The Adventures of Tom Bombadil

• 1. Publication History And Editions

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  The Adventures of Tom Bombadil first appeared as a stand-alone book in 1962. Some later editions, such as the Unwin Paperbacks edition from 1975 and the collection Poems and Stories, incorrectly state that it was published in 1961. J.R.R. Tolkien's own letters confirm that 1962 is the accurate year of release. Carpenter edited The Letters of J.R.R. Tolkien, which includes correspondence dated the 1st of August 1962 and the 28th of November 1962 to verify this timeline. Beginning with The Tolkien Reader in 1966, the poems were included in anthologies of his shorter works. This trend continued after his death with collections like Poems and Stories in 1980 and Tales from the Perilous Realm in 1997. In 2014 Christina Scull and Wayne G. Hammond edited a new stand-alone edition featuring detailed commentary for each poem. They also included original versions and their sources alongside the final texts. Only one poem, "Bombadil Goes Boating," was written specifically for this book.

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• 2. Poetic Structure And Sources

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  W.H. Auden considered The Sea-Bell, subtitled Frodos Dreme, to be Tolkien's best poem. It is a piece of metrical and rhythmical complexity that recounts a journey to a strange land beyond the sea. The work draws on medieval dream vision poetry and Irish immram poems. The final note of the poem carries a tone of alienation and disillusion. Seven of the works appear on the 1967 album titled Poems and Songs of Middle Earth. Six of these tracks are read by Tolkien himself while the seventh, Errantry, is set to music by Donald Swann. The poem Fastitocalon originally appeared under the title Adventures in Unnatural History and Medieval Metres, being the Freaks of Fisiologus. The Sea-Bell was originally called Firiel before its publication in 1934. The Man in the Moon Stayed Up Too Late expanded from Hey Diddle Diddle the Cat and the Fiddle. The Stone Troll mentions the Bay of Belfalas and the Merlock Mountains.

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• 3. In-Universe Hobbit Folklore

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  The poems are all supposedly works that Hobbits enjoyed and written entirely in English. Several are attributed in a mock-scholarly preface to Hobbit authors or traditions. Tom Bombadil appears as a character encountered by Frodo Baggins in The Lord of the Rings. The character was named for a Dutch doll owned by Tolkien's children. Sam Gamgee recites The Stone Troll during the Flight to the Ford chapter. He also recites Oliphaunt in Ithilien within the Black Gate is Closed section. Bilbo Baggins is credited with writing Errantry and The Man in the Moon Stayed Up Too Late. The poem Shadow-Bride concerns the Mewlips, an imaginary race of evil creatures that feed on passersby. They collect bones in a sack after traveling beyond the wood of hanging trees and gallows-weed. None of these names appear on maps of Middle-earth. The Gorcrow is described as an old name for the carrion crow.

• 4. Illustrations And Visual Presentation

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  The book was originally illustrated by Pauline Baynes and later by Roger Garland. The volume presents itself as if it were an actual translation from the Red Book of Westmarch. It contains background information on the world of Middle-earth not found elsewhere. Examples include the name of the tower at Dol Amroth and the names of the Seven Rivers of Gondor. There is some fictional background information about those poems linking them to Hobbit folklore. The text suggests supposed writers like Sam Gamgee for certain entries. The Sea-Bell recounts a journey to a strange land beyond the sea. The final note carries a tone of alienation and disillusion. The Stone Troll mentions the Bay of Belfalas and the Merlock Mountains.

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• 5. Critical Reception And Legacy

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  In a 1963 review Kirkus Reviews described the book's verses as rolling along in strange meters and weird words. It called the poems difficult fun to read aloud but suggested they might be enjoyed more by adults than children. Richard C. West wrote that the book was the idea of Tolkien's aunt Jane Neave. She wanted something about Tom Bombadil along the lines of one of Beatrix Potter's Little Books. Tolkien's publisher wanted a larger volume instead. Accordingly Tolkien assembled poems he had on hand of a sort that Hobbits might enjoy. He grouped them like with like as far as possible according to editors Scull and Hammond. They added a mock-scholarly preface to complete the presentation. Diane Marchesani published an article titled Tolkien's Lore: The Songs of Middle-earth in Mythlore Vol. 7 No. 1 in 1980. Steven M. Deyo contributed Niggle's Leaves: The Red Book of Westmarch and Related Minor Poetry of J.R.R. Tolkien to Mythlore Vol. 12 No. 3 in 1986.

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