It’s worth mentioning that Tom isn’t completely separate from main narrative. Eowyn didn’t slay the witch-king by herself. He was first stabbed by Merry with a knife crafted years before specifically to break the witch-kings evil spells. That knife was taken from the barrow and given to Merry by Tom.
Wasn't he mentioned too in the Council of Elrond, briefly as an option to keep the ring safe, and idea that was immediately discarded because Tom would be just as likely to lose track of it, as he would to keep it safe.
Yes, that is completely true, not Tom, no slain wraith. Because it was said he could not be killed by man and neither Merry nor Eowyn was a " man".. I always loved how Tolkien just had these little things that became big things later.
I like how when Tolkien gets asked questions about his work, he always answers as if he had not written them himself but rather as if he was telling us about a story he has heard at a point
Yeah it’s called The Holy Bible, many of Tolkien’s writings are influenced by The Holy Bible and even other writings like Homers Iliad, The Odyssey, or even Viking Norse mythologies. Tolkien was a Christian so it’s no surprise that you see themes of faith, friendship, loyalty, perseverance, and self sacrifice in a world of his own creation.
Yes. Tolkien , when responding to letters speaks to the people like he is pondering on the same questions he is asked about. Like a man wondering about a true history. He invites you in and speaks as if he is right there with you posing guesses and trying to find a real truth or history. He NEVER is "the professor " with fans. He is one of the fans. As far as Bombadil, I think I know exactly what is going on. I will never know if I am right, or if there even IS a right or wrong to it. Iarwain Ben-adair, (sp?) Eldest and fatherless, is his name to the Elves. He is a being that the oldest Elves have known from their own awakening under the stars in Lake Cuivienen, in the age of The Lamps. He holds a Power my brother. What that power is , I think was great at one time. By the Third Age it has removed from all else save his tiny nook of the world by the Old Forest, and he will not pass that border willingly. He has turned his back on the wide world.
@@OddRob92 If Tom Bombadil is connected to the bible he could be the god that created the first things and then stepped back. So he is or was immensely powerful, but nowadays he gave up, doesn't use or lost his power. Instead he is stil around to observe and live with his creation.
The first time I read the part where Gandalf says he is going to have a talk with Bombadil like he's never had in his time it really filled me with joy and I cried some happy tears. The fact that Gandalf has such simple plans after their victory over Sauron and just intends to go have a chat with a character I had almost forgotten about after the epic tale that unfolded after the Hobbits left the Old Forest, somehow really tickled me and is to this day (about 20 years later) still one of my favorite parts of the books.
@@dain6492I hate how some people get joy from diminishing other peoples feelings. There must be something ugly inside them. My hope is that they will find the reason and become better persons one day.
@@lillia5333 I had the same feeling. “Now that all this war nonsense is over, we can get back to things that really matter”. Glad someone else feels the same!
Tolkien described Tom Bombadil as a “comment”, I think with him being a soldier in the war, I think the comment he was trying to make with Tom was that even in times of war, evil and sin, it is possible to remain undefiled and pure. I think that Tom was such a majorly important character for Tolkien personally, because he represented who he hoped to be in a world that didn’t make sense to him. I think he would have been very upset that he was left out of the films, as the “comment” he wanted to make with Tom was so important to his whole world view, and for him personally such an important character to the story, as he represented hope in times of extreme darkness.
This is closer than anything else I've heard proposed. Great insight. It's like Tolkien's ideals built into the story, but with that hint of regret hanging over everything he wrote, that things just aren't at the happy ending yet and won't be for a long time. But let's pretend they are, in a small way, for a little while. Can you imagine how that master of unsubtlety Peter Jackson would have loused that up?
@seanrcollier You know, Jackson's LOTR adaptations have major faults to be sure, and his Hobbit adaptations are utter garbage. But, there is no denying that he brought more people to recognize Tolkien and respect Tolkien's stories than anyone else other than Tolkien. AND he also created the LOTR movies out of love for Tolkien and did his very best to respect the stories. A far better effort than anyone else had ever even attempted prior. Contrast that to what Amazon has done.
With the Soldier Tolkien in mind, Tom Bombadil is that bizarre, brief, Christmas ceasefire between the trenches. War is Hell, but here's just one brief shining shining moment of respite and frivolity to remind everyone of their humanity and to give them a reason to carry on in the face of the atrocities of the Great War, the War to End All Wars...
I have always loved the fact that Tolkien seemed not to know a lot of what happened in Middle Earth; almost like it was a history he had studied extensively, rather than a story he had created.
Deliberately done for effect. His middle-earth has misty borders that fade out, hinting at unknown lands beyond. He constantly hints at and lets us glimpse things we barely understand or know little of to create the impression of vast spaces and deep histories. Outside of the Lord of the Rings and the Silmarillion he left a large number of other essays and stories concerning middle-earth (all of which are in the History of Middle-Earth books), often in different modes of poetry or prose, some fully worked out and others incomplete or just snippets; and he did so consciously to mirror the way the literature of old lost cultures, like anglo-saxon or old Norse, has been lost and/or preserved in real life i.e. tantalising fragments that give us part of a lost whole, or works that regularly reference others that no longer exist.
As a matter of fact that's not far off from what really happened. That is, Tolkien spent a good deal of time writing the "bible" for Middle Earth before writing the stories themselves. Much of this has been published posthumously by his son. Anyway, it makes for a very detailed world that almost seems real. He even created the full elven language: He was a linguist by trade after all, and there are actually people in the world who can speak it fluently.
@@stephenlaing2152ost of the spiritual and theological framework of Tolkien comes from his very own Christian faith. It has mythological and Norse pagan tropes but bent toward a Christian world view. Tom Bombadil, Ungoliant, the Nameless things where all created by Eru the one and only God of Tolkien’s Legendarium. That is they aren’t just random spirits that came into being but where deliberately created by Eru.
@@stephenlaing2152 and let's not forget his best friend, C.S Lewis, who provided an enthusiastic encouragement, as well as many, many conversations about mythology, theology, and philosophy.
I first read of Tom in the early 70s. At the time I was suffering from a traumatic brain injury (and still do). Tom embodied the peace that I didn’t have in life. I wanted so, so much to emulate him, if not be him. The thought of the peace embodied by Tom in his realm still brings tears to my eyes. God bless you Tom Bombadil.
Just a kind wish for you. I suffered a TBI (serious brain tumor and surgery) a few years ago, and will never fully recover. One doctor reassured me that "You have tremendous cognitive reserve." At which point my niece, serving as recorder and explainer of the appointment, leaned over and said "That means you're really smart." Not a day goes by a don't thank my love of reading for that cognitive reserve! Sending you continued healing and peace.
@@JulieAiken and JD80 To both of you, I wonder if you’ve explored homeopathy for help healing!? Please, it would be worth going to an experienced classical homeopath for help. I’ve seen it work well with these injuries. My very best to you both!
With Tolkien being a solider in the Great War, and him describing Tom Bombadil as a “comment” in one of his letters, I think your description is almost certainly the closest to Tolkiens true meaning of Tom Bombadil. I think Tom is the embodiment of peace in a world consumed with war, aggression and sin. I think Toms inclusion was Tolkien’s way of showing that even in the darkest of times it is possible to remain pure and undefined.
Joe, if u r indeed german, there is a rly awesome audioplay (hörspiel), produced by the WDR, in 1992 Top voice actors, top sound design... And top pick for Tom. A deep, warm, and cozy voice. like a chubby monk...somehow... The part where he scolds the willow is just perfect. And of course... "Heh, Tom Bombadil, Tom Bombadonne... Hör den Ruf, eile her, bei Feuer, Mond und Sonne, Komm, bei Wasser, Wald und Flur. Steh uns nun zur Seite. Komm bei Weide, Schilf und Ried, aus der Not uns leite!" *-*
In my head-canon, I think Tom’s constant singing is a huge clue as to what he really is. In the Silmarillion, Iluvatar created the world through the Ainur’s singing. I believe Tom is a kind of rogue good Ainu spirit, much in the same way that Ungoliant is a mysterious rogue Ainu bad spirit. Both Tom and Ungoliant are unexplainable entities in Arda. While Ungoliant is terrifying, repulsive and aggressive, Tom is incredibly warm, inviting, loving and protective. Both Tom and Ungoliant were Ainu spirits who simply did not fall in with the regular order, and both became powerful, unique entities in Arda.
Bombadil has irritated me for more than 45 years with his pointlessness. People's theories about him are always wrong, and along comes you......and you have actually solved it. Your theory makes complete sense of a character that made no sense at all. I would buy you a coffee for that, and I tip my hat to you. Enjoy the day!
@@DanBeech-ht7sw The singing is the key! When I first read LOTR, Tom was my least favorite part. I thought his whole sequence was stupid. But then after reading The Silmarillion and studying it at length, I then read LOTR again and when I got to Tom, I noticed it right away. The guy just sings all the time. I mean, it’s just obvious that he really enjoys singing…. a lot! What else could he be? I’m sure of it-he’s a purely good-natured Ainu who loved to sing and he just never stopped.
@@WarHam.Saltsmoke I never made the connection until you pointed it out. It amuses me that of course, Tolkien didn't know. Well done for developing an original, plausible theory that makes perfect sense of a random character that otherwise is just an annoyance.
I’ve heard the theory, and it’s my current head canon, that Tom is Eru Iluvatar himself. This relates to the singing but also Tom being a being of neutrality. The creator is not good or evil but “he is.” This is also my interpretation of the “don’t you know my name yet?” Line: Tom has many names and so is surprised that the hobbits do not know him.
@@paulfenton5673 "I'm no weather master, nor is aught that goes on two legs" - that would be a strange remark for Illuvatar to make. And "But he cannot alter the Ring itself, nor break its power over others." Can't see it myself.
Somewhere I recall Tom explaining that Frodo cannot become invisible to him using The Ring because The Ring has no power over him (Tom). This helped me understand that not seeing Frodo might be a command from The Ring, rather than a change to Frodo. This video made me ponder whether _all_ of The Ring's power stems from everyone's (except Tom) desire for power.
That comment about Bombadil and the ring being irrelevant to him comes from Gandalf during the Council of Elrond chapter, when the question is raised whether they could give it to Bombadil. :)
In Tolkien's world age was power. That fact-oid was put in to demonstrate T.B.'s deep history and disconnection from the issues even of the pretty damn ancient Sindar (Elves).
The ring is able to put the wearer into the “wraith world”, or into the “unseen”. Things in the Unseen world are visible to others in the Unseen.… That’s why the ring wraiths can see Frodo when he puts in the ring, and Frodo can see them clearly (instead of just that showy figure that they appear to be in the Seen world). It seems more like Tom is in both the Seen and Unseen worlds at the same time? or he can clearly see both… ? or who knows… maybe he exists outside of both of them but projects himself? He just, IS
I love, love, love Tom Bombadil and Goldberry, and I love the inclusion of the side story. These days editors would 💯 insist on excising Tom. I really enjoy him for the reasons you mention, and for the sheer comfort I get knowing the hobbits have been saved from Old Man Willow and the barrow-wights, which is a pretty intense experience for them so early in their adventure. That comfort extends to knowing that they are *completely* safe from the Nazgûl, and probably everything else in the world. It’s an interlude of peace and safety I can’t find adequate words for. It’s like them arriving at Imladris and totally chilling out (well, maybe not totally), knowing they are safe with Elrond. These reprieves allow the reader to relax and reflect, a kind of pause in the action that seems verboten in our age of constant busyness and being thralls to our phones. I dislike the present world…which is why I think I love carefree, grandfatherly Tom so much. I hate when they have to leave. Thanks for another very literate, bang-on video and despite the creepy crawlies I enjoyed the dappled outdoor setting.
Yeah, my reread is really making me think about how publication standards have changed so much that really great older books wouldn't have been published now, or would have been missing beautiful and meaningful passages. It's a shame
Some of the history of Tom Bombadil, as you recount it, shows a subtle humour on Tolkien's part. Tom is not just "oldest" within the world of LOTR, but actually within the personal sphere of Tolkien's creativity. He's one of Tolkien's own oldest creations. The suggestion that Tom is a counter to the broader "good vs. evil" narrative in LOTR and represents a form of nature that does not recognize human constructions of value also seems very well taken.
Not, however, as old as (some of) the tales which would become the Silmarillion proper: those go back to his illness during his service in WWI, when he wrote the first version of (at least) "The Fall of Gondolin;" long before the Dutch doll entered the Tolkien household -- before, indeed, the children were born -- the "Book of Lost Tales," as it was originally called, was very much a thing in its own right.
This channel is such a breath of fresh air in the field of Tolkien analysis. Not to put the others down, but they way you speak in such a conversational but still very clear and articulate way is so good, and your use of IRL footage really helps us feel like we're there with you.
I think there is an additional aspect to Tom's character : as a very practical plot device. Yes, his chapter with the hobbits has an air of deep unreality and even whimsy that's tonally way out of sorts with the slow-burning fuse of dread present throughout The Fellowship of The Ring. However, later in the Council of Elrond, Gandalf and Elrond very logically and matter-of-factly debate the pros and cons of giving The Ring to Tom. They come to a clear and blunt conclusion it would be a bad plan. To me, this is Tolkien spelling out to readers that - despite the vast complexity of Middle Earth and the awesome supernatural powers of some of its inhabitants - there simply is no 'deus ex machina' available that can neatly dispose of The Ring. Instead, the only viable path forward is one of immense risks, tragic losses and highly uncertain reward. By taking the time and patience to flesh out such a potential 'deus ex machina' earlier in the story (and paying a price in terms of breaking the narrative and tone of the story), Tolkien's subsequent dismissal of this potential plot outcome is all the more real and jarring to readers. Very few writers would take such a storytelling gamble - but that's why he's JRR Tolkien.
The point is made that to Bombadil the Ring was irrelevant; his magic isn't connected with that wielded by the forces of light and darkness, his is the force of nature itself, without ego.
The central motif of the Lord of the Rings is that "some weapons CANNOT be used for any cause". The act of using them destroys the cause itself. Tom IS nature. The One Ring is quite literally useless to him; Nature needs no weapons. Tom is just as likely to leave the Ring somewhere as he is to place it on his Wife's finger. I respectfully also suggest that Part Time Hobbit is quite wrong about Tolkien's view on nature; He spent a lot of time in rural Birmingham ensconced in nature and ever fearful of the damaging effects of industrialisation - another fairly central theme to LotR. To claim that nature was as alien as outer space to Tolkien is preposterous! Sincerely - A Full Time Hobbit. (An Englishman and a Worcestershire man)
I believe he is somewhat of a self-insert. But it's also an important step in the hero's journey. It is a moment of peace and refection before the main struggle, allowing the heroes time to rest, to realise what it is they are fighting for, and to gather the resolve and fortitude to go forth. He literally arms them with the weapons they'll need to succeed.
I liked Tom's appearance because it makes their experience closer to real life in that something appearing in your world is not always necessarily part of the immediate narrative. Whatever the story is, there are things outside it.
I liked that idea more when it was Glorfindel or Beregond and his son who were brought in shortly just to serve the small, but incredibly important role of humanising the world. They also fit better in the pacing. At the point Tom is introduced, there's so much stuff going in and so much momentum starting to build that just hammering the brakes for 3 chapters only gives me narrative whiplash. We also don't need something like this yet, because we've already at this point met a lot of characters that serve functionally no purpose. Characters like the Gaffer, Sandyman the miller and farmer Maggot aren't exactly brought into the story because they're integral to destroying the ring, but their inclusion flowed much better than Tom did.
@@plebisMaximus There is that, but somehow, it just made the thing seem more real. Not everything you run into has a point. At least, not that you can see immediately.
Tom Bombadil makes me think of an all-knowing nature spirit. He reminds me of a Green Man of sorts. To me Tom Bombadil symbolizes the natural world and English countryside of old that Tolkien wrote about so beautifully in the Lord of the Rings. Both him and Goldberry are unchanging natural forces in a world that Tolkien saw changing rapidly after the horrors of World War Two. He is a force uncorrupted by greed and hate. He is a force that in unexplainable, above good and evil. When I feel sad I like to imagine myself as a tiny hobbit in Tom Bomadil's house learning about the lore of the world and eating delicious dinner with small forest animals -- my cottage core dreams.
I was coming to say something similar. He is nature and isn't bothered with humans or elves or their Gods. Not that he is bad in anyway. He's just so big and primal that humans are insignificant. He couldn't even benefit from the ring because he doesn't want anything. He just is.
There's another video where someone observed, and I quote: --- In LOTR universe there are 5 kinds of people : No powers, hero powers, magic powers, overpowered and hilariously godly overpowered. And then... there's Tom bombadil, who could have just simply walked/danced into mordor, punch sauron in the face, kick melkor in the nuts and be back before lunch time all while wearing the ring as a piercing on his dick. If only he gave a fuck.
Tom Bombadil is a truly ancient being who pre-dates most of the major events that occurred in Middle Earth; I place his coming roughly contemporaneous with the earliest accounts of Keith Richards.
When Tom says that he's the oldest, I think it was a meta comment from Tolkien about how he's his oldest writing creation. So in a way, Tom is like Gopher from Winnie the Pooh. He's an interloper from outside the story.
I read the Fellowship in 1965 when I was in School in New Mexico. I thought Gandalf was weary, tired of fighting and struggling. When, at the end of the Return of the King he told his hobbit friend he was going to have a long talk with Tom Bombadill, I was happy for him to be able to set his toils to the side and sit with someone who didn’t see him as a force of nature but a person who had carried a great weight for a long time.
I think Tom does two other things that many overlook. First he introduces the Hobbits and the reader for the first time to the truth that as big as their struggle seems, as powerful as the elves and men and wizards and dragons and black riders and even Sauron seem, the world holds greater wonders. This is both the simple truth that you mention briefly, about nature and the world itself being bigger than the wars of Middle Earth, and also the grand truth that Tolkien's fantasy world is one of gods and eternal powers that are well beyond the comprehension of most involved in this story. While we can also read the appendices and the Silmarilion, in the course of the story, Tom is the introduction to all of this. Tom is also Tolkien breaking the fourth wall and reaching into the story to remind a young reader that the terrors of this story don't signify worrying over. He is the grandfather in the Princess Bride stopping mid sentence to say that Buttercup won't be eaten by eels. He is that moment when you are telling ghost stories around a fire that you step back and make a joke to break the tension. It drives me crazy when people categorize Tom as extraneous or unimportant to the story. This role is crucial.
JRR said that he is not Tom. But JRR also spoke as if he did not make up the story, he is just telling it. Maybe JRR is Tom and just does not know that himself? It is a divinely revealed mythology. That is the gift of the story, to me, and I love it. It gives me solace in this world and it does not need to be the same to anyone else. Thank you, God. I am Tom. My life is better with that. I am at peace. May you also be.
I read the book to my kids when they were young and the movies came out later and the first thing my kids asked after seeing the movie was "Where was Tom Bombadil?" and for years until they were much older they didn't like the movie because Tom wasn't in it. They like it now that they are grown but they still vastly prefer the books as there is too much missing from the movies for their taste, especially Tom Bombadil. Because, he was hands down their favorite part of the book when I first read it to them.
I love toms character in the story. He adds a sense of whimsey to a dark backdrop. He's also a benchmark for the power of absolute good. And, he gives alot of hints towards the nature and power of the ring.
I have walked to South America, with no money (before personal phones) and I did not speak Spanish. I have experimented with "no care for the 'morrow". I have trusted only the smiling approval of my guardian angels (who only approve of 'absolute good") and accepted that I will not die unless to die, at that moment, were a good thing. I have been rescued by intervention so many times that it is impossible for me to feel alone. Have fun. Make good stories for the after-death party.
This is cool for me to hear. Thank you. A long time ago, my wife read, and I recorded, the entire Lord of the Rings out loud. She went into a kind of trance state (for real) and didn't even realize how she had assigned a different accent and voice to every character. She somehow kept them all straight. She also sang all the songs, and did a pretty good job with Elvish even! She never understood how she did it. She now lives in an adult family home with advanced dementia. I wish I had a place to share those recordings. I think people would enjoy them. I tried uploading them to YT but they killed my channel for it. Before they killed the channel, teachers were sending their students to listen along as they read the book. So sweet.
I read The Fellowship of the Ring a long time ago when I was about 12 or 13 years old. Tom Bombadil immediately reminded me of the old "Rübezahl" tales from germany, of which a wide variety exist. "Rübezahl" is also present in Poland and Czech, probably even further than just that. He takes on various forms in a plethora of legends and tales and is mostly neither malevolent nor benevolent - he's just an entity older than the mountains. Sounds familiar?
Absolutely. Tolkien drew massively from european folk law. He never made any bones about that and I don't think he claimed that there was any novely in his characters/races/wizards etc - his genius was in the plot the cultural backgrounds and the languages.
For me the best part of LotR is the Hobbits adventure prior to them arriving at Bree when they are travelling on their own and of course Tom Bombadil is a major part of this story. It is understandable how he was omitted from the movies but the books give so much more depth to the story.
wow! what a wonderful video that was. thank you! as a huge tolkien fan since I touched his work for the first time I must say: you capture the essence of his created universe so perfectly in my opinion. your voice that almost sounds like music in my ears, calm beautiful and deep mixed with a setting in nature that is magical and peaceful... it really reminded me of tolkien's world and why I fell in love with it. I applaud to you. thank you again! I know where to go now when I want to consume some high quality youtube content :)
In my opinion, Tom's role in the story is to teach the hobbits, and especially Frodo, that with proper discernment they can trust non-hobbits to have the morals and character to do the right thing. It helped set the stage for meeting and trusting Aragorn in Bree.
This is a good take. Also I think it plays well in showing how unique hobbits are on there ability to rest and find joy in any opportunity to do so, drinking in the moments as they come. Its hard to imagine any other race of middle earth finding the same rest and carefree moments in the house of Tom. Habits truly are amazing creatures.
but Tom does not seem to have universal ideas - he seems nice and protective but very whimsical. Aragorn looks very different to Tom. Frodo already trusts elves and Gandalf; and has Bilbo's stories
Tom's role in the story will in most cases just bring up more questions and confusion, especially when adapting the story to the TV screen. You could argue it teaches the hobbits to trust the goodness in others, but I would argue this doesn't really work when Tom is such a strange enigma far detached from any othet character in the story. Tom isn't a good representation of others, only Tom is like Tom. He also doesn't really do the "right thing", he is carefree and unaffected by the rings power, but he is also established as very naive and unconcerned about anything going on in the world outside of his bubble. With no sense of duty, responsibility or purpose
@@merlith4650 Tolkien didn't write with any consideration for translation to other media. Tom was also the entryway into the unexplained/unknown parts of Middle Earth.
Originally I was really disappointed that he wasn’t included in the movies, but with more consideration I’m glad they didn’t. I think for a screen adaptation they would have needed to make a decision as to how he should be interpreted, which would have killed the magic of his character. He was always my favorite and I love that he remains an enigma.
I was the same way. After I thought about it Tom really didn't have much of anything to do with the story. Of course, he did save the Hobbits from the Wrights and the old tree.
Reading takes far longer than watching, having another horror and unexpected rescue, followed by a safe break adds to the possibilities in the world. A film, even a long one has to focus and cannot afford what is essentially a digression. They do use Willow to introduce Trebeard, the Ents are similarly ancient powers but inactive.
I wanted him cut and was glad they did it. I love The Eldest, but he doesn't advance the narrative at all, he's super confusing and mysterious, and nothing, from his look to his dialogue, translates well to film. Not to mention at this point they are just beginning to build up the power and lure of the Ring. Having Tom just casually dismiss it would destroy that.... and rather than listening to morons say "WhY dIdN't ThEy JuSt FlY tHeRe On ThE eAgLeS!" we'd also have to hear the same idiots asking "Why not just give it to that forest pimp dude from earlier?"
@@logisticsnerd9699 I think unfaithful is the wrong word. They aren't perfect duplicates of the books, no movie ever is, but they are relatively accurate, and I think capture the spirit of Tolkien's world perfectly.
It's incredible. I have been part of this fandom for so long, and I clicked on this video expecting to hear the same old things I've heard and read countless times. I am so pleasently surprised. Your view on it was interesting and your way of expressing it was so passionate and natural. You made me wanna read the books again. Thank you. I have just subscribed and cannot wait to see more content from you.
One of the things I found really funny about Tom Bombidil was that at the Council of Elrond, Elrond put forth the idea that maybe Tom should take the ring, to which Gandalf quickly dismissed the idea. Because if they gave it to him, he likely would not understand the reason why, only to lose the ring or throw it away because things like that had no value or was of no interest to Tom. Truly in his own world, showing that he was outside the domain of right and wrong, good and evil, this side or that. He’s truly the embodiment of letting go of control and the desire for power. Pure indifference.
Tom reminds me that we must forget the ultimate Truth in order to make this imagined world something that we can get excited about. He is a reminder that we are just playing out our parts in a dream. In Reality, everything is perfectly alright. Play the game, have some fun, it's okay. There is really nothing in this world worth fighting about; but forgetting the Truth and playing our parts does serve some purpose that will remain a mystery, for now, so as not to ruin its purpose, whatever that is. I think that we are all so incompetent that we would hardly persist if not for constant, divine intervention; but most see that not and somehow think that we are oh so clever in our ignorance. There is a master of the terrarium.
I've always considered the character to represent how nature is neither good nor evil and is beyond the control of any power. I first read the books in the early 80s and I think your explanation is the most complete analysis I've come across. Well done!
At first I thought he was one of the wizards sent over along with Gandalf, the blue wizards, etc but years later after re-reading the story I came to the conclusion that he and Goldberry were like nature made manifest. Goldberry reminded me of a daughter of Gaia archtype and Tom the manifestation of the power of nature in a neutral way.
"Don't you know my name yet? That's the only answer." I love that line so much lol and it tells us that Tom truly is unique. He's not a nature spirit or a Maia or an elf or man, those races all have names... there is only one Tom, so his answer to "What are you?" is always Tom Bombadil.
Some scholars say that Tom Bombadil and Goldberry are "Maia gone native." That description may actually not be far from the truth. Maybe Bombadil and Goldberry took the Last Ship to the Undying Lands some time in the later Fourth Age?
@@Sacto1654 Maybe... I sort of doubt it though. Tom is the Master of his lands. For him to go to the Undying Lands, where either someone else is Master, or they'd clash.... doesn't seem right to me.
@@Sacto1654No, Tom was there even before the Valar came to Middle Earth, so he can't be a Maiar. As well another enigma character, Ungoliant, showed themselves to be powerful enough to nearly kill a Valar, Melkor, and shroud themselves from all the others. This is not something a Maiar could do. Gandalf, another Maiar, was scared to hold the ring, but Tom was unaffected by it.
tom bombadil is my favourite chracter in the whole of the lord of the rings. He is a lord of his realm, but does not seek control of the outside, he is unsolvable in a way and i think there should often be a chracter like that, enigmatic powerful but only in a specific way. having a fantasy world that is alien to us and then allowing a reader to see all of that worlds contents is uninteresting and doesn't allow the reader the space to fill the gaps with their own ideas. I love the moment when tom comes to rescue them from the wights. I think its deus ex machina but at its finest and most intriguing
Thanks for that, I'd forgotten that term 'deus ex machina', which is embarassing since I think I studied Euripides a long time ago. But thats exactly what I was thinking. I was working on a paper on the 'politics of literature' and thinking about the fact that in western literature, in fact MOST 'literature' we seem to only ever focus on ONE protagonist. I had heard two disparate things, one was from Bruce Lee who pointed out that films are fine but he said that its essentially impossible no matter how good a fighter to actually win against two opponets, let alone three. And yet how many movies are exactly that. So I was thinking, what if Frodo had told all the hobbits about the ring. They probably wouldn't have believed, but some would. So they made a plan to make a hundred rings that LOOK like the one ring. And a HUNDRED groups of four hobbits set out in every direction. What could nine riders do? Not a lot. Wars, as they say, are won by soldiers, not heroes, for lack of a better word. But in literature you have to focus on ONE protagonist. Therefore you HAVE to fill the story with these 'deus ex machina's' in order to show both how special the protagonist is, and that the outcome is plausible...usually by luck. Bombadil really only saves them from a tree, something anybody coudl have done. His 'purpose' is more to show the ring does not work on 'the world'. Its a made thing, not of the world, and so the world will always win out. Thats a theory I'm thinking of. That makes 'middle earth' the actual protagonist. The heroes who give themselves over to the earth 'win' in some sense, the sense being that the world goes on, even when they get multiple wounds. Thats why he's not only my favourite character, sort of liek Beorn in the Hobbit, but he's essential to the story.
I almost wonder if Tolkien himself is asking Tom who he is through the mouth of Frodo-he feels like one of those characters who makes his way into the story and has a will of his own regardless of the author’s plans.
@@FortescueGimlet My point exactly. You have none, I have none; you're opining the same as me, so piss off and quit acting like you actually possess knowledge.
Thank you. This is the best and most wonderful explanation of Tom I have seen in 42 years of being a Tolkien fan. He has always been one of my favorite characters and now I can enjoy him even more.
Something interesting to note - in The Two Towers Gandalf says very pointedly and multiple times that Treebeard, or Fangorn, is the oldest living being in Middle Earth. Tom also doesn't disappear when wearing the one ring, much like Sauron, which means we have to assume he also exists partially in the spirit realm. We can pretty confidently say that he is not a natural being of Middle Earth but that's about as much as we know for sure.
This is the first video I've seen on this channel but I love the energy of it so much and this was very informative given the mystery that is Tom. Look forward to seeing more.
You wouldn't get this from watching the movies, but Tom DID advance the plot a little. It was when Tom rescued the Hobbits from the Barrow Wights that they came by the swords they used for defense throughout the rest of the story. It was one of those swords that Merri used to make the Witch-King vulnerable to Eowyn's fatal blow.
There are a lot of interesting theories on who Tom is: spirit of nature, Eru Illúvatar, or even Tolkien himself. I've always liked the idea of Tom being the Song of Creation personified. He was before all things and understands creation because he was a part of it being made. Either way, its pretty dope that Tolkien left something that would never be fully explained.
My theory also hold to Tom being the Song of Creation, but, not so much personified, as a medium by which it can enter into the world... not a moving stone (which is action), but the gatherer of moss, through whom the theories take hold into the world, he consorts with Goldberry, who is the crystalized personification/avatar of life that's within nature, but himself, he is beyond time and even living... he understands creation not because he was part of it being made (though he was), but because understanding is his nature, he understands nature in thesame way fish understand swimming, in thesame way we breath... Aidh fa Vm'naes Mn'ningvlo!
The figure of Tom Bombadil, symbolically, may also take inspiration from the biblical figure of Melchezadek, King of Salem, from the Book of Genesis (IMO). Melchezadek is a foreshadowing of Jesus in the old testament. He is the only other figure that worships God at that time besides Abraham and his family. He is, in that sense, in perfect tune with nature, he's dialed in and one with its creator. Although appearing as a man, it would appear that Melchezadek has no beginning and no end. He just is, he's just there, just like Tom Bombadil is. And just like Tom Bombadil, Melchezadek points us to the source, the Living God who made heaven and earth. Because of the significant influence Christanity had on Tolkien and this saga, I wouldn't be shocked if the story of Melchezadek was in the back of his mind when he wrote this. I loved your video! Thank you for the wonderful production! God bless!!! 🙏☦️🕊
I think Tom symbolizes creativity, innocence, and tranquility. He is a being that chose to keep a hold of child like wonderment and innocence yet expresses it in a mature manner.
When asked why he had placed Bombadil in the Lord of the Rings, Tolkien responded that he was not sure (for many of the reasons you articulate RE pushing the story forward), but that he had felt compelled to include him in the Trilogy. Other Tolkien analysts have cast Bombadil as the spirit of nature, Eru Illúvatar, personification of the Song of Creation, Tolkien himself, etc. I found your approach compelling and refreshing (and so you got one of my rather rare subscriptions). The only thing I would add, is that I don't find Bombadil inconsistent with the comprehensive world Tolkien creates in his works of Middle Earth. At the same time as most of us are (like Gandalf) stones doomed to rolling, Bombadil is Tolkien's reminder that the world outside of our (puny) concerns is all around us and continues on (with or without us choosing to be aware of it.)
As a child, I used to find him a wistful & eternal wizard of sorts. As I grew older, I found him to be a wise sage within the whole story arc that seems part of the whole. These days...as I grew wiser & read more Tolkien works; I saw Tom Bombadil as a character within the story who was a personification of JRR Tolkien himself...as he wrote his story.🤔😎 Hardcore "Ringer" here🤓
I loved Tolkien's writing for that very reason. Not everything or everyone needs to have an ultimate purpose and sometimes a mystery give it long legs and eternal life for people to ponder about long after the author is gone. Tolkien's writing was like how his experiences were like in real life: You get separated in battle, where are your friends now? What are they feeling? And sometimes, some people you meet briefly in life, you never see them again. That's not bad writing, that's life. Tom is a mystery and I think that mystery give the book charm and realism rather than all the characters needing to be pieces that fit neatly into a final picture of a grand puzzle.
This! So different to cunningly contrived plots where every piece will come back in its appointed time. Tolkien's pieces have their own agendas which the reader may never know and half the time I don't think he did either. Unique work.
I think this is a major reason why Tolkien's world seems so real. It's vastly greater than the story that unfolds within it, with detailed lore, lands, creatures, languages and events existing outside of it.
The only part I found utterly annoying, is the damn talking fox, from the Fellowship of the ring. Only appeared once, and is completely unrelated to the rest of the story. Very out of place.
THIS is possibly the best, most illuminating exploration of any significant character in Tolkien's egendarium that I have yet found - congratulations, Jess!🙌🙏
Holy shit!!! 40 years reading Tolkien and I never even really noticed that!! In fact "Fog on the Barrow Downs" is one chapter that for some reason I blaze thru. I have no idea why, but I do. When I read the Hobbit as a kid in 5th grade, LotR in Jr. High, The Silmarillion in H.S. and then grabbed every single thing Christopher kept putting out year by year and all things Tolkien, I read the Big Three, Hob, Lord, Sil. Beginning on Thanksgiving and ending with Christmas every single year, for roughly 40 years. I saw your comment and it hit me. I speed read that chapter every single time!! Wow, WTH? heh. Take care friend.
I think Tom was a way for Tolkien to himself become part of his story. Tolkien's authorial position was deliberately not as a narrator but a reader, as the in-world premise was that other people in that world wrote the books and Tolkien just found and translated them. It's almost the opposite of the theory that Tom is Ilúvatar, the creator. Tolkien and Tom were not creators. They were merely observers of a world that existed in and of itself.
If someone ever asked Tolkien a question about Middle Earth that he hadn't written about yet, he wouldn't say anything like "I'll think about that" or "I'll come up with something." It was "I'll find out," as though it was a truth that already existed and was waiting for him to research it.
@@jameshill2450 thats part of the gimmick Tolkien used for the Legendarium. In the History of Middle Earth you can read the story of Eriol the Mariner, also called Aelfwine. He was a direct descendant of Earendil. In the 10th or 11th centuries (I forget which), he was allowed to travel the straight road to the Undying Lands and land on Tol Erresia. There the Elves told him tales and songs of the Elder days and the lost ages of the world. He came back and wrote all that down in old English. Eventually "Tolkien found it and translated it", which included among other things, The Red Book and other stuff".
toms more like being outside or parallel to iluvatar - outside of any creation or creations of iluvatar - outside of the story. what sauron does wont affect him and neither will what anyone else does.
Much as I enjoy Tom, I think leaving him out of the films was the right move, though more as a matter of tone than pacing. People have a hard enough time as is comprehending why the ring is scary, to the point some still think it just turns you invisible and doesn't give you supernatural charisma that makes you appear larger than life and could sway entire armies to your side. Imagine, the movie just spent almost an hour hyping up this evil scary ring, Gandalf telling Frodo to NEVER put it on, and within minutes of runtime they meet this old blue hippie who can see Frodo wearing the ring (something Gandalf told him NOT to do two scenes ago!) and even handle it himself without being corrupted. Any suspense the movie had successfully built up would dissolve in an instant. In a book or even a game, a character like Tom can more easily be used deepen the mystery of the world and inject some much-appreciated whimsy. In a movie that's already moving a mile a minute, he'd be a distraction. He'd sabotage the narrative by making Sauron and the ring seem like not such a big deal and confuse the hell out of newbies to Tolkien's world.
What a pleasant treat to run across your video tonight. It’s been over 40 years since my first encounter with Tom, as the hobbits seek refuge with him and Goldberry after their encounter with Old Man Willow, as they flee the Black Riders after leaving the Shire. I must have re-read those sections three or four times before proceeding with the story the first time through it. Of course Bombadil advances the LOTR plot. Beyond freeing them from the willow and the refuge he gives the hobbits from the Black Riders, he rescues them from the barrow-wight and gives Merry and Pippin the swords from the treasure hoard that they would carry into battle later In the story. Three times the story would have ended before it started without Tom’s intervention. He is dark, in his ancient and shape-shifty ways, but he is a classic “good” character in the story. Later, when we meet Radagast the Brown, for me it is Tom that helps me make sense of him, as they shared that deep connection to nature that makes me feel they are natural friends, made of a similar substance. A little long winded, but I was once a full time hobbit and you drew me in. Cheers!
The chapter about Tom Bombadil was a very welcome break in a plot of increasing tension. The feeling I got of peace, tranquility, and protection from harm in Tom's world I felt repeated in Rivendell, and in Lothlorien Forest. Tolkien gave us a world of ever increasing dread and doom, then would give his readers a break and a chance to catch a breath. The evil trees then Tom was not unlike losing Gandalf then entering Lothlorien. That take that "nature could never be controlled by anyone" is brilliant and something I didn't think about, but very true. The trenches of World War I decimated the French countryside, but the land lived on. Tolkien saw that decimation, and it's recovery. Amazing. I think Tom didn't solve the ring issue on his own is because he knew, whether Frodo or Sauron won, in the end (really big picture view), whatever happened, eventually things would return to how they were, just like the French countryside. It's the type of big picture view someone that has lived since the dawn of the world would take, and fits Tom perfectly.
Tom is an awesome character just because he is a rain of sunshine in an otherwise stressful part of the story - he gives the reader (and Frodo w/ squad) a much needed breather
This is by far the best interpretation of Tom I have heard. Others take it to literal, is Maiar etc.... You cut right through to the truth what Tolkien was saying with this character and why this odd adventure even exists within and outside of the narrative. Of all the explanations I've heard or read, this has been the best.
I love how relaxed you were, sitting out in nature, talking about Nature himself. There’s a certain peacefulness to it all. Thank you. I’ll keep coming back.
the fact that he was part of the storyline was enough like a meditation in some ways it acentuates the story by not rushing along with it and pulls us back like a rubber band flinging us back in with a rush toodles !
I like your take on Tom. It made him much more interesting :) When Tom says he was older than trees or rivers, older than elves or men,.. it could just have been Tolkien meaning to say that Tom already existed as a character before he started to create the world of Lord of the Rings. As if Tolkien himself was talking to his own characters in the hobbit world, a very personal touch. These hobbits could have been (in a way) the kids he was talking to when he created the story of Tom. I must say, it is an interesting way to approach a story as a writer and I like it!
You're interpretation gave me goose bumps and almost made me cry! Brilliant! Love it and the whole presentation! And I'm a 43 year old man running a business. Shows that Tolkien's genius is still relevant in this age!
My personal take on it is that he is probably Eru Ilúvatar living as a strange hermit. His disinterest in opposing Sauron is basically how he treated Morgoth each time he tried to disrupt the song, he doesn't confront and sees it as an integral part of the composition. The ring having no power over him also makes sense in that context, so is him being older than elves, or having a wife that's basically an embodiment of nature.
I’ve learned to love the Tom Bombadil chapters more and more over the years, but one thing I find most fascinating about him and his inclusion is the morality he represents. From all he’s shown, he very probably could have taken the ring to Mordor himself, singing all the way, and tossed it into Mount Doom without much trouble, but he doesn’t. People are fighting and dying to protect their homelands from evil, yet Tom is just chilling peacefully, staying out of trouble. From the perspective of some characters this could be seen as dishonorable, or even cowardly. But then there’s the opposite side of the debate, where Tom and his simple joys and love and care of nature could be the most virtuous traits one could aspire for. He’s his own personal paradise, in perfect harmony with his world, and as such has no place in trying to exert his will and dominion over others. And still yet, without those willing to sacrifice (ie Frodo and the rest of the cast), evil would have surely come to the Old Forest eventually. It’s a fascinating look on action vs inaction, peace and conflict, with no definitive right or wrong answer. But i think about it a lot each time
What you are saying goes with the medieval idea of society needing both the monk and the knight to uphold it (Yes, I realize that Tom is married, but I am talking about his function rather than the details of his life). A warrior protected society from the outside. The monk would pray and study and uphold society from within. But each needs the other. Notice how Tom helps the Hobbits several times; he uses his powers to rescue them from the tree and the barrow-wight and then arms them with weapons from the barrow.
I never considered that Tom would be able to trot up Mordor and flick the ring into the lava like he was flicking a coin into a fountain. That's an interesting thought 😂. I wonder what he would do up there if he ran into an orc? It was pretty desolate, so he wouldn't be able to make a tree branch fall on their head.
The reader is told that the ring is so irrelevant to Tom that he would make a hopeless keeper for it, so the idea of him being bothered to destroy it never arises - Tom is the Nature Spirit
"would he not take the ring and keep it there, forever harmless?" no said gandalf "not willingly he might do so if all the free folk of the world begged him but he would not understand the need and if he were given the ring he would soon forget it or most likely throw it away such things have no hold on his mind he would be a most unsafe guardian and that alone is answer enough"
Really enjoyed your narration and your take on Bombadil. I always enjoyed his character and wished they could have included him in Jackson's films, but understand why they didn't. Incidentally, you have a very nice, soothing voice, and fine singing abilities. I wish you much success.
I like the idea that Tom is the embodiment of nature. In Tolkien, as you note, nature does have its own kind of power. In The Hobbit, Smaug briefly considers plunging into the lake and raising a steam that will cover the land for a long time. The narrator notes, "But the Lake was mightier than he. It would quench him before he could pass through it." And of course the numerous times that nature almost killed off our good characters, lol. Very good video, Jess!
I think Tom is the story's connection to his children and the stories he told his children, in a sense the origin of it all. Being based on his child's favorite toy it reminds him of their early childhood and innocence in a time when the LOTR was exploding onto the literary scene and his kids were presumably already too grown for toys.
This is the best analysis of his thematic function in the story I've heard yet, and it gives a solid reason why he does contribute a lot to the story's themes, even if he isn't as plot important And I will say though i have no idea how to categorize bombadil within a hard worldvuilding framework in the context of LOTR fandom, I can give a good guess about what he seems to have been to Tolkien: a pre-existing but beloved OC, that was likely deeply meaningful to him (if only for his thematic elements) that he couldn't resist inserting into this more solidified and serious story. I write only for fun despite an English degree, but I've done more or less the same in stories with my characters. I have an enigmatic wood god that frequently appears in my stories, who is inspired by the god pan as depicted in wind in the willows mixed with my own experiences playing alone in the woods as a young child, and those who see him have a mystical experience and feel both fear and awe, and feel like a frightened animal and a sage seeing beyond the pale. And anytime this horned god can be slotted into my stories, a manifestation of him will inevitibly appear, simply bc he captures something about nature and life that I haven't been able to grapple with or represent as directly or meaningfully through any other means. I imagine Bombadil could be similar to Tolkien, and (barring all else) Tom being a part of the LOTR world takes him from being a whimsical figure that could exist anywhere and anywhen to being a mysterious but canonical part of LOTR lore, slotted vaguely into its history and world
Ah, someone else who sees The Piper at the Gates of Dawn in Bombadil's character! I see both as representing direct contact with The Mystery of life. Even the gods of Tolkien's world have a mechanistic, cause-and-effect existence, but Tom Bombadil simply *is*.
Tom's reaction to the ring always struck me as that of an adult when being presented with a silly little child's toy. Humoring, and perhaps even polite, but ultimately considering it of such little consequence that it would be forgotten within minutes. Funny enough, Gandalf said something similar later on in the book.
Great sources : ) Good take! I'm convinced Tolkien had Tom in mind for the LotR, and by the time he wrote them through Moria, he realized he had gone beyond the Faerie world of Tom, and that he left Tom in the story to make sure that we all know it's ultimately a faerie story. This helps the reader to know that the horrors in bree, Weathertop, Moria, Isengard, and Mordor, will ultimately end well. It keeps us from feeling those traumatic events too heavily, and always look ahead to a good ending. At least that's where I am with him : )
Wonderful exegesis! I believe an important key to understanding Bombadil can be found in JRRT’s allegorical autobiography, the short story Leaf by Niggle, about an obsessed painter: “There was one picture in particular which bothered him. It had begun with a leaf caught in the wind, and it became a tree; and the tree grew, sending out innumerable branches, and thrusting out the most fantastic roots. Strange birds came and settled on the twigs and had to be attended to. Then all round the Tree, and behind it, through the gaps in the leaves and boughs, a country began to open out; and there were glimpses of a forest marching over the land, and of mountains tipped with snow. Niggle lost interest in his other pictures; or else he took them and tacked them on to the edges of his great picture. Soon the canvas became so large that he had to get a ladder; and he ran up and down it, putting in a touch here, and rubbing out a patch there.” Bombadil is one of those other pictures tacked on to the giant canvas of Middle Earth.
Your perception of Tom Bombadil is so great! There are a lot of things I haven’t even thought of before, and I’ve thought and talked about Tom for a long time! Tom has fascinated me since I first read LotR. The more I read the passages in Fellowship, the more I think about him, the more I think about Tolkien’s views of the natural world- the more I realize how beautiful Tom Bombadil actually is. I was introduced to Taoism about a decade ago, and I see a lot of the same themes in LotR, especially when it comes to nature and the characters’ (and our) place in it. We are all part of a larger world, and Tom is the Master as Lao Tzu uses the term. The Ring has no hold over him because he is beyond good/ evil or dichotomous views. He just is. That is why I think the forest respects him. Tom is content with being in the low places that others disdain, much like water, yet his latent power is vast and unending. He flows with the “Tao” of Tolkien’s world - whatever that may be. He is the old, silly hermit that no one takes seriously until he shows his full potential, kind of like Yoda when Luke Skywalker first meets him. I think Tom is one of the best things about Lord of the Rings, and I’m so glad Tolkien decided to put him in the larger story. Thank you for making this video! I love these kind of deep conversations about things in our stories and myths that keep us thinking!
I was wondering if anybody here would make the same connection to the Tao with Tom. Nice points as well! He is the embodiment of a spirit that has existed before all else which is the Way. "In the beginning was the Tao. All things issue from it; all things return to it." Tom was a favourite character too. I read the LotR many times when I was younger before I knew of Taoism properly. I now find it the most compelling of all the philosophies I have explored. I have not read this book since but listening to this video it was clear that Tom is the Way.
The larger world-building aspects of The Lord of the Rings are part of what makes the work so special. The side trip with Tom Bombadil is one of my favorite sections in the series, in part because he contributes to the sense of an ancient and complex/unknowable world. I think it would be easier to have him in an animated version (old school, not digital animation) than in a live-action film because imagination has a freer hand in that context
Tom has always been such a fun character to theorize about, my personal theory is that he and his little realm were actually created by Eru Ilúvatar himself when Eru showed the Ainur how to make the music to create the world and living beings. Tom has traits of both Elves and Men so I believe the Ainur took inspiration from him when creating those two races. And for me it also explains as to why the ring had no effect on him (besides the ring being created by a clearly lesser being), or as to why he has so little interest in the happenings of the world, he simply wasn't really planned to be part of hit as he was not created alongside. And him saying that he was there before the first stone makes also sense here, if Eru first showed the Ainur how to create life by creating Tom, than he would have been there before the creation of Arda and thus be "the eldest".
The Ainur did not create elves and men. They were created directly by Iluvatar. The Dwarves were created by a member of the Ainur but Iluvatar did not allow them to "awaken" till the elves had.
@@michaelcooper5677 True, I've worded what I wanted to say it kinda badly. Because from what I remember Eru instructed the Ainur to create elves and men but they still helped to sing/play them into existence following Eru's lead (might be wrong on this one though). Either way my headcanon still works since Iluvatar did show them how to create the music before they all went on to create Arda and the races in it. It also works in the sense that if we consider Eru to be a kind of stand in for Tolkien himself that he would create Tom before anything else since in real life the character of Tom also existed before the rest of the legendarium. :)
I have enjoyed several of your videos, and read the hobbit in trilogy, at least three times. Perhaps I’ll do it again at this later stage of my life. But I was completely impressed with your section in this video on nature. I think I subconsciously shared some of those views, but to have you articulate them, so succinctly was profound. My admiration for you has grown. I used to take those books into the woods to have a good read. Thank you.
I liked him because he was a mystery that let us know that Middle Earth has more to it than the Hobbits know or can understand. I thought he was one of the earliest maiar who came to Arda and never went to Valinor. He wandered but found a place that would be perilous and became its guardian. Old man willow is dangerous, and even Goldberry would be dangerous without him. He set his borders and while he stays within them he is strong and the Master, and there he will stay to the end of Arda.
I always felt that Sauron's downfall began the moment Tom Bombadil handled the Ring, put it on, and did not vanish. At that moment, Sauron's doom was certain.
Yes and no. The whole thing is in Silmarilion. Song of Iluvatar. Details might have varied depending on choices by created beings. But the arc of the universe was the song
Actually as I see it Sauron's downfall and eventual doom started the moment he had the desire to control and dominate others when he could not even control himself. That was why he had already failed and lost the ring many generations before Good ol' Tom Bombadil even touched the ring.
Thank you! When I first read LotR (as a child) he was (and still is) my favorite character. You did an outstanding job (better than I) in explaining him (and his wife). Thank you again!😀
A lot criticisms of LOTR revolve around the idea of how black & white the narrative is, and in Tom there is a clear grey. Obviously he is anti-Sauron in a lot of ways, but he's also explicitly not a "Go be the Hero and remake the world" kind of person. He's an appreciater; of the world how it is and the joys to be found there. Which is very beautiful in it's own way. Also the dagger of westernesse which lead to the death of the Witch-King, coupled with the premonition-dreams of Frodo probably means he knew exactly what he was doing. Gandalf was having a hard time with him during the siege of Gondor and the Witch-King's death could arguably be the turning of of tide. It's good to have Nature on your side. So who knows!
I loved the character of Tom Bombadil. He does let us know that there is something beyond the powers that swirl around middle earth. And isn't there always something beyond our ken?
Agreed - the Green Man, and Puck, and Robin Goodfellow. Have you read Kipling's version, in Puck of Pook's Hill? It was written in 1906, and I'm certain Tolkien will have read it.
That’s the same conclusion my friend, Dr. Keith Mathison came to in his blog Light in Dark Places. Tom entered the world of Middle earth from outside it. (Mathison points out that Bombadil also embodied the characteristics of Francis of Assisi, whom Tolkien admired.) However, he did play one crucial role in LotR, which was to make it possible for Merry to acquire (unwittingly) the only weapon that could have defeated the Witch King. By omitting that plot point from the films, the undoing of the Witch King is left unexplained, and the themes of grace and providence are diminished.
He also taught the Hobbits 'the ways of trees, and the strange creatures of the forest' - important lore which connects with Merry and Pippin's later friendship with Treebeard.
@@anatomicallymodernhuman5175 Seriously? I literally spelled it out. Here: Jackson did not leave the death of the witch king unexplained at all. He says, “You fool! No man can kill me!” And Eowyn, being a woman, retorts “I am no man.” Then he dies. There’s even a nice closeup of Eowyn driving her sword between crown and shoulders. There is also zero mention of the blade of Westernesse. The implication is clear to everyone except you I guess.
This is unbelievably deep, but my sentiments are that you're right about nearly everything. I think that we are kindred spirits in that I've studied Jungian psychology and comparative mythology for the past 20 years. I got into Tolkien because of his depth of understanding in these realms. Tolkien doesn't seem to know everything about psychomythology, but he certainly has experienced the mythologies and philosophies of which he speaks, in a practical and very real sense. As expansive as my knowledge is, Tolkien makes me feel like an amateur theorist with no practical experience. He seems to have lived a full and complete life on his terms. I strongly feel he is the godfather of storytelling.
I always adored Tom Bombadil but I 100% agree with you that there was no space for him in the movie. We can always go back to the book and relive a few enchanted hours in his company ❤
@@no_activity let me be a little more explicit. Without Tom giving that sword to the unarmed hobbit, the Witch King, formerly the King of Angmar doesn't die, he conquers Gondor and the good guys lose the war, and Sauron wins. In other words, that single act enables the defeat of Sauron.
Could Tom B. simply be the embodiment of joy? In a world of constant decision making and good vs. evil, it seemed to me that Tom is joyous, not carefree, but without much worry. Simply living for the moment and enjoying life.
The story of the doll Bombadil played with by Tolkien's son is new to me. I used to tell stories to my kids before bedtime about a "Flying Frog" that was inane, courageous, silly, and always in the middle of things. The character became real to my kids and they are inserting him into stories for my grandchildren. What if Tom Bombadil doesn't fit into Tolkien's world at all? Perhaps he's just a "private joke," that only his children would understand. If I wrote an epic fantasy, I would insert a cameo appearance of Uchama Guchama Flying Frog - to the consternation of readers everywhere...
Thanks for this, Jess! I struggled with Tom Bombadil, and eventually decided that Tolkien had set out to write another "The Hobbit" - a series of little adventures, and that's the reason for Tom. Later he realized that he had something much bigger on his hands, but didn't want to take Tom out. Your take on the character is wonderful, and it's not too much to say you redeemed him for me.
I think that view is further borne out by the scene with the fox, who comes across Frodo, Pippin and Sam, sleeping under a tree. The brief glimpse into the internal, and very human, thoughts of the fox, is completely at odds with the writing style of the rest of the book. It seems a remnant of a more "Hobbit-like" style.
I think of Tom as the first of the Ainur, a spirit akin to Yavanna and Vána but created before them. In the first songs, he sang of this little bit of forest, and later incorporated the in the Great Music. When the formless world was created at the beginning of time, he entered that little spot and helped bring it into form. He loves his forest, it brings him delight, and he will never leave it.
The best "theory" I've heard is that Tom is basically the personification of Arda itself. He isn't really a man or an elf or a spirit or anything like that. And he certainly isn't Eru Illuvatar. He's tied to Arda from its beginning until its end. And like Arda, doesn't have ambitions or plans nor is he "good" or "evil" but simply exists.
I'm very lucky in that my Uncle is Tom Bombadil. When you spend time with him the stresses of the world cease to have meaning, time runs slow, and life is full of fun and whimsy.
I've just stumbled upon your work and I really like it a lot. I am in the middle of binge watching all your videos. I have been a fan of Tolkien's work since I first read The Hobbit as a young lad many decades ago. Take care and warmest regards from Canada.
Having a mystery like Bombadil helps with the longevity of the whole story, since curiosity is one of the engines of fiction. 500 years from now, when LOTR has become the prime myth of the English-speaking people, Tolkien scholars floating in their space universities will be holding class on Tom Bombadil.
I had always thought that Tom was a metaphor for the man-earth-nature connection that was perfectly in balance and incorruptible by the evil machinations of the power struggle that is endless. I thought that because he was totally unimpressed and uncorrupted by the ring. Tolkien showed us this glimpse of “the perfect existence” early in saga as a touchstone to the madness that was to transpire in future chapters and books. Despite the oncoming conflagration, Tom Bomadil would always exist above the madness. And after the conflict has been resolved, Gandalf would return to the “Source “ and recharge and re-align. At least, that’s what I thought. But, then, what do I know?
Thank you for this video - I have not yet read the books but I have seen the movies a few times and have played LOTRO for a few years. Your explanation hits the nail on the head for me and really clears up a bit of mysticism by, strangely enough, giving it more mystery. Tom is in the online game and honestly is really well done. Like you describe it's this wonderful separate world untouched by the rest. They seem to have captured all that you said - even while keeping the singing. I never fully understood it and have even heard others philosophize on how powerful Tom is and what kind of god-like-thing he may be. But the concept of nature - of being outside the rest of the world - really struck a cord. Nice job.
I like that you circled back to the ending where Gandalf talks of speaking with Bombadil, too few do, but I haven't ever heard anyone ever talk about his departure from the Hobbits and his return in their time of need, summoned and yet not summoned to drive away and destroy the wights in the barrows. Even as a representation of nature, a "moss gatherer," he is still an agent of change.
I imagine that Tolkien had an interesting character developed in Tom, and he wanted to find a way to utilize him, and to share him in a delightful way. In that, he succeeded!
I think so too, but I disagree. I think he just wanted his chill character in the book and retrofitted him in regardless of the cost to the story. Fellowship would have been better without him imo. However art is subjective and I'm glad some people enjoy Tom Bombadill
Lady, hello! First time here. Your video is awesome. You have a great way of presenting yourself in front of the camera and the content is awesome. Thanks for the video! ^_^
I like your take on Tolkien lore also being focused on themes and storytelling. A lot of “lore channels” for books, shows, video games, etc all focus entirely on the surface level details and ignore that these are stories that are designed to have allegory, subtext, and so on.
It’s worth mentioning that Tom isn’t completely separate from main narrative. Eowyn didn’t slay the witch-king by herself. He was first stabbed by Merry with a knife crafted years before specifically to break the witch-kings evil spells. That knife was taken from the barrow and given to Merry by Tom.
Wasn't he mentioned too in the Council of Elrond, briefly as an option to keep the ring safe, and idea that was immediately discarded because Tom would be just as likely to lose track of it, as he would to keep it safe.
Indeed. Seeing Tom reduced to Aragorn saying "Here are these knives" at Weathertop was disappointing
@@zamdristTom is the only living being on which the ring has no power, so he would forget it and loose it.
Yes, that is completely true, not Tom, no slain wraith. Because it was said he could not be killed by man and neither Merry nor Eowyn was a " man"..
I always loved how Tolkien just had these little things that became big things later.
Exactly, when she said Tom doesn't advance the narrative I wondered what book she read. 3 things came to my mind almost instantly.
I like how when Tolkien gets asked questions about his work, he always answers as if he had not written them himself but rather as if he was telling us about a story he has heard at a point
Yeah it’s called The Holy Bible, many of Tolkien’s writings are influenced by The Holy Bible and even other writings like Homers Iliad, The Odyssey, or even Viking Norse mythologies. Tolkien was a Christian so it’s no surprise that you see themes of faith, friendship, loyalty, perseverance, and self sacrifice in a world of his own creation.
@@OddRob92 Not one single human ever thought of these types of things before someone invented religion. :D
Yes. Tolkien , when responding to letters speaks to the people like he is pondering on the same questions he is asked about. Like a man wondering about a true history. He invites you in and speaks as if he is right there with you posing guesses and trying to find a real truth or history. He NEVER is "the professor " with fans. He is one of the fans. As far as Bombadil, I think I know exactly what is going on. I will never know if I am right, or if there even IS a right or wrong to it. Iarwain Ben-adair, (sp?) Eldest and fatherless, is his name to the Elves. He is a being that the oldest Elves have known from their own awakening under the stars in Lake Cuivienen, in the age of The Lamps. He holds a Power my brother. What that power is , I think was great at one time. By the Third Age it has removed from all else save his tiny nook of the world by the Old Forest, and he will not pass that border willingly. He has turned his back on the wide world.
@@OddRob92 If Tom Bombadil is connected to the bible he could be the god that created the first things and then stepped back. So he is or was immensely powerful, but nowadays he gave up, doesn't use or lost his power. Instead he is stil around to observe and live with his creation.
@@Mike1Lawless Can you prove your claim? Show me the proof.
The first time I read the part where Gandalf says he is going to have a talk with Bombadil like he's never had in his time it really filled me with joy and I cried some happy tears. The fact that Gandalf has such simple plans after their victory over Sauron and just intends to go have a chat with a character I had almost forgotten about after the epic tale that unfolded after the Hobbits left the Old Forest, somehow really tickled me and is to this day (about 20 years later) still one of my favorite parts of the books.
That made you cry, jesus
@@dain6492 yeah? Couple of tears of joy? So?
I agree with you, it's a great moment. After all that happened, a well deserved rest.
@@dain6492I hate how some people get joy from diminishing other peoples feelings. There must be something ugly inside them. My hope is that they will find the reason and become better persons one day.
@@lillia5333 I had the same feeling. “Now that all this war nonsense is over, we can get back to things that really matter”. Glad someone else feels the same!
Tolkien described Tom Bombadil as a “comment”, I think with him being a soldier in the war, I think the comment he was trying to make with Tom was that even in times of war, evil and sin, it is possible to remain undefiled and pure. I think that Tom was such a majorly important character for Tolkien personally, because he represented who he hoped to be in a world that didn’t make sense to him. I think he would have been very upset that he was left out of the films, as the “comment” he wanted to make with Tom was so important to his whole world view, and for him personally such an important character to the story, as he represented hope in times of extreme darkness.
This is closer than anything else I've heard proposed. Great insight. It's like Tolkien's ideals built into the story, but with that hint of regret hanging over everything he wrote, that things just aren't at the happy ending yet and won't be for a long time. But let's pretend they are, in a small way, for a little while.
Can you imagine how that master of unsubtlety Peter Jackson would have loused that up?
@seanrcollier
You know, Jackson's LOTR adaptations have major faults to be sure, and his Hobbit adaptations are utter garbage.
But, there is no denying that he brought more people to recognize Tolkien and respect Tolkien's stories than anyone else other than Tolkien. AND he also created the LOTR movies out of love for Tolkien and did his very best to respect the stories. A far better effort than anyone else had ever even attempted prior.
Contrast that to what Amazon has done.
@@jeremiah6462 Definitely all good points. I'm still going to criticize him from a place of preening moral superiority.
@@seanrcollier
🤣 🤣 🤣 🤣
With the Soldier Tolkien in mind, Tom Bombadil is that bizarre, brief, Christmas ceasefire between the trenches.
War is Hell, but here's just one brief shining shining moment of respite and frivolity to remind everyone of their humanity and to give them a reason to carry on in the face of the atrocities of the Great War, the War to End All Wars...
I have always loved the fact that Tolkien seemed not to know a lot of what happened in Middle Earth; almost like it was a history he had studied extensively, rather than a story he had created.
@@stephenlaing2152 My comment said that he created the story, not that he invented everything himself.
Deliberately done for effect. His middle-earth has misty borders that fade out, hinting at unknown lands beyond. He constantly hints at and lets us glimpse things we barely understand or know little of to create the impression of vast spaces and deep histories.
Outside of the Lord of the Rings and the Silmarillion he left a large number of other essays and stories concerning middle-earth (all of which are in the History of Middle-Earth books), often in different modes of poetry or prose, some fully worked out and others incomplete or just snippets; and he did so consciously to mirror the way the literature of old lost cultures, like anglo-saxon or old Norse, has been lost and/or preserved in real life i.e. tantalising fragments that give us part of a lost whole, or works that regularly reference others that no longer exist.
As a matter of fact that's not far off from what really happened. That is, Tolkien spent a good deal of time writing the "bible" for Middle Earth before writing the stories themselves. Much of this has been published posthumously by his son. Anyway, it makes for a very detailed world that almost seems real. He even created the full elven language: He was a linguist by trade after all, and there are actually people in the world who can speak it fluently.
@@stephenlaing2152ost of the spiritual and theological framework of Tolkien comes from his very own Christian faith. It has mythological and Norse pagan tropes but bent toward a Christian world view.
Tom Bombadil, Ungoliant, the Nameless things where all created by Eru the one and only God of Tolkien’s Legendarium.
That is they aren’t just random spirits that came into being but where deliberately created by Eru.
@@stephenlaing2152 and let's not forget his best friend, C.S Lewis, who provided an enthusiastic encouragement, as well as many, many conversations about mythology, theology, and philosophy.
I first read of Tom in the early 70s. At the time I was suffering from a traumatic brain injury (and still do). Tom embodied the peace that I didn’t have in life. I wanted so, so much to emulate him, if not be him. The thought of the peace embodied by Tom in his realm still brings tears to my eyes. God bless you Tom Bombadil.
I like that. It’s almost like he’s a still pool, a little bit of peace amongst the chaos.
Just a kind wish for you. I suffered a TBI (serious brain tumor and surgery) a few years ago, and will never fully recover. One doctor reassured me that "You have tremendous cognitive reserve." At which point my niece, serving as recorder and explainer of the appointment, leaned over and said "That means you're really smart." Not a day goes by a don't thank my love of reading for that cognitive reserve! Sending you continued healing and peace.
@@JulieAiken and JD80 To both of you, I wonder if you’ve explored homeopathy for help healing!? Please, it would be worth going to an experienced classical homeopath for help. I’ve seen it work well with these injuries.
My very best to you both!
@@louisegogel7973 Thanks - I’ll look into it!
With Tolkien being a solider in the Great War, and him describing Tom Bombadil as a “comment” in one of his letters, I think your description is almost certainly the closest to Tolkiens true meaning of Tom Bombadil. I think Tom is the embodiment of peace in a world consumed with war, aggression and sin. I think Toms inclusion was Tolkien’s way of showing that even in the darkest of times it is possible to remain pure and undefined.
It's cool listening to you sing the tom bombadil song because I feel like everyone has a different version of it in their head.
I'm thinkin' his voice would be a bit deeper.
@@yourhandlehere1, yes, Tom's voice would've been a nice earthy baritone or bass.
@@rksnj6797 according to..?
Joe, if u r indeed german, there is a rly awesome audioplay (hörspiel), produced by the WDR, in 1992
Top voice actors, top sound design...
And top pick for Tom. A deep, warm, and cozy voice. like a chubby monk...somehow...
The part where he scolds the willow is just perfect.
And of course...
"Heh, Tom Bombadil,
Tom Bombadonne...
Hör den Ruf, eile her,
bei Feuer, Mond und Sonne,
Komm, bei Wasser, Wald und Flur.
Steh uns nun zur Seite.
Komm bei Weide, Schilf und Ried,
aus der Not uns leite!" *-*
I love Tom Bombadil and I struggle to know exactly why
that was so sweetly sung by you, absolutely marvellous!
That is because her real name is Jess Bombadil.
In my head-canon, I think Tom’s constant singing is a huge clue as to what he really is. In the Silmarillion, Iluvatar created the world through the Ainur’s singing. I believe Tom is a kind of rogue good Ainu spirit, much in the same way that Ungoliant is a mysterious rogue Ainu bad spirit. Both Tom and Ungoliant are unexplainable entities in Arda. While Ungoliant is terrifying, repulsive and aggressive, Tom is incredibly warm, inviting, loving and protective. Both Tom and Ungoliant were Ainu spirits who simply did not fall in with the regular order, and both became powerful, unique entities in Arda.
Bombadil has irritated me for more than 45 years with his pointlessness. People's theories about him are always wrong, and along comes you......and you have actually solved it.
Your theory makes complete sense of a character that made no sense at all. I would buy you a coffee for that, and I tip my hat to you.
Enjoy the day!
@@DanBeech-ht7sw The singing is the key! When I first read LOTR, Tom was my least favorite part. I thought his whole sequence was stupid. But then after reading The Silmarillion and studying it at length, I then read LOTR again and when I got to Tom, I noticed it right away. The guy just sings all the time. I mean, it’s just obvious that he really enjoys singing…. a lot! What else could he be? I’m sure of it-he’s a purely good-natured Ainu who loved to sing and he just never stopped.
@@WarHam.Saltsmoke I never made the connection until you pointed it out. It amuses me that of course, Tolkien didn't know.
Well done for developing an original, plausible theory that makes perfect sense of a random character that otherwise is just an annoyance.
I’ve heard the theory, and it’s my current head canon, that Tom is Eru Iluvatar himself. This relates to the singing but also Tom being a being of neutrality. The creator is not good or evil but “he is.” This is also my interpretation of the “don’t you know my name yet?” Line: Tom has many names and so is surprised that the hobbits do not know him.
@@paulfenton5673 "I'm no weather master, nor is aught that goes on two legs" - that would be a strange remark for Illuvatar to make.
And "But he cannot alter the Ring itself, nor break its power over others."
Can't see it myself.
That singing had me shook. Wasn't expecting that much talent in a casual LOTR discussion. Great analysis and beautiful voice!
This video came up as a suggestion. I figured I’d give it a watch.
That singing has me subscribed. I was very pleasantly surprised.
Somewhere I recall Tom explaining that Frodo cannot become invisible to him using The Ring because The Ring has no power over him (Tom). This helped me understand that not seeing Frodo might be a command from The Ring, rather than a change to Frodo. This video made me ponder whether _all_ of The Ring's power stems from everyone's (except Tom) desire for power.
That comment about Bombadil and the ring being irrelevant to him comes from Gandalf during the Council of Elrond chapter, when the question is raised whether they could give it to Bombadil. :)
I like that idea. It darkens the whole narrative even more.
In Tolkien's world age was power. That fact-oid was put in to demonstrate T.B.'s deep history and disconnection from the issues even of the pretty damn ancient Sindar (Elves).
The ring is able to put the wearer into the “wraith world”, or into the “unseen”. Things in the Unseen world are visible to others in the Unseen.…
That’s why the ring wraiths can see Frodo when he puts in the ring, and Frodo can see them clearly (instead of just that showy figure that they appear to be in the Seen world).
It seems more like Tom is in both the Seen and Unseen worlds at the same time? or he can clearly see both… ? or who knows… maybe he exists outside of both of them but projects himself? He just, IS
I think Tom might be an unnamed Maiar or one of the unrecognized/lost blue Istari.
I love, love, love Tom Bombadil and Goldberry, and I love the inclusion of the side story. These days editors would 💯 insist on excising Tom. I really enjoy him for the reasons you mention, and for the sheer comfort I get knowing the hobbits have been saved from Old Man Willow and the barrow-wights, which is a pretty intense experience for them so early in their adventure.
That comfort extends to knowing that they are *completely* safe from the Nazgûl, and probably everything else in the world. It’s an interlude of peace and safety I can’t find adequate words for. It’s like them arriving at Imladris and totally chilling out (well, maybe not totally), knowing they are safe with Elrond.
These reprieves allow the reader to relax and reflect, a kind of pause in the action that seems verboten in our age of constant busyness and being thralls to our phones. I dislike the present world…which is why I think I love carefree, grandfatherly Tom so much. I hate when they have to leave. Thanks for another very literate, bang-on video and despite the creepy crawlies I enjoyed the dappled outdoor setting.
Yeah, my reread is really making me think about how publication standards have changed so much that really great older books wouldn't have been published now, or would have been missing beautiful and meaningful passages. It's a shame
Some of the history of Tom Bombadil, as you recount it, shows a subtle humour on Tolkien's part. Tom is not just "oldest" within the world of LOTR, but actually within the personal sphere of Tolkien's creativity. He's one of Tolkien's own oldest creations. The suggestion that Tom is a counter to the broader "good vs. evil" narrative in LOTR and represents a form of nature that does not recognize human constructions of value also seems very well taken.
Not, however, as old as (some of) the tales which would become the Silmarillion proper: those go back to his illness during his service in WWI, when he wrote the first version of (at least) "The Fall of Gondolin;" long before the Dutch doll entered the Tolkien household -- before, indeed, the children were born -- the "Book of Lost Tales," as it was originally called, was very much a thing in its own right.
Perhaps one day all of us will be so blessed as to move beyond the duality to that view of his as well. Maybe then peace will be.
This channel is such a breath of fresh air in the field of Tolkien analysis. Not to put the others down, but they way you speak in such a conversational but still very clear and articulate way is so good, and your use of IRL footage really helps us feel like we're there with you.
I think there is an additional aspect to Tom's character : as a very practical plot device.
Yes, his chapter with the hobbits has an air of deep unreality and even whimsy that's tonally way out of sorts with the slow-burning fuse of dread present throughout The Fellowship of The Ring. However, later in the Council of Elrond, Gandalf and Elrond very logically and matter-of-factly debate the pros and cons of giving The Ring to Tom. They come to a clear and blunt conclusion it would be a bad plan. To me, this is Tolkien spelling out to readers that - despite the vast complexity of Middle Earth and the awesome supernatural powers of some of its inhabitants - there simply is no 'deus ex machina' available that can neatly dispose of The Ring. Instead, the only viable path forward is one of immense risks, tragic losses and highly uncertain reward. By taking the time and patience to flesh out such a potential 'deus ex machina' earlier in the story (and paying a price in terms of breaking the narrative and tone of the story), Tolkien's subsequent dismissal of this potential plot outcome is all the more real and jarring to readers. Very few writers would take such a storytelling gamble - but that's why he's JRR Tolkien.
Wow, this is a fantastic point! I hadn't thought of that, thanks so much for sharing.
The point is made that to Bombadil the Ring was irrelevant; his magic isn't connected with that wielded by the forces of light and darkness, his is the force of nature itself, without ego.
The central motif of the Lord of the Rings is that "some weapons CANNOT be used for any cause". The act of using them destroys the cause itself.
Tom IS nature. The One Ring is quite literally useless to him; Nature needs no weapons. Tom is just as likely to leave the Ring somewhere as he is to place it on his Wife's finger.
I respectfully also suggest that Part Time Hobbit is quite wrong about Tolkien's view on nature; He spent a lot of time in rural Birmingham ensconced in nature and ever fearful of the damaging effects of industrialisation - another fairly central theme to LotR. To claim that nature was as alien as outer space to Tolkien is preposterous!
Sincerely - A Full Time Hobbit.
(An Englishman and a Worcestershire man)
I believe he is somewhat of a self-insert. But it's also an important step in the hero's journey. It is a moment of peace and refection before the main struggle, allowing the heroes time to rest, to realise what it is they are fighting for, and to gather the resolve and fortitude to go forth. He literally arms them with the weapons they'll need to succeed.
...and then the birds came.
I liked Tom's appearance because it makes their experience closer to real life in that something appearing in your world is not always necessarily part of the immediate narrative. Whatever the story is, there are things outside it.
I liked that idea more when it was Glorfindel or Beregond and his son who were brought in shortly just to serve the small, but incredibly important role of humanising the world. They also fit better in the pacing. At the point Tom is introduced, there's so much stuff going in and so much momentum starting to build that just hammering the brakes for 3 chapters only gives me narrative whiplash. We also don't need something like this yet, because we've already at this point met a lot of characters that serve functionally no purpose. Characters like the Gaffer, Sandyman the miller and farmer Maggot aren't exactly brought into the story because they're integral to destroying the ring, but their inclusion flowed much better than Tom did.
@@plebisMaximus There is that, but somehow, it just made the thing seem more real. Not everything you run into has a point. At least, not that you can see immediately.
Tom Bombadil makes me think of an all-knowing nature spirit. He reminds me of a Green Man of sorts. To me Tom Bombadil symbolizes the natural world and English countryside of old that Tolkien wrote about so beautifully in the Lord of the Rings. Both him and Goldberry are unchanging natural forces in a world that Tolkien saw changing rapidly after the horrors of World War Two. He is a force uncorrupted by greed and hate. He is a force that in unexplainable, above good and evil. When I feel sad I like to imagine myself as a tiny hobbit in Tom Bomadil's house learning about the lore of the world and eating delicious dinner with small forest animals -- my cottage core dreams.
I think that's definitely an aspect of the character! Tolkien loved the natural world so much.
I was coming to say something similar. He is nature and isn't bothered with humans or elves or their Gods. Not that he is bad in anyway. He's just so big and primal that humans are insignificant. He couldn't even benefit from the ring because he doesn't want anything. He just is.
There's another video where someone observed, and I quote:
---
In LOTR universe there are 5 kinds of people : No powers, hero powers, magic powers, overpowered and hilariously godly overpowered.
And then... there's Tom bombadil, who could have just simply walked/danced into mordor, punch sauron in the face, kick melkor in the nuts and be back before lunch time all while wearing the ring as a piercing on his dick.
If only he gave a fuck.
@@kingbeauregard Hah hah, that is brilliant!
Tolkien was a heathen at heart.
Tom Bombadil is a truly ancient being who pre-dates most of the major events that occurred in Middle Earth; I place his coming roughly contemporaneous with the earliest accounts of Keith Richards.
Surely not that ancient!
The Worlds Most Elegantly Wasted Man.
They don't make 'em . . . . . . . . .
In the beginning there was Tom Bombadil, Keith Richards and Jesse Ventura.
Or Joe Biden.
Brilliant Bastard
When Tom says that he's the oldest, I think it was a meta comment from Tolkien about how he's his oldest writing creation. So in a way, Tom is like Gopher from Winnie the Pooh. He's an interloper from outside the story.
Puck of Pooks Hill (Kipling) has a lot in common. I'm sure Tolkien had read this, and Rewards and Fairies.
I think the sun in your face for this video about Tom just made it even better, it’s like the spirit of Tom was there! 😂❤
I read the Fellowship in 1965 when I was in School in New Mexico. I thought Gandalf was weary, tired of fighting and struggling. When, at the end of the Return of the King he told his hobbit friend he was going to have a long talk with Tom Bombadill, I was happy for him to be able to set his toils to the side and sit with someone who didn’t see him as a force of nature but a person who had carried a great weight for a long time.
The same thing I wondered about When I read it as a young teenager in about’75 or ‘76 Went to rest and unwind.
1:20 - I, WOULD, HAVE MADE, TOM, a FRIGHTENING-character - TO MAKE him WORK in the MOVIE-!! AHHAHHA-!!
That is the power of Tolkien, he understands what makes us feel good.
I think Tom does two other things that many overlook.
First he introduces the Hobbits and the reader for the first time to the truth that as big as their struggle seems, as powerful as the elves and men and wizards and dragons and black riders and even Sauron seem, the world holds greater wonders. This is both the simple truth that you mention briefly, about nature and the world itself being bigger than the wars of Middle Earth, and also the grand truth that Tolkien's fantasy world is one of gods and eternal powers that are well beyond the comprehension of most involved in this story. While we can also read the appendices and the Silmarilion, in the course of the story, Tom is the introduction to all of this.
Tom is also Tolkien breaking the fourth wall and reaching into the story to remind a young reader that the terrors of this story don't signify worrying over. He is the grandfather in the Princess Bride stopping mid sentence to say that Buttercup won't be eaten by eels. He is that moment when you are telling ghost stories around a fire that you step back and make a joke to break the tension. It drives me crazy when people categorize Tom as extraneous or unimportant to the story. This role is crucial.
Well said and well observed.
JRR said that he is not Tom. But JRR also spoke as if he did not make up the story, he is just telling it. Maybe JRR is Tom and just does not know that himself? It is a divinely revealed mythology. That is the gift of the story, to me, and I love it. It gives me solace in this world and it does not need to be the same to anyone else. Thank you, God. I am Tom. My life is better with that. I am at peace. May you also be.
very well stated 😊
I read the book to my kids when they were young and the movies came out later and the first thing my kids asked after seeing the movie was "Where was Tom Bombadil?" and for years until they were much older they didn't like the movie because Tom wasn't in it. They like it now that they are grown but they still vastly prefer the books as there is too much missing from the movies for their taste, especially Tom Bombadil. Because, he was hands down their favorite part of the book when I first read it to them.
I love toms character in the story. He adds a sense of whimsey to a dark backdrop. He's also a benchmark for the power of absolute good. And, he gives alot of hints towards the nature and power of the ring.
I have walked to South America, with no money (before personal phones) and I did not speak Spanish. I have experimented with "no care for the 'morrow". I have trusted only the smiling approval of my guardian angels (who only approve of 'absolute good") and accepted that I will not die unless to die, at that moment, were a good thing. I have been rescued by intervention so many times that it is impossible for me to feel alone. Have fun. Make good stories for the after-death party.
This is cool for me to hear. Thank you. A long time ago, my wife read, and I recorded, the entire Lord of the Rings out loud. She went into a kind of trance state (for real) and didn't even realize how she had assigned a different accent and voice to every character. She somehow kept them all straight. She also sang all the songs, and did a pretty good job with Elvish even! She never understood how she did it. She now lives in an adult family home with advanced dementia. I wish I had a place to share those recordings. I think people would enjoy them. I tried uploading them to YT but they killed my channel for it. Before they killed the channel, teachers were sending their students to listen along as they read the book. So sweet.
Sounds awesome. Copyright is difficult...
Soundcloud is pretty loose.
Torrent will work if you want to go around the copyright.
If you need help with it let me know.
@@kumoyuki I think this is the way
I recommend archive.org
I read The Fellowship of the Ring a long time ago when I was about 12 or 13 years old. Tom Bombadil immediately reminded me of the old "Rübezahl" tales from germany, of which a wide variety exist. "Rübezahl" is also present in Poland and Czech, probably even further than just that. He takes on various forms in a plethora of legends and tales and is mostly neither malevolent nor benevolent - he's just an entity older than the mountains. Sounds familiar?
Absolutely. Tolkien drew massively from european folk law. He never made any bones about that and I don't think he claimed that there was any novely in his characters/races/wizards etc - his genius was in the plot the cultural backgrounds and the languages.
For me the best part of LotR is the Hobbits adventure prior to them arriving at Bree when they are travelling on their own and of course Tom Bombadil is a major part of this story. It is understandable how he was omitted from the movies but the books give so much more depth to the story.
As a Brit this is the part that feels most recognisable and comforting.
Have You done a virtual you tube walk of the Malvern Hills which Tolkien Based Weather too on? Tolkien walked there frequently is beautiful. Enjoy.
wow! what a wonderful video that was. thank you! as a huge tolkien fan since I touched his work for the first time I must say: you capture the essence of his created universe so perfectly in my opinion. your voice that almost sounds like music in my ears, calm beautiful and deep mixed with a setting in nature that is magical and peaceful... it really reminded me of tolkien's world and why I fell in love with it. I applaud to you. thank you again! I know where to go now when I want to consume some high quality youtube content :)
In my opinion, Tom's role in the story is to teach the hobbits, and especially Frodo, that with proper discernment they can trust non-hobbits to have the morals and character to do the right thing. It helped set the stage for meeting and trusting Aragorn in Bree.
This is a good take. Also I think it plays well in showing how unique hobbits are on there ability to rest and find joy in any opportunity to do so, drinking in the moments as they come. Its hard to imagine any other race of middle earth finding the same rest and carefree moments in the house of Tom. Habits truly are amazing creatures.
but Tom does not seem to have universal ideas - he seems nice and protective but very whimsical. Aragorn looks very different to Tom. Frodo already trusts elves and Gandalf; and has Bilbo's stories
Tom's role in the story will in most cases just bring up more questions and confusion, especially when adapting the story to the TV screen.
You could argue it teaches the hobbits to trust the goodness in others, but I would argue this doesn't really work when Tom is such a strange enigma far detached from any othet character in the story. Tom isn't a good representation of others, only Tom is like Tom.
He also doesn't really do the "right thing", he is carefree and unaffected by the rings power, but he is also established as very naive and unconcerned about anything going on in the world outside of his bubble. With no sense of duty, responsibility or purpose
@@merlith4650 Tolkien didn't write with any consideration for translation to other media. Tom was also the entryway into the unexplained/unknown parts of Middle Earth.
Originally I was really disappointed that he wasn’t included in the movies, but with more consideration I’m glad they didn’t. I think for a screen adaptation they would have needed to make a decision as to how he should be interpreted, which would have killed the magic of his character. He was always my favorite and I love that he remains an enigma.
I was the same way. After I thought about it Tom really didn't have much of anything to do with the story. Of course, he did save the Hobbits from the Wrights and the old tree.
Reading takes far longer than watching, having another horror and unexpected rescue, followed by a safe break adds to the possibilities in the world.
A film, even a long one has to focus and cannot afford what is essentially a digression.
They do use Willow to introduce Trebeard, the Ents are similarly ancient powers but inactive.
I wanted him cut and was glad they did it. I love The Eldest, but he doesn't advance the narrative at all, he's super confusing and mysterious, and nothing, from his look to his dialogue, translates well to film. Not to mention at this point they are just beginning to build up the power and lure of the Ring. Having Tom just casually dismiss it would destroy that.... and rather than listening to morons say "WhY dIdN't ThEy JuSt FlY tHeRe On ThE eAgLeS!" we'd also have to hear the same idiots asking "Why not just give it to that forest pimp dude from earlier?"
Fair enough, as long as we all can admit that the movies are unfaithful, I can see your point
@@logisticsnerd9699 I think unfaithful is the wrong word. They aren't perfect duplicates of the books, no movie ever is, but they are relatively accurate, and I think capture the spirit of Tolkien's world perfectly.
It's incredible. I have been part of this fandom for so long, and I clicked on this video expecting to hear the same old things I've heard and read countless times. I am so pleasently surprised. Your view on it was interesting and your way of expressing it was so passionate and natural.
You made me wanna read the books again.
Thank you. I have just subscribed and cannot wait to see more content from you.
Agree and perhaps a virtual walk of the Malvern Hills which Tolkien Based Weather Top on would be interesting?
Same here 😁
Great comment on a great video 🙏
One of the things I found really funny about Tom Bombidil was that at the Council of Elrond, Elrond put forth the idea that maybe Tom should take the ring, to which Gandalf quickly dismissed the idea. Because if they gave it to him, he likely would not understand the reason why, only to lose the ring or throw it away because things like that had no value or was of no interest to Tom. Truly in his own world, showing that he was outside the domain of right and wrong, good and evil, this side or that. He’s truly the embodiment of letting go of control and the desire for power. Pure indifference.
Tom reminds me that we must forget the ultimate Truth in order to make this imagined world something that we can get excited about. He is a reminder that we are just playing out our parts in a dream. In Reality, everything is perfectly alright. Play the game, have some fun, it's okay. There is really nothing in this world worth fighting about; but forgetting the Truth and playing our parts does serve some purpose that will remain a mystery, for now, so as not to ruin its purpose, whatever that is. I think that we are all so incompetent that we would hardly persist if not for constant, divine intervention; but most see that not and somehow think that we are oh so clever in our ignorance. There is a master of the terrarium.
Lol yes that was an interesting side note
I've always considered the character to represent how nature is neither good nor evil and is beyond the control of any power. I first read the books in the early 80s and I think your explanation is the most complete analysis I've come across. Well done!
There is a great video lecture on ArchtypalView channel The Red Book and The Red Book,Jung,Tolkien,and the Convergence of Images on you tube.
I had the same interpretation, that Tom is Nature and hence entirely uninterested in the ring.
At first I thought he was one of the wizards sent over along with Gandalf, the blue wizards, etc but years later after re-reading the story I came to the conclusion that he and Goldberry were like nature made manifest. Goldberry reminded me of a daughter of Gaia archtype and Tom the manifestation of the power of nature in a neutral way.
"Don't you know my name yet? That's the only answer." I love that line so much lol and it tells us that Tom truly is unique. He's not a nature spirit or a Maia or an elf or man, those races all have names... there is only one Tom, so his answer to "What are you?" is always Tom Bombadil.
OP gigachad god character lol
Some scholars say that Tom Bombadil and Goldberry are "Maia gone native." That description may actually not be far from the truth. Maybe Bombadil and Goldberry took the Last Ship to the Undying Lands some time in the later Fourth Age?
@@Sacto1654 Maybe... I sort of doubt it though. Tom is the Master of his lands. For him to go to the Undying Lands, where either someone else is Master, or they'd clash.... doesn't seem right to me.
Tolkien was probably on some strong weeds (and mushrooms) when he wrote Tom...
@@Sacto1654No, Tom was there even before the Valar came to Middle Earth, so he can't be a Maiar. As well another enigma character, Ungoliant, showed themselves to be powerful enough to nearly kill a Valar, Melkor, and shroud themselves from all the others. This is not something a Maiar could do. Gandalf, another Maiar, was scared to hold the ring, but Tom was unaffected by it.
tom bombadil is my favourite chracter in the whole of the lord of the rings. He is a lord of his realm, but does not seek control of the outside, he is unsolvable in a way and i think there should often be a chracter like that, enigmatic powerful but only in a specific way. having a fantasy world that is alien to us and then allowing a reader to see all of that worlds contents is uninteresting and doesn't allow the reader the space to fill the gaps with their own ideas. I love the moment when tom comes to rescue them from the wights. I think its deus ex machina but at its finest and most intriguing
Thanks for that, I'd forgotten that term 'deus ex machina', which is embarassing since I think I studied Euripides a long time ago. But thats exactly what I was thinking. I was working on a paper on the 'politics of literature' and thinking about the fact that in western literature, in fact MOST 'literature' we seem to only ever focus on ONE protagonist. I had heard two disparate things, one was from Bruce Lee who pointed out that films are fine but he said that its essentially impossible no matter how good a fighter to actually win against two opponets, let alone three. And yet how many movies are exactly that.
So I was thinking, what if Frodo had told all the hobbits about the ring. They probably wouldn't have believed, but some would. So they made a plan to make a hundred rings that LOOK like the one ring. And a HUNDRED groups of four hobbits set out in every direction. What could nine riders do? Not a lot. Wars, as they say, are won by soldiers, not heroes, for lack of a better word.
But in literature you have to focus on ONE protagonist. Therefore you HAVE to fill the story with these 'deus ex machina's' in order to show both how special the protagonist is, and that the outcome is plausible...usually by luck.
Bombadil really only saves them from a tree, something anybody coudl have done. His 'purpose' is more to show the ring does not work on 'the world'. Its a made thing, not of the world, and so the world will always win out. Thats a theory I'm thinking of. That makes 'middle earth' the actual protagonist. The heroes who give themselves over to the earth 'win' in some sense, the sense being that the world goes on, even when they get multiple wounds.
Thats why he's not only my favourite character, sort of liek Beorn in the Hobbit, but he's essential to the story.
Tom Bombadil really affected me from the moment I first read of him, and I totally love your take on him!
I almost wonder if Tolkien himself is asking Tom who he is through the mouth of Frodo-he feels like one of those characters who makes his way into the story and has a will of his own regardless of the author’s plans.
Tom is Tolkien.
@@FortescueGimlet Incorrect.
@@FortescueGimlet Ah, since you knew him so well; I guess I have to bow to your direct empirical knowledge.
(Not!)
@@FortescueGimlet My point exactly. You have none, I have none; you're opining the same as me, so piss off and quit acting like you actually possess knowledge.
Thank you. This is the best and most wonderful explanation of Tom I have seen in 42 years of being a Tolkien fan. He has always been one of my favorite characters and now I can enjoy him even more.
Only 42? Rookie.
@@penultimateh766 So now I am curious. How long have you been a Tolkien fan?
Something interesting to note - in The Two Towers Gandalf says very pointedly and multiple times that Treebeard, or Fangorn, is the oldest living being in Middle Earth. Tom also doesn't disappear when wearing the one ring, much like Sauron, which means we have to assume he also exists partially in the spirit realm. We can pretty confidently say that he is not a natural being of Middle Earth but that's about as much as we know for sure.
Not saying to be difficult but, maybe he isn't a being - he just "is" as Goldberry says, which can't be dated.
And that's a clue to who Tom really is.
This is the first video I've seen on this channel but I love the energy of it so much and this was very informative given the mystery that is Tom. Look forward to seeing more.
Same for me!
If fans still wonder, like Frodo, who Tom Bonbadil is, Tolkien has done his job well.
You wouldn't get this from watching the movies, but Tom DID advance the plot a little. It was when Tom rescued the Hobbits from the Barrow Wights that they came by the swords they used for defense throughout the rest of the story. It was one of those swords that Merri used to make the Witch-King vulnerable to Eowyn's fatal blow.
not a little.
There are a lot of interesting theories on who Tom is: spirit of nature, Eru Illúvatar, or even Tolkien himself. I've always liked the idea of Tom being the Song of Creation personified. He was before all things and understands creation because he was a part of it being made. Either way, its pretty dope that Tolkien left something that would never be fully explained.
My theory also hold to Tom being the Song of Creation,
but, not so much personified, as a medium by which it can enter into the world... not a moving stone (which is action), but the gatherer of moss, through whom the theories take hold into the world,
he consorts with Goldberry, who is the crystalized personification/avatar of life that's within nature, but himself, he is beyond time and even living...
he understands creation not because he was part of it being made (though he was), but because understanding is his nature, he understands nature in thesame way fish understand swimming, in thesame way we breath...
Aidh fa Vm'naes Mn'ningvlo!
My personal take too. We first meet Tom as a song.
In Letters, Tolkien said he is not Erú, if Im not mistaken.
The Bunagaya spirits of red hair might have connection to this
Tom was a character he created before LOTR and he just stuck him in the story
The figure of Tom Bombadil, symbolically, may also take inspiration from the biblical figure of Melchezadek, King of Salem, from the Book of Genesis (IMO). Melchezadek is a foreshadowing of Jesus in the old testament. He is the only other figure that worships God at that time besides Abraham and his family. He is, in that sense, in perfect tune with nature, he's dialed in and one with its creator. Although appearing as a man, it would appear that Melchezadek has no beginning and no end. He just is, he's just there, just like Tom Bombadil is. And just like Tom Bombadil, Melchezadek points us to the source, the Living God who made heaven and earth. Because of the significant influence Christanity had on Tolkien and this saga, I wouldn't be shocked if the story of Melchezadek was in the back of his mind when he wrote this. I loved your video! Thank you for the wonderful production! God bless!!! 🙏☦️🕊
I think Tom symbolizes creativity, innocence, and tranquility. He is a being that chose to keep a hold of child like wonderment and innocence yet expresses it in a mature manner.
When asked why he had placed Bombadil in the Lord of the Rings, Tolkien responded that he was not sure (for many of the reasons you articulate RE pushing the story forward), but that he had felt compelled to include him in the Trilogy. Other Tolkien analysts have cast Bombadil as the spirit of nature, Eru Illúvatar, personification of the Song of Creation, Tolkien himself, etc. I found your approach compelling and refreshing (and so you got one of my rather rare subscriptions). The only thing I would add, is that I don't find Bombadil inconsistent with the comprehensive world Tolkien creates in his works of Middle Earth. At the same time as most of us are (like Gandalf) stones doomed to rolling, Bombadil is Tolkien's reminder that the world outside of our (puny) concerns is all around us and continues on (with or without us choosing to be aware of it.)
As a child, I used to find him a wistful & eternal wizard of sorts. As I grew older, I found him to be a wise sage within the whole story arc that seems part of the whole. These days...as I grew wiser & read more Tolkien works; I saw Tom Bombadil as a character within the story who was a personification of JRR Tolkien himself...as he wrote his story.🤔😎
Hardcore "Ringer" here🤓
I loved Tolkien's writing for that very reason. Not everything or everyone needs to have an ultimate purpose and sometimes a mystery give it long legs and eternal life for people to ponder about long after the author is gone. Tolkien's writing was like how his experiences were like in real life: You get separated in battle, where are your friends now? What are they feeling? And sometimes, some people you meet briefly in life, you never see them again. That's not bad writing, that's life. Tom is a mystery and I think that mystery give the book charm and realism rather than all the characters needing to be pieces that fit neatly into a final picture of a grand puzzle.
This! So different to cunningly contrived plots where every piece will come back in its appointed time. Tolkien's pieces have their own agendas which the reader may never know and half the time I don't think he did either. Unique work.
Indeed
I think this is a major reason why Tolkien's world seems so real. It's vastly greater than the story that unfolds within it, with detailed lore, lands, creatures, languages and events existing outside of it.
The only part I found utterly annoying, is the damn talking fox, from the Fellowship of the ring. Only appeared once, and is completely unrelated to the rest of the story. Very out of place.
THIS is possibly the best, most illuminating exploration of any significant character in Tolkien's egendarium that I have yet found - congratulations, Jess!🙌🙏
Tom’s sadness about the barrow hoard and his memories of the lady who wore the blue stone brooch always make me cry.
Always makes me wonder who "she" is.
Holy shit!!! 40 years reading Tolkien and I never even really noticed that!! In fact "Fog on the Barrow Downs" is one chapter that for some reason I blaze thru. I have no idea why, but I do. When I read the Hobbit as a kid in 5th grade, LotR in Jr. High, The Silmarillion in H.S. and then grabbed every single thing Christopher kept putting out year by year and all things Tolkien, I read the Big Three, Hob, Lord, Sil. Beginning on Thanksgiving and ending with Christmas every single year, for roughly 40 years. I saw your comment and it hit me. I speed read that chapter every single time!! Wow, WTH? heh. Take care friend.
@@gib59er56 The fog messes with your thoughts while you're in it :P maybe it messed with yours too?
@@Nu_Wen Fair enough!! That could be the case!!
❤
I think Tom was a way for Tolkien to himself become part of his story. Tolkien's authorial position was deliberately not as a narrator but a reader, as the in-world premise was that other people in that world wrote the books and Tolkien just found and translated them. It's almost the opposite of the theory that Tom is Ilúvatar, the creator. Tolkien and Tom were not creators. They were merely observers of a world that existed in and of itself.
This is a fascinating idea!
If someone ever asked Tolkien a question about Middle Earth that he hadn't written about yet, he wouldn't say anything like "I'll think about that" or "I'll come up with something." It was "I'll find out," as though it was a truth that already existed and was waiting for him to research it.
The tree that falls in the forest always makes a sound because Tom Bombadil is there to hear it?
@@jameshill2450 thats part of the gimmick Tolkien used for the Legendarium. In the History of Middle Earth you can read the story of Eriol the Mariner, also called Aelfwine. He was a direct descendant of Earendil. In the 10th or 11th centuries (I forget which), he was allowed to travel the straight road to the Undying Lands and land on Tol Erresia. There the Elves told him tales and songs of the Elder days and the lost ages of the world. He came back and wrote all that down in old English. Eventually "Tolkien found it and translated it", which included among other things, The Red Book and other stuff".
toms more like being outside or parallel to iluvatar - outside of any creation or creations of iluvatar - outside of the story. what sauron does wont affect him and neither will what anyone else does.
Much as I enjoy Tom, I think leaving him out of the films was the right move, though more as a matter of tone than pacing. People have a hard enough time as is comprehending why the ring is scary, to the point some still think it just turns you invisible and doesn't give you supernatural charisma that makes you appear larger than life and could sway entire armies to your side. Imagine, the movie just spent almost an hour hyping up this evil scary ring, Gandalf telling Frodo to NEVER put it on, and within minutes of runtime they meet this old blue hippie who can see Frodo wearing the ring (something Gandalf told him NOT to do two scenes ago!) and even handle it himself without being corrupted. Any suspense the movie had successfully built up would dissolve in an instant. In a book or even a game, a character like Tom can more easily be used deepen the mystery of the world and inject some much-appreciated whimsy. In a movie that's already moving a mile a minute, he'd be a distraction. He'd sabotage the narrative by making Sauron and the ring seem like not such a big deal and confuse the hell out of newbies to Tolkien's world.
Totally disagree, the film missed the mark in too many ways to count.
I love Old Tom, and when I get asked what and who is Tom Bombadil I answer "Tom Bombadil is Tom Bombadil"
What a pleasant treat to run across your video tonight. It’s been over 40 years since my first encounter with Tom, as the hobbits seek refuge with him and Goldberry after their encounter with Old Man Willow, as they flee the Black Riders after leaving the Shire. I must have re-read those sections three or four times before proceeding with the story the first time through it. Of course Bombadil advances the LOTR plot. Beyond freeing them from the willow and the refuge he gives the hobbits from the Black Riders, he rescues them from the barrow-wight and gives Merry and Pippin the swords from the treasure hoard that they would carry into battle later In the story. Three times the story would have ended before it started without Tom’s intervention. He is dark, in his ancient and shape-shifty ways, but he is a classic “good” character in the story. Later, when we meet Radagast the Brown, for me it is Tom that helps me make sense of him, as they shared that deep connection to nature that makes me feel they are natural friends, made of a similar substance. A little long winded, but I was once a full time hobbit and you drew me in. Cheers!
The chapter about Tom Bombadil was a very welcome break in a plot of increasing tension. The feeling I got of peace, tranquility, and protection from harm in Tom's world I felt repeated in Rivendell, and in Lothlorien Forest. Tolkien gave us a world of ever increasing dread and doom, then would give his readers a break and a chance to catch a breath. The evil trees then Tom was not unlike losing Gandalf then entering Lothlorien. That take that "nature could never be controlled by anyone" is brilliant and something I didn't think about, but very true. The trenches of World War I decimated the French countryside, but the land lived on. Tolkien saw that decimation, and it's recovery. Amazing. I think Tom didn't solve the ring issue on his own is because he knew, whether Frodo or Sauron won, in the end (really big picture view), whatever happened, eventually things would return to how they were, just like the French countryside. It's the type of big picture view someone that has lived since the dawn of the world would take, and fits Tom perfectly.
Tom is an awesome character just because he is a rain of sunshine in an otherwise stressful part of the story - he gives the reader (and Frodo w/ squad) a much needed breather
I think you mean a ray of sunshine 😂
This is by far the best interpretation of Tom I have heard. Others take it to literal, is Maiar etc....
You cut right through to the truth what Tolkien was saying with this character and why this odd adventure even exists within and outside of the narrative.
Of all the explanations I've heard or read, this has been the best.
I love how relaxed you were, sitting out in nature, talking about Nature himself. There’s a certain peacefulness to it all. Thank you. I’ll keep coming back.
the fact that he was part of the storyline was enough like a meditation in some ways it acentuates the story by not rushing along with it and pulls us back like a rubber band flinging us back in with a rush toodles !
I like your take on Tom. It made him much more interesting :)
When Tom says he was older than trees or rivers, older than elves or men,.. it could just have been Tolkien meaning to say that Tom already existed as a character before he started to create the world of Lord of the Rings. As if Tolkien himself was talking to his own characters in the hobbit world, a very personal touch. These hobbits could have been (in a way) the kids he was talking to when he created the story of Tom.
I must say, it is an interesting way to approach a story as a writer and I like it!
You're interpretation gave me goose bumps and almost made me cry! Brilliant! Love it and the whole presentation! And I'm a 43 year old man running a business. Shows that Tolkien's genius is still relevant in this age!
My personal take on it is that he is probably Eru Ilúvatar living as a strange hermit. His disinterest in opposing Sauron is basically how he treated Morgoth each time he tried to disrupt the song, he doesn't confront and sees it as an integral part of the composition. The ring having no power over him also makes sense in that context, so is him being older than elves, or having a wife that's basically an embodiment of nature.
@shorgoth _YESS!!!_ 🎯 _PRECISELY SO!!!_ 🎯
Yep, just hanging out, enjoying a little corner of his creation😎
I’ve learned to love the Tom Bombadil chapters more and more over the years, but one thing I find most fascinating about him and his inclusion is the morality he represents. From all he’s shown, he very probably could have taken the ring to Mordor himself, singing all the way, and tossed it into Mount Doom without much trouble, but he doesn’t. People are fighting and dying to protect their homelands from evil, yet Tom is just chilling peacefully, staying out of trouble. From the perspective of some characters this could be seen as dishonorable, or even cowardly. But then there’s the opposite side of the debate, where Tom and his simple joys and love and care of nature could be the most virtuous traits one could aspire for. He’s his own personal paradise, in perfect harmony with his world, and as such has no place in trying to exert his will and dominion over others. And still yet, without those willing to sacrifice (ie Frodo and the rest of the cast), evil would have surely come to the Old Forest eventually. It’s a fascinating look on action vs inaction, peace and conflict, with no definitive right or wrong answer. But i think about it a lot each time
What you are saying goes with the medieval idea of society needing both the monk and the knight to uphold it (Yes, I realize that Tom is married, but I am talking about his function rather than the details of his life). A warrior protected society from the outside. The monk would pray and study and uphold society from within. But each needs the other. Notice how Tom helps the Hobbits several times; he uses his powers to rescue them from the tree and the barrow-wight and then arms them with weapons from the barrow.
I never considered that Tom would be able to trot up Mordor and flick the ring into the lava like he was flicking a coin into a fountain. That's an interesting thought 😂. I wonder what he would do up there if he ran into an orc? It was pretty desolate, so he wouldn't be able to make a tree branch fall on their head.
The reader is told that the ring is so irrelevant to Tom that he would make a hopeless keeper for it, so the idea of him being bothered to destroy it never arises - Tom is the Nature Spirit
I had always imagined that toms "power" came from the old forest itself, he was reluctant to leave.
"would he not take the ring and keep it there, forever harmless?" no said gandalf "not willingly he might do so if all the free folk of the world begged him but he would not understand the need and if he were given the ring he would soon forget it or most likely throw it away such things have no hold on his mind he would be a most unsafe guardian and that alone is answer enough"
This was absolutely wonderful. Thanks for posting 🙏🏽💗xxx
This is by far the best answer to this question I have ever heard. This is truely marvelous, and honestly brought a tear to my eye.
Really enjoyed your narration and your take on Bombadil. I always enjoyed his character and wished they could have included him in Jackson's films, but understand why they didn't. Incidentally, you have a very nice, soothing voice, and fine singing abilities. I wish you much success.
I like the idea that Tom is the embodiment of nature. In Tolkien, as you note, nature does have its own kind of power. In The Hobbit, Smaug briefly considers plunging into the lake and raising a steam that will cover the land for a long time. The narrator notes, "But the Lake was mightier than he. It would quench him before he could pass through it." And of course the numerous times that nature almost killed off our good characters, lol. Very good video, Jess!
Oh, that's a brilliant line! So concise and yet evocative. Thanks for sharing!
I think Tom is the story's connection to his children and the stories he told his children, in a sense the origin of it all. Being based on his child's favorite toy it reminds him of their early childhood and innocence in a time when the LOTR was exploding onto the literary scene and his kids were presumably already too grown for toys.
This is the best analysis of his thematic function in the story I've heard yet, and it gives a solid reason why he does contribute a lot to the story's themes, even if he isn't as plot important
And I will say though i have no idea how to categorize bombadil within a hard worldvuilding framework in the context of LOTR fandom, I can give a good guess about what he seems to have been to Tolkien: a pre-existing but beloved OC, that was likely deeply meaningful to him (if only for his thematic elements) that he couldn't resist inserting into this more solidified and serious story. I write only for fun despite an English degree, but I've done more or less the same in stories with my characters. I have an enigmatic wood god that frequently appears in my stories, who is inspired by the god pan as depicted in wind in the willows mixed with my own experiences playing alone in the woods as a young child, and those who see him have a mystical experience and feel both fear and awe, and feel like a frightened animal and a sage seeing beyond the pale. And anytime this horned god can be slotted into my stories, a manifestation of him will inevitibly appear, simply bc he captures something about nature and life that I haven't been able to grapple with or represent as directly or meaningfully through any other means. I imagine Bombadil could be similar to Tolkien, and (barring all else) Tom being a part of the LOTR world takes him from being a whimsical figure that could exist anywhere and anywhen to being a mysterious but canonical part of LOTR lore, slotted vaguely into its history and world
Ah, someone else who sees The Piper at the Gates of Dawn in Bombadil's character! I see both as representing direct contact with The Mystery of life. Even the gods of Tolkien's world have a mechanistic, cause-and-effect existence, but Tom Bombadil simply *is*.
Tom's reaction to the ring always struck me as that of an adult when being presented with a silly little child's toy. Humoring, and perhaps even polite, but ultimately considering it of such little consequence that it would be forgotten within minutes. Funny enough, Gandalf said something similar later on in the book.
That was really funny. I remember Gandalf said that if Tom was given the ring, he might forget about it!
Lerd Tibernia considered the ring of such little use he sold it for a drawing of a beer.
Great sources : ) Good take! I'm convinced Tolkien had Tom in mind for the LotR, and by the time he wrote them through Moria, he realized he had gone beyond the Faerie world of Tom, and that he left Tom in the story to make sure that we all know it's ultimately a faerie story. This helps the reader to know that the horrors in bree, Weathertop, Moria, Isengard, and Mordor, will ultimately end well. It keeps us from feeling those traumatic events too heavily, and always look ahead to a good ending. At least that's where I am with him : )
Wonderful exegesis! I believe an important key to understanding Bombadil can be found in JRRT’s allegorical autobiography, the short story Leaf by Niggle, about an obsessed painter: “There was one picture in particular which bothered him. It had begun with a leaf caught in the wind, and it became a tree; and the tree grew, sending out innumerable branches, and thrusting out the most fantastic roots. Strange birds came and settled on the twigs and had to be attended to. Then all round the Tree, and behind it, through the gaps in the leaves and boughs, a country began to open out; and there were glimpses of a forest marching over the land, and of mountains tipped with snow. Niggle lost interest in his other pictures; or else he took them and tacked them on to the edges of his great picture. Soon the canvas became so large that he had to get a ladder; and he ran up and down it, putting in a touch here, and rubbing out a patch there.” Bombadil is one of those other pictures tacked on to the giant canvas of Middle Earth.
Your perception of Tom Bombadil is so great! There are a lot of things I haven’t even thought of before, and I’ve thought and talked about Tom for a long time!
Tom has fascinated me since I first read LotR. The more I read the passages in Fellowship, the more I think about him, the more I think about Tolkien’s views of the natural world- the more I realize how beautiful Tom Bombadil actually is. I was introduced to Taoism about a decade ago, and I see a lot of the same themes in LotR, especially when it comes to nature and the characters’ (and our) place in it.
We are all part of a larger world, and Tom is the Master as Lao Tzu uses the term. The Ring has no hold over him because he is beyond good/ evil or dichotomous views. He just is. That is why I think the forest respects him. Tom is content with being in the low places that others disdain, much like water, yet his latent power is vast and unending. He flows with the “Tao” of Tolkien’s world - whatever that may be. He is the old, silly hermit that no one takes seriously until he shows his full potential, kind of like Yoda when Luke Skywalker first meets him.
I think Tom is one of the best things about Lord of the Rings, and I’m so glad Tolkien decided to put him in the larger story. Thank you for making this video! I love these kind of deep conversations about things in our stories and myths that keep us thinking!
I was wondering if anybody here would make the same connection to the Tao with Tom. Nice points as well! He is the embodiment of a spirit that has existed before all else which is the Way.
"In the beginning was the Tao.
All things issue from it;
all things return to it."
Tom was a favourite character too. I read the LotR many times when I was younger before I knew of Taoism properly. I now find it the most compelling of all the philosophies I have explored. I have not read this book since but listening to this video it was clear that Tom is the Way.
The larger world-building aspects of The Lord of the Rings are part of what makes the work so special. The side trip with Tom Bombadil is one of my favorite sections in the series, in part because he contributes to the sense of an ancient and complex/unknowable world. I think it would be easier to have him in an animated version (old school, not digital animation) than in a live-action film because imagination has a freer hand in that context
Tom has always been such a fun character to theorize about, my personal theory is that he and his little realm were actually created by Eru Ilúvatar himself when Eru showed the Ainur how to make the music to create the world and living beings.
Tom has traits of both Elves and Men so I believe the Ainur took inspiration from him when creating those two races.
And for me it also explains as to why the ring had no effect on him (besides the ring being created by a clearly lesser being), or as to why he has so little interest in the happenings of the world, he simply wasn't really planned to be part of hit as he was not created alongside.
And him saying that he was there before the first stone makes also sense here, if Eru first showed the Ainur how to create life by creating Tom, than he would have been there before the creation of Arda and thus be "the eldest".
The Ainur did not create elves and men. They were created directly by Iluvatar. The Dwarves were created by a member of the Ainur but Iluvatar did not allow them to "awaken" till the elves had.
@@michaelcooper5677 True, I've worded what I wanted to say it kinda badly.
Because from what I remember Eru instructed the Ainur to create elves and men but they still helped to sing/play them into existence following Eru's lead (might be wrong on this one though).
Either way my headcanon still works since Iluvatar did show them how to create the music before they all went on to create Arda and the races in it.
It also works in the sense that if we consider Eru to be a kind of stand in for Tolkien himself that he would create Tom before anything else since in real life the character of Tom also existed before the rest of the legendarium. :)
I have enjoyed several of your videos, and read the hobbit in trilogy, at least three times. Perhaps I’ll do it again at this later stage of my life. But I was completely impressed with your section in this video on nature. I think I subconsciously shared some of those views, but to have you articulate them, so succinctly was profound. My admiration for you has grown. I used to take those books into the woods to have a good read. Thank you.
I liked him because he was a mystery that let us know that Middle Earth has more to it than the Hobbits know or can understand. I thought he was one of the earliest maiar who came to Arda and never went to Valinor. He wandered but found a place that would be perilous and became its guardian. Old man willow is dangerous, and even Goldberry would be dangerous without him. He set his borders and while he stays within them he is strong and the Master, and there he will stay to the end of Arda.
I always felt that Sauron's downfall began the moment Tom Bombadil handled the Ring, put it on, and did not vanish. At that moment, Sauron's doom was certain.
Oh that's a good point!
Interesting 😮
Yes and no. The whole thing is in Silmarilion. Song of Iluvatar. Details might have varied depending on choices by created beings. But the arc of the universe was the song
@Telleva anti-christ? :D. interesting that you put your religion into this world.
Actually as I see it Sauron's downfall and eventual doom started the moment he had the desire to control and dominate others when he could not even control himself. That was why he had already failed and lost the ring many generations before Good ol' Tom Bombadil even touched the ring.
Thank you! When I first read LotR (as a child) he was (and still is) my favorite character. You did an outstanding job (better than I) in explaining him (and his wife). Thank you again!😀
A lot criticisms of LOTR revolve around the idea of how black & white the narrative is, and in Tom there is a clear grey. Obviously he is anti-Sauron in a lot of ways, but he's also explicitly not a "Go be the Hero and remake the world" kind of person. He's an appreciater; of the world how it is and the joys to be found there. Which is very beautiful in it's own way.
Also the dagger of westernesse which lead to the death of the Witch-King, coupled with the premonition-dreams of Frodo probably means he knew exactly what he was doing. Gandalf was having a hard time with him during the siege of Gondor and the Witch-King's death could arguably be the turning of of tide. It's good to have Nature on your side. So who knows!
I loved the character of Tom Bombadil. He does let us know that there is something beyond the powers that swirl around middle earth. And isn't there always something beyond our ken?
Tolkien got a lot of inspiration from real life myths. To me, Tom Bombadil was possibly his take on The Green Man.
Agreed - the Green Man, and Puck, and Robin Goodfellow. Have you read Kipling's version, in Puck of Pook's Hill? It was written in 1906, and I'm certain Tolkien will have read it.
That’s the same conclusion my friend, Dr. Keith Mathison came to in his blog Light in Dark Places. Tom entered the world of Middle earth from outside it. (Mathison points out that Bombadil also embodied the characteristics of Francis of Assisi, whom Tolkien admired.) However, he did play one crucial role in LotR, which was to make it possible for Merry to acquire (unwittingly) the only weapon that could have defeated the Witch King. By omitting that plot point from the films, the undoing of the Witch King is left unexplained, and the themes of grace and providence are diminished.
He also taught the Hobbits 'the ways of trees, and the strange creatures of the forest' - important lore which connects with Merry and Pippin's later friendship with Treebeard.
Not unexplained. Jackson clearly pushed the idea that Eowyn killed him because she “is no man.”
@@rapid13, how does that explain anything?
@@anatomicallymodernhuman5175 Seriously? I literally spelled it out. Here: Jackson did not leave the death of the witch king unexplained at all. He says, “You fool! No man can kill me!” And Eowyn, being a woman, retorts “I am no man.” Then he dies. There’s even a nice closeup of Eowyn driving her sword between crown and shoulders. There is also zero mention of the blade of Westernesse. The implication is clear to everyone except you I guess.
@@rapid13, if you a sex-based hypothesis explanatory for the ability to kill such a powerful being, you might need rethink.
This is unbelievably deep, but my sentiments are that you're right about nearly everything. I think that we are kindred spirits in that I've studied Jungian psychology and comparative mythology for the past 20 years. I got into Tolkien because of his depth of understanding in these realms. Tolkien doesn't seem to know everything about psychomythology, but he certainly has experienced the mythologies and philosophies of which he speaks, in a practical and very real sense. As expansive as my knowledge is, Tolkien makes me feel like an amateur theorist with no practical experience. He seems to have lived a full and complete life on his terms. I strongly feel he is the godfather of storytelling.
I always adored Tom Bombadil but I 100% agree with you that there was no space for him in the movie. We can always go back to the book and relive a few enchanted hours in his company ❤
No, without Tom, I consider the movie a failure. It failed in other ways too. Pathetic really
Tom provides the introduction of the checov's daggers. The payoff is the killing of the witch king by one of them
@@no_activity let me be a little more explicit. Without Tom giving that sword to the unarmed hobbit, the Witch King, formerly the King of Angmar doesn't die, he conquers Gondor and the good guys lose the war, and Sauron wins. In other words, that single act enables the defeat of Sauron.
Love how you interpreted him, how marvelous. Thank you that was awesome!
Could Tom B. simply be the embodiment of joy? In a world of constant decision making and good vs. evil, it seemed to me that Tom is joyous, not carefree, but without much worry. Simply living for the moment and enjoying life.
The story of the doll Bombadil played with by Tolkien's son is new to me.
I used to tell stories to my kids before bedtime about a "Flying Frog" that was inane, courageous, silly, and always in the middle of things. The character became real to my kids and they are inserting him into stories for my grandchildren. What if Tom Bombadil doesn't fit into Tolkien's world at all? Perhaps he's just a "private joke," that only his children would understand. If I wrote an epic fantasy, I would insert a cameo appearance of Uchama Guchama Flying Frog - to the consternation of readers everywhere...
Thanks for this, Jess! I struggled with Tom Bombadil, and eventually decided that Tolkien had set out to write another "The Hobbit" - a series of little adventures, and that's the reason for Tom. Later he realized that he had something much bigger on his hands, but didn't want to take Tom out. Your take on the character is wonderful, and it's not too much to say you redeemed him for me.
I think that view is further borne out by the scene with the fox, who comes across Frodo, Pippin and Sam, sleeping under a tree.
The brief glimpse into the internal, and very human, thoughts of the fox, is completely at odds with the writing style of the rest of the book.
It seems a remnant of a more "Hobbit-like" style.
I think of Tom as the first of the Ainur, a spirit akin to Yavanna and Vána but created before them. In the first songs, he sang of this little bit of forest, and later incorporated the in the Great Music. When the formless world was created at the beginning of time, he entered that little spot and helped bring it into form. He loves his forest, it brings him delight, and he will never leave it.
@@stephenlaing2152 'Ainur' includes both Maiar and Valar, and possibly other beings we know little of.
The best "theory" I've heard is that Tom is basically the personification of Arda itself. He isn't really a man or an elf or a spirit or anything like that. And he certainly isn't Eru Illuvatar. He's tied to Arda from its beginning until its end. And like Arda, doesn't have ambitions or plans nor is he "good" or "evil" but simply exists.
This. He’s the spirit/embodiment of the earth itself
Tolkien was not into personifications and obvious allegories - he openly disliked them
I'm very lucky in that my Uncle is Tom Bombadil. When you spend time with him the stresses of the world cease to have meaning, time runs slow, and life is full of fun and whimsy.
I've just stumbled upon your work and I really like it a lot. I am in the middle of binge watching all your videos. I have been a fan of Tolkien's work since I first read The Hobbit as a young lad many decades ago. Take care and warmest regards from Canada.
Having a mystery like Bombadil helps with the longevity of the whole story, since curiosity is one of the engines of fiction. 500 years from now, when LOTR has become the prime myth of the English-speaking people, Tolkien scholars floating in their space universities will be holding class on Tom Bombadil.
I think he's like their version of the one true God but that's just my take on it!
I had always thought that Tom was a metaphor for the man-earth-nature connection that was perfectly in balance and incorruptible by the evil machinations of the power struggle that is endless. I thought that because he was totally unimpressed and uncorrupted by the ring. Tolkien showed us this glimpse of “the perfect existence” early in saga as a touchstone to the madness that was to transpire in future chapters and books. Despite the oncoming conflagration, Tom Bomadil would always exist above the madness. And after the conflict has been resolved, Gandalf would return to the “Source “ and recharge and re-align. At least, that’s what I thought. But, then, what do I know?
Thank you for this video - I have not yet read the books but I have seen the movies a few times and have played LOTRO for a few years. Your explanation hits the nail on the head for me and really clears up a bit of mysticism by, strangely enough, giving it more mystery. Tom is in the online game and honestly is really well done. Like you describe it's this wonderful separate world untouched by the rest. They seem to have captured all that you said - even while keeping the singing. I never fully understood it and have even heard others philosophize on how powerful Tom is and what kind of god-like-thing he may be. But the concept of nature - of being outside the rest of the world - really struck a cord. Nice job.
I like that you circled back to the ending where Gandalf talks of speaking with Bombadil, too few do, but I haven't ever heard anyone ever talk about his departure from the Hobbits and his return in their time of need, summoned and yet not summoned to drive away and destroy the wights in the barrows.
Even as a representation of nature, a "moss gatherer," he is still an agent of change.
I imagine that Tolkien had an interesting character developed in Tom, and he wanted to find a way to utilize him, and to share him in a delightful way. In that, he succeeded!
I think so too, but I disagree. I think he just wanted his chill character in the book and retrofitted him in regardless of the cost to the story. Fellowship would have been better without him imo. However art is subjective and I'm glad some people enjoy Tom Bombadill
Lady, hello! First time here. Your video is awesome. You have a great way of presenting yourself in front of the camera and the content is awesome. Thanks for the video! ^_^
Just found you channel....great stuff! Well written, concise, and enjoyable, with a real appreciation for Tolkien and his work. Cheers!
I like your take on Tolkien lore also being focused on themes and storytelling. A lot of “lore channels” for books, shows, video games, etc all focus entirely on the surface level details and ignore that these are stories that are designed to have allegory, subtext, and so on.