This collection of poems set in the world of Middle Earth is a perfect companion to The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings. Tolkien wrote these poems as if they had been written by Bilbo, Frodo, and Sam and included in the Red Book along with all the stories of their adventures. It's really interesting to see how each poem is written in a slightly different style depending on who is supposed to have written it.

The first two poems center around Tom Bombadil and his silly adventures through the wood and how he first fell in love with his wife, Goldberry. Tom encounters some dangerous characters in the Old Forest as he is boating down the Withywindle River. He faces off against the badgers, Old Man Willow, and a barrow-wight, and he commands them to leave him alone. These two poems are supposed to have been composed by Hobbits in Buckland, on the edge of the Old Forest, because they would have more knowledge of Bombadil being so close to his own haunts.

"Errantry" is my favorite poem in this collection. It tells of a fairy messenger who goes on an errand to deliver a message, but gets distracted by adventures. He falls in love with a beautiful butterfly, but she refuses to marry him. He goes off to war and battles against the bees, then takes a ship to far away islands, and finally remembers his original errand! The messenger sets out once again to deliver the message, but once more becomes distracted by adventures. This poem was supposedly written by Bilbo as a circular storytelling joke. That seems like exactly the sort of prank that Bilbo would love - to start the whole poem again at the beginning until everyone would groan in protest! The reason it is my favorite is the utter enchantment of the word structure.

"Princess Mee" is about a little fairy dancer who sees her reflection in the water and thinks it is another dancing fairy. It's really sweet and adorable. The illustration for this poem is my favorite of the artwork included here, because the fairy dancer is so delicate and pretty surrounded by stars and glittering dew.

There are two poems featuring "The Man in the Moon" where the Man in the Moon comes down to the earth and causes complete chaos. Both poems are complete nonsense and very silly, like "Hey Diddle Diddle, the Cat and the Fiddle". There are dishes running around with spoons, cows and dogs dancing, and horses standing on their heads.

We know that "The Stone Troll" is written by Sam Gamgee because he recites it in the Fellowship of the Ring when he and Frodo and their friends discover the trolls that Bilbo tricked into the sunlight where they were turned to stone. This poem tells of an altercation between a troll and a person named Tom, and they argue over the old shin-bone of Tom's uncle, which bone the troll has been gnawing. It perfectly fits with the sort of light-hearted and funny poem you would expect from a clever but uneducated hobbit like Sam.

Sam Gamgee also wrote "Perry the Winkle" about a troll who wants to be friends with hobbits, but no one will trust him. The troll invites Perry to tea, and Perry accepts the invitation. They enjoy so much delicious food together that Perry starts to get fat. All the hobbits want to sample the troll's wonderful cooking once they see how well Perry has fared, but the troll turns them out and only cooks for Perry the Winkle.

I always skip over "The Mewlips" when I reread this collection, because it freaks me out! It's about these nasty little creatures who creep up and strangle their prey. They are dark and evil, the stuff of nightmares.

This book includes "The Oliphaunt" rhyme that Sam recites when he sees the elephant/mammoth creature in Gondor. Sam insists that the rhyme is not of his own making, but is traditional to the Shire.

Similarly "The Fastitocalon" is about a massive creature, this time a huge sea turtle with a back so wide and large that ships mistake it for an island. When they land on the turtle's back for a picnic or a rest, the turtle then flips over and drowns them all. The poem ends with a warning to all sailors to never land on uncharted shores.

"The Cat" is another short poem from Sam Gamgee, which begins "the fat cat on the mat may seem to dream of nice mice that suffice..." This simple poem is written a childish style that is just right for a father teaching a cute little poem to his hobbit children.

"The Shadow Bride" is about a woman who is captured to be the bride of a shadow creature and live in underground caves. However they seem to live fairly happily together and once a year they come out to dance under the night sky.

"The Hoard" is about a treasure of dwarven and elvish gold that corrupts the hearts of all who own it. A dwarf dies alone in his cave, a dragon dies of old age on his hoard, a king dies in his ruined kingdom, all because they loved the gold. This poem reflects ancient elvish tales and was certainly derived from the stories of Mim the dwarf and others contained in the Silmarillion. It's possible that Frodo or Bilbo heard those ancient tales in Rivendell and wrote them into this poem.

The "original" manuscript of "The Sea Bell" is said to have had "Frodo's Dream" written across the top, since Frodo certainly dreamed several times of the sea, before he eventually crossed the sea at the end of his journey. The poem begins with a hopeful and light adventure but falls into dark imagery and fear. In the end, the adventurer is left entirely alone, reflecting Frodo's distressed mindset after his own adventures.

The final poem in the collection is "The Last Ship" which tells the story of Firiel, a human maiden who was invited to go with the elves across the sea to the Undying Lands, but she was unable to join them because her life was rooted in the soil of Middle Earth. The glittering elven ship sails past her down the river as the elves sing of the beauty of the land where they are going, but Firiel is left to return to her humble home and go about her regular work, with only the memory of their song fading into the distance.

Every poem in this collection is brilliant! They are easy to read and understand; the perfect introduction for those who perhaps are not familiar with poetry. I love the enchantment of the writing and the beautiful words. The marriage of meter and rhyme is absolute perfection! The words go tripping along like sunlight skittering across the water, or they slide through your thoughts with a heavy weight of darkness and long eras of history. Tolkien was truly a word-master in both prose and poetry!