Silmarillion Quote Analysis.

During the days after Melkor had stolen the silmarils Feanor had grown angry, and wanted revenge on Melkor. He brought up the idea of a war against Melkor, after all he had done, saying to his people: "So! Then will this valiant people send forth the heir alone into banishment with his sons only, and return to their bondage? But if any of you will come with me, I say to them: Is sorrow foreboded to you? But in Aman we have seen it. In Aman we have come through bliss to woe. The other now we will try: through sorrow to find joy; or freedom, at the least". (Tolkien 91)
The author uses this quote to produce excitement and suspense for the reader, and portrays Feanor's character trait that he is very devoted to the silmarils and the world of Arda. I chose this quote because it is important to the story, and is powerful in the way that it makes the reader want to see more about the character and story. The author's diction creates an air of excitement and emotion over the character, and also shows the time period a little, as it is very formal because of his choice of words such as "foreboded", "woe", and "heir", which would not usually be used in informal conversations. It is also created by his very formal and intelligent grammar and punctuation. It is important to the plot of the story as it starts the second conflict between Melkor (now called "Morgoth") and the races of Arda.

The Silmarillion Protagonist and Setting

The Silmarillion does not have a particualar main protagonist, as it is more of a collection of the tales created by JRR Tolkien, but if I were to choose one of the most important characters it would be Feanor.
Feanor is the elf who created the Silmarils, he was born in Eldamar, a city in Valinor. His correct name is Curufinwe but he is called Feanor by whis mother, which means "Spirit of Fire". His mother's name was Miriel, and his father Finwe. Feanor has 2 half-brothers: Fingolfin, and Finarfin, who he did not have too much contact or connection with. He was a great lapidary (gem cutter/polisher), and had created many works, the greatest of which were the Silmarils, which were harder than diamond, and were embued with the power and light of the Trees of Valinor, which were poisoned and killed by Ungoliant and Melkor. Melkor was cast out, stealing the Silmarils, and Ungoliant fled. After this, Feanor named Melkor "Morgoth, The Black Foe of The World". Feanor grieved for the Silmarils and vowed to get them back, proposing a war on Morgoth to retrieve the Silmarils, which were the only hope to revive the Trees of Valinor.
"At length after long debate Feanor prevailed, and the greater part of the Noldor there assembled he set aflame with the desire of new things and strange countries" (Tolkien 89)

Feanor

(http://lotr.wikia.com/wiki/Feanor?file=Feanor_by_LuisFBejarano.jpg)

The Silmarillion is primarily set in the region of Amar called Valinor and ancient western Middle Earth (Beleriand). Which contain a variety of landscapes, from mountains, to tundra, to marshes. It is set in the First Age, Second Age, and the Elder Days of Arda, which tell of the creation of Arda and the wars between Melkor and the races of the world, as well as the first war between Sauron and the races of middle earth, and is very detailed pertaining to the characters and places, the author uses this to give depth to the story and allows the reader to get really in to the book. The locations change over the scape of the book, with cities, landsapes, and even mountains being built. Some of the story is based in Valinor, which encompasses the southern part of the continent and is south of Araman. Valinor is seperated into regions, each pertaining and belonging to a certain Valar, which were the watchers or keepers of Ea (the universe), and some of the first beings to arrive in the world. Some of the story was also based in Beleriand, the region in the west of Middle Earth that was destroyed. Beleriand was host to most of the conflict and war in the story, and contains much of the more prominent locations, such as Gondolin, the river Sirion, Utumno, Angband, and many others. Beleriand was very mountainous, but between its ranges of mountains were most commonly plains.
The world of The Silmarillion was formerly flat, but was made round in the "Akallabeth" which is the fourth part in the book.

Unofficial map of Arda

(http://iampierremenard.files.wordpress.com/2011/11/a_map_of_middle-earth_and_the_undying_lands_color.jpg)

First Post Assignment

Hello everyone, welcome to my blog. My name is Michael, and I am from Canada. I enjoy video games, anime, homestuck, and reading. Some of my hobbies are 3D graphic design, video game programming, and digital painting. I will be blogging about any and all books by J.R.R Tolkien.

I am currently reading The Silmarillion, which is a prequel to his more famous books (which i will be reading): The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings, which have been adapted into movies. The Silmarillion is about the creation of Middle Earth, Valinor, and all the lands inbetween, as well as the wars between the Children of Ilúvatar and the original Dark Lord Morgoth/Melkor. The story starts off with the creation of "Ea" (the Universe). Ea was created by Ilúvatar and the Ainur. As said in the "Ainulindale", the first chapter, the Ainur sang, and from that song, the Earth came into being. There was one Ainur called Melkor who tried to disrupt the song and ended up creating much evil and discord. When Ilúvatar unveiled the world they had created, Melkor grew ashamed, yet angry at the same time. The Ainur were called Valar by the elves, and are called thus throughout the book. Some of the Valar descended into the world, and some did not, the ones who did were treated as kings or even gods. Some of the lesser Valar also descended into the world, yet they were called Maiar. Some of the Maiar are Sauron, Gandalf, and all the other wizards. The elves also play a large part in the book, they are divided into seperate groups: The ones who had seen the light of the trees of valinor, and those who had not. Under those groups they are further divided, but I will not bother to elaborate, because this book is very confusing and unless you have read it it would be hard to understand if i were to elaborate. The world of The Silmarillion is seperated into two continents: Aman, and Middle Earth. Middle Earth is the main setting for much of the books, and mostly gets focused upon the region Beleriand. Amar is the home of the Valar and many of the Elves.

Some of the story focuses on the first war between Melkor and the Valar. Melkor dwelled in his citadel Utumno. This was a very bloody war, and many of the elves and Maiar took part. Sauron also took part, and dwelled in the western fortress of Angband. The Valar prevailed and destroyed Utumno, imprisoning Melkor for three "ages" of unknown length. The second war is between all the races of Middle Earth and Melkor, who had stolen three gems from the elf Feanor. These gems held the last light of the trees of valinor, and were the only hope to save Aman from darkness.

The story centers around the quest to retieve these gems.