Ere iron was found or tree was hewn: Difference between revisions

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Ere iron was found or tree was hewn is the first line of a short poem recited by Gandalf to King Théoden, when asked about what power that summoned the Huorns during the Battle of the Hornburg. Théoden identifies Gandalf's answer as a riddle.

Ere iron was found or tree was hewn,
When young was mountain under moon;
Ere ring was made, or wrought was woe,
It walked the forests long ago.
[1]

Composition

The poem contains four iambs in each line, and the lines rhyme in pairs.[2] Verlyn Flieger has described the poem as a piece of "folk verse".[3]

Name

Among fans, the poem is commonly called Gandalf's Riddle of the Ents.[4][5][6][2]

Inspiration

It has been noted that Tolkien re-used a phrase from his The Lay of Aotrou and Itroun:[7]

ere fire was found or iron hewn,
when young was mountain under moon.
[8]

See also

References