Declare Out Of Books The Lays of Beleriand (The History of Middle-Earth #3)

Title	:	The Lays of Beleriand (The History of Middle-Earth #3)
Author	:	J.R.R. Tolkien
Book Format	:	Hardcover
Book Edition	:	First US Edition
Pages	:	Pages: 393 pages
Published	:	November 20th 1985 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt (first published August 22nd 1985)
Categories	:	Fantasy. Fiction. Poetry

The Lays of Beleriand (The History of Middle-Earth #3) Hardcover | Pages: 393 pages

Narration In Favor Of Books The Lays of Beleriand (The History of Middle-Earth #3)

This is the third volume of the History of Middle-earth, which comprises here-tofore unpublished manuscripts that were written over a period of many years before Tolkien's Simlarillion was published. Volumes 1 and 2 were the Book of Lost Tales, Part One and The Book of Lost Tales, Part Two. Together, these volumes encompass an extraordinarily extensive body of material ornamenting and buttressing what must be the most fully realized world ever to spring from a single author's imagination.
"I write alliterative verse with pleasure," wrote J.R.R. Tolkien in 1955, "though I have published little beyond the fragments in The Lord of the Rings, except The Homecoming of Beorhtnoth." The first of the poems in The Lays of Beleriand is the previously unpublished Lay of the Children of Hurin, his early but most sustained work in the ancient English meter, intended to narrate on a grand scale the tragedy of Turin Turambar. It was account of the killing by Turin of his friend Beleg, as well as a unique description of the great redoubt of Nargothrond. The Lay of the Children of Hurin was supplanted by the Lay of Leithian, "Release from Bondage", in which another major legend of the Elder Days received poetic form, in this case in rhyme. The chief source of the short prose tale of Beren and Luthien is The Silmarillion. This, too, was not completed, but the whole Quest of the Silmaril is told, and the poem breaks off only after the encounter with Morgoth in his subterranean fortress. Many years later, when The Lord of the rings was finished, J.R.R. Tolkien returned to the Lay of Leithian and started on a new version, which is also given in this book.
Accompanying the poems are commentaries on the evolution of the history of the Elder Days, which was much developed during the years of the composition of the two Lays. Also included is the notable criticism in detail of the Lay of Lethian by C.S. Lewis, Tolkien's friend and colleague, who read the poem in 1929. By assuming that this poem is actually a fragment from a past lost in history, Lewis underlined the remarkable power of its author's imaginative talents and academic competence.

Point Books Supposing The Lays of Beleriand (The History of Middle-Earth #3)

Original Title:	The Lays of Beleriand
ISBN:	0395394295 (ISBN13: 9780395394298)
Edition Language:	English
Series:	The History of Middle-Earth #3, Middle-earth Universe

Rating Out Of Books The Lays of Beleriand (The History of Middle-Earth #3)

Ratings: 3.97 From 3229 Users | 130 Reviews

Crit Out Of Books The Lays of Beleriand (The History of Middle-Earth #3)

This volume, while largely a (further) re-hash of Simarillion material, nonetheless adds a few interesting tidbits/concepts to the fold, while the style of writing is a nice touch, using [as some astute reviews already noted] verse rather than prose to give it a more funereal [IMO] feel.So, while I'm enjoying (for the most part) this series thus far.... I'm also finding it somewhat wearing on me (akin to Bilbo holding the One Ring for so many years), and I find my interest in Tolkien scholarship

The Lay of Leithian is one of Tolkien's most stunning achievements, and it is a real shame that the final cantos were never written. Still, I'm extremely grateful that so much of the narrative is represented in such stunning and evocative verse!

This is not a book for the casual fan of the Hobbit or LoTR. It took me quite a long time to get through the first section of the book. It begins with metered prose telling the story of Hurins son, Turin. Very dense material that demands a lot of attention of the reader. This was at times excruciating for me. I even put the book aside for a long period. Once through that and the focus turned to early poems and then Beren and Luthien (and switched to a rhyming meter) I started to enjoy it much

All right, I haven't read this book all the way through. Mainly, because a great portion of the book is the story of Turin, which is the most depressing story Tolkien ever came up with. But this also includes a great deal of the tale of Beren and Luthien, told in a beautiful way.You see, the stories in here are written in leys, told in a poetic form that flows off the tongue and right into the heart. It's pure genius. I can get chills reading certain passages of The Ley of Leithian. Fantastic.

Was really cool to read, especially being able to read the commentary by C.S. Lewis on the Lay of Leithian alongside an early version of it.Luthiens story is my favourite of all Tolkien's characters in the stories other than LOTR. There were quite a few bits and pieces that were quite cool, but it was not an easy read, as it is obviously not a story, but for the hard core fans.

At present my aim is to read all my books from cover-to-cover. It will be a great relief when that is accomplished and I then feel at liberty to go back and dip into a book and just read the parts which I really like. It will be great to revisit the History and Middle-Earth series and just read all the main pieces by JRRT, and skip all the commentaries by his son, which turns pleasure into drudgery.I enjoyed both main pieces in this book. I can't claim to have understood the Lay of the Children

I like poetry, but I can only read so much of it at one time before I can't concentrate. I would read a canto or so of 'The Lay of Leithian' every night, and I really enjoyed it. It flowed really beautifully and I could follow the plot line relatively well. There were some amazing lines and rhymes in there, I loved it, but I wish there had been more about what happened after they escaped. Now I need to read the Silmarillion again so I can remember what happens!