“
The leaves were long, the grass was green,
The hemlock-umbels tall and fair,
And in the glade a light was seen
Of stars in shadow shimmering.
Tinúviel was dancing there
To music of a pipe unseen,
And light of stars was in her hair,
And in her raiment glimmering.
The hemlock-umbels tall and fair,
And in the glade a light was seen
Of stars in shadow shimmering.
Tinúviel was dancing there
To music of a pipe unseen,
And light of stars was in her hair,
And in her raiment glimmering.
The Song of Beren and Luthien, J R R Tolkien
I find that Tolkien is extremely proficient in the use of ballad meter; the poems in The Lord of the Rings are most excellent. This poem in particular has an interesting rhyme scheme, and I think it helps very much to create a dream like atmosphere since you can’t really tell where it rhymes on the first reading.
