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| Voices of Middle-Earth by Armariel | 3 Review(s) |
|---|---|
| Larner | Reviewed Chapter: 28 on 8/18/2005 |
| Quite a look at Saruman, turning from purity to servility masquerading as power. Author Reply: The higher up they are, the more tragic their fall, surely! I'm wondering if Tolkien was familiar with the works of Nathaniel Hawthorne? His Saruman seems very akin to Hawthorne's mad scientists who fall hard from the sin of pride and trying to play God, and end up taking the office of the devil instead. | |
| Farawyn | Reviewed Chapter: 28 on 7/10/2005 |
| That was lovely. Every sentence stayed with your theme, and that surprised me. I kept on thinking "Just watch, she'll go off on something about Frodo ..." but you didn't. Was this, by any chance, also inspired by the idea of the many shades of white in your story "The Drop of a Hat"? Author Reply: Well, those shades did cross my mind as I was writing it...but it wasn't the original inspiration, which was the passage I quoted in the other review--I guess you read it, right? That passage intrigued me in a way I find hard to explain. I thought of the good pope/bad pope duality--the Pope wears a white robe too, right? and also of the idea of white light being refracted into colors whose beauty could make one lose sight of the actual Light of truth...if that makes any sense, not that the colors are evil in themselves, but they aren't the True Light. Still, bend the Truth and it ceases to be the truth. I've sometimes asked myself, "Why a WHITE hand?" I guess this poem is the answer......of sorts. And yes, I think the bit about the various shades does tie in. Thanks once more for reviewing! blessings, Armariel~~~{~@ | |
| Eruanna | Reviewed Chapter: 28 on 7/10/2005 |
| Oh. *shivers* That was lovely and creepy, if I may be permitted to use those two words in the same sentence. The whole way through, I was sure it was talking about Gandalf the White, and I was thinking, 'How very perfect.' And then I got to that final stanza... I like that about this poem: you really show what Saruman was like before he fell into darkness. He was wise once, and kind, and loved beautiful things. But sometimes we forget that. It's nice to be reminded. Hum, I hope some of that made sense. This one really blew me away. Keep it up! Blessings, Eruanna Author Reply: Thanks, glad you like this one! I knew it was kind of a strange poem, and very different from anything I'd ever done before...but that was exactly what I was wanting, to do something different! I just felt like I was starting to repeat myself and was trying to come up with something new. Then this morning I found this passage posted on a message board: '"...here you will stay, Gandalf the Grey, and rest from journeys. For I am Saruman, the Wise, Saruman Ring-maker, Saruman of Many Colours!" 'I looked then and saw that his robes, which had seemed white, were not so, but were woven of all colours, and if he moved they shimmered and changed hue so that the eye was bewildered. '"I liked white better,' I said. '"White!" he sneered. "It serves as a beginning. White cloth may be dyed. The white page can be overwritten; and the white light can be broken." '"In which case it is no longer white," said I... ' Seems that was just what the Muse ordered.....the more I look at the result, the more I like it myself! Thanks for reviewing! xoxox Armariel~~~{~@ | |