back “into the feel” for SF to pen my outlined
novel), I will venture back to Middle-earth. It’s going on nearly five years
since I journeyed with Frodo and Aragorn et al, so the time is right.
Oh, and I have been watching a fair amount of Tolkien videos
out there on the web, something I never really have done before. One thing I particularly
noticed is the gusto with which these guys attack Tolkien pronunciation. What
zeal! What zest! I mean, the Scottish guttural ch’s, the sibilant and ululant Finnish / Quenya syllables, the sturm-und-drang of Khuzdul, the language
of the Dwarves. How did this all elude me in the numerous readings and re-readings
of the Master?
Sadly, and horrifically, I realize I read Tolkien with
a New Jersey accent.
Now, it’s not like Tony, Paulie, and Richie Aprile are
sitting round the counsel of Elrond like they did outside that butcher shop in
Carlstadt.
But what I’ve heard interiorly is but a far, far cry
from the sounds that must have resonated in Tolkien’s mind.
So with this re-reading, my goal is to speak the languages,
the names of people and places, as Tolkien would, in my head.
March 1st would be a great embarkation date …
great post. mild example. i always read it as saw-ron. stunned in the movie when they pronounced it sow-ron. damn hollywood was my reaction. everyone knows cups go in saw-cers not sow-cers.
ReplyDeleteuncle
Yes, similar thing with me introducing the Mrs. to Tolkien via the movies. "Why do you call him Saw-ron when everyone else calls him Sow-ron?" Its our NJ accents; I think in one of the appendices Tolkien (or maybe his son) does a phonetic pronunciation guide and it should be OW instead of AW.
ReplyDeleteBut a question to you, Uncle: When are you re-reading the LotR?
That's a great question. i just don't seem to be able to find the time to read with work and grandkids and trying to keep myself in some shape. Maybe the next vacation whenever that is. But i would love a revisit to literary Middle Earth.
ReplyDeleteUncle