The good books, the really good books, yield new understanding and admiration with each reading. This is what I enjoy about Tolkien. I can pick them up after multiple readings and still find something new each time I crack the binding.

LOTR was started as a sequel to The Hobbit, a children's book full of adventure and dragons. At least that was what the publisher wanted. Tolkien tried to follow this idea but found himself pulled into the deeper, darker mythology he'd constructed for decades before. His publisher didn't want his tales of the history of Middle Earth. Nor did they want his fanciful tales of other characters. They wanted Hobbits. So he wrote a story about Hobbits and managed to include both the serious and the silly.

Tom Bombidil is a good example. He wrote a story called "The Adventures of Tom Bombidil" for his children that he couldn't get published, so, he incorporated it into LOTR. In my view, while this chapter can be seen as silly, or a distraction, it is a fine transition from the Fairy Tale into something much deeper in the Chapter of the Barrow-Wights.

The Hobbits are innocent as they attempt their dangerous shortcut through the old forest and are captured by Old Man Willow. Although they have narrowly escaped pursuit by the Black Riders, they are still quite naïve about what they have gotten into. Bombadil provides a respite from danger, a reminder of the good forces that are part of the warp and weave of Middle Earth. Tom and Goldberry are deep earth spirits that are older than the power of the ring, they, like the Ents, are the bones of Middle Earth, and will remain, in some form, no matter what the outcome of the quest. I think Tolkien wanted us to look for them in the modern world.

The adventure on the Downs is the quick return to the danger the Hobbits face on their quest. It is worth noting that the Nazgul, the Ring-Wraiths, came from the North Kingdom. These are the graves of their vanquished foes. It is important, from a historical perspective, that the Hobbits survive this trial to know what they are up against. Also, they are given the gift of weapons, forged by the enemies of the Nine, that thousands of years later find their mark. Merry's dagger slices the sinews of The Witch King, fulfilling the dreams of an ancient smith's craft. Furthermore, this chapter introduces the Hobbits to the spiritual dimensions of their quest which up to this point has been mythological to them.

I will be interested to know your observations about how the prose changes over the course of the Trilogy.