| Poems by J.R.R. Tolkien | |
| Elf Alone | |
|---|---|
| Poem Information | |
| Other names | The Lonely Harebell, Elf-alone, Elfalone |
| Written | September of 1915 |
| Revised | November of 1916, Between January and March of 1918 |
| Published | The Collected Poems of J.R.R. Tolkien |
| Subject(s) | Elves |
Elf Alone[1] is a poem written by J.R.R. Tolkien in 1918.[2]
First stanza
I began to sing to myself alone,
To make me a song for the ease of pain,
Watching the light of the westering sun
Filling the misty skies with flame;
For sorrow was singing in my heart
When her windy voice most sweetly came ––[3]
Background
The Lonely Harebell
After a visit to Cromer, a resort on England's coast,[4] Tolkien was inspired to write an unnamed[3] poem a year later which in turn inspired a rewrite a year later in November of 1916. He soon made a second version which he entitled The Lonely Harebell,[5] and four more versions[3]. On one of these four versions,[3] he inscribed the words "[written in] Hospital Birm[ingham] Nov[ember] 1916 (part f[ounded] on matter wr[itten at] Lichfield Sep[tember] 1915 Insp[ired at] Cromer 1914)"[3] on it.[6]
Further revisions
Between January and March of 1918, Tolkien would rewrite the poem, inscribing the words "[written] 1914–1916, Rewr[itten] 1918 Cromer, Hosp[ital] Birm[ingham and] farmhouse near Easington York[shire]"[3] and entitling it first as Elf-alone[3] before changing it to Elfalone[3] or Elf Alone.[2]
In 2024, the poem was published for the first time in September as entry 39 of The Collected Poems of J.R.R. Tolkien. In their commentary, Hammond and Scull identified a connection between Elf Alone and Kortirion among the Trees.[3]
References
- ↑ Christina Scull and Wayne G. Hammond (2006), The J.R.R. Tolkien Companion and Guide: I. Chronology, "Poetry by J.R.R. Tolkien", p. 844 (entry "Elf Alone")
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Christina Scull and Wayne G. Hammond (2006), The J.R.R. Tolkien Companion and Guide: I. Chronology, p. 104 (entry "January-March 1918")
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 3.6 3.7 3.8 J.R.R. Tolkien; Christina Scull, Wayne G. Hammond (eds.), The Collected Poems of J.R.R. Tolkien, "39. The Lonely Harebell · Elfalone (1915-18)"
- ↑ Christina Scull and Wayne G. Hammond (2006), The J.R.R. Tolkien Companion and Guide: II. Reader's Guide, p. 199 (entry "Cromer (Norfolk)")
- ↑ Christina Scull and Wayne G. Hammond (2006), The J.R.R. Tolkien Companion and Guide: I. Chronology, p. 49 (entry "Later in 1914")
- ↑ Christina Scull and Wayne G. Hammond (2006), The J.R.R. Tolkien Companion and Guide: I. Chronology, p. 95 (entry "10 November-1 December 1916")