Look, Tolkien isn't the greatest poet in the world. At times he is positively painful - but he's particularly readable here, and I think it's partly because he's given himself the challenge of writing in a very structured and difficult form, one that's heavy on stress and alliteration. It plays to his strengths (and prevents him from attempting rhyme, nearly always a mistake). And he's largely successful in the two long poems included here, although I liked The New Lay of Gudrun better than The New Lay of the Völsungs. I really did enjoy reading them.

It's a shame I can't say the same for the accompanying material, which I slogged through, achieving not much more than a feeling of relief when it was over. It's unfortunate that Tolkien himself isn't around to explain his writing and research, because when relevant parts of his lectures were quoted they were clear and compelling. But my goodness can the editor make dull work from such an interesting topic.