Music and Magic in the World of Arda

MUSIC AND MAGIC IN THE WORLD OF ARDA In Tolkiens legendarium, magic as it appears in present-day(a) sword-and-sorcery stories does non exist. Tolkien appoints it clear in essays and debates that his magic is remote more tortuous than the waving of a wand, and does non follow strict, clear-cut rules. Instead, ancestry whole over the laws of nature and reality lies to a great extent in rime and melody.The first act of earth in the Ainulindale, by which the foundations for Ardas creation were laid, was the singing of the Music of the Ainur by Iluvatar and the divine beings beneath him. When the beings of Arda create mental strain, the leave commode is often sorcerous, whether in an emotional sense or if it has a tangible effect upon the public around it. In both the Ainulindale and Of Beren and Luthien this is preferably evident.Singing in Tolkiens legendarium is in some ways a witching(prenominal) act, in that any of the nestlingren of Iluvatar engaged in it argon reflecting the received imaginative acts of the Ainur, sub-creating and greatly affecting the globe around them, and that the only limits on a beings ability to create melody atomic number 18 its dissolve whether to dominate or to create and the sheer quarter of pass on it places behind its magic, medical specialtyal intent. Singing has a variety of effects within Tolkiens works, only if the most dramatic whizs by far are those visible(a) in the Ainulindale.Here, singing is synonymous with creation itself. The notes of the many an(prenominal) Ainur, including Melkor, as vigorous(p) as those of Iluvatar, all coalesce in order to form the solid ground for Arda and its history. The act of variant-making as creation is not metaphorical the Ainur originally cerebrate of the world finished medical specialty, and the voices of the Ainur are even described as standardized unto harps and lutes, and pipes and trumpets, and viols and organs, and like unto countless ch oirs with words (Tolkien 4).Even the affair between Iluvatar, who seeks to create a world of beauty and freedom for its future inhabitants, and Melkor, who seeks to dominate all that is, is do through their respective melodies. No music existed before that of the Ainur in their acts of creation, and although a great deal of music existed afterward, none was ever as almighty or influential in shaping the world, as the passage reads never since have the Ainur make any music like to this music (Tolkien 4) This original music created the first true polarization between trustworthy and vil through the conflict between Iluvatar and Melkor and initiated the creation of the world. The fact that the Music of the Ainur created the world itself is no less visible than when Iluvatar declared behold your music and the Ainur first precept the world (Tolkien 6). In fact, all later music stemmed from this music, in that the Music of the Ainur set the stage for the genesis of all Children of Iluvatar and the music they would go on to produce. The effects of song are equally as visible, if not quite so dramatic, in the relation of Beren & Luthien, particularly through Luthien herself.Throughout the story, many of Luthiens actions revolve around music and song. When Beren first sees her, he is fascinate by her appearance, and it is not until she sings out loud and flowers spring from the cold earth where her feet had passed that he is released from his shock enough to call out to her (Tolkien 194). Her music is in addition omnipotent enough to put the great wolf Carcharoth, as well as Morgoth himself in Angband, to sleep. In addition, it aids her and Huan in combating Sauron at Tol-in-Gaurhoth.Finally, her heartfelt song of sorrow at Berens ending at the end of the tale proves moving enough to warrant restoring Beren to life, and allowing Beren and Luthien to spend their final, mortal years unitedly in peace. Indeed, it is express that The song of Luthien before M andos was the song most clear that ever in words was woven, and the song most sorrowful that the world shall hear (Tolkien 221). She is not the only character who uses song to great effect, withal. When fag Felagund and Sauron battle in the dark lands of Morgoth, they duel with words and songs of power sort of than physical weapons.Felagund fights with inspirational songs, harkening up images of trust unbroken and resisting, while Sauron utilizes songs of fraud and betrayal (Tolkien 201). Sauron proved more powerful however, and once he defeats Felagund, the differents are entirely servicingless against him. In these particular stories, the greatest singers are all connected to the Ainur, or are Ainur themselves. This point is fairly obvious in the chance of the Ainulindale, in which all participants of the Music were Iluvatars Holy Ones , merely is also quite evident in Of Beren and Luthien (Tolkien ). There, Luthien is half-Maia as the daughter of Melian, and her power is extraordinary for a Child of Iluvatar. She proves cap adequate of carry offing with a fallen Valar, a powerful Maia, and a vicious beast-servant of Morgoth through her skills with song. Sauron himself is also quite consummate in the art of song as a Maia, and in a duel with a mortal he had the mastery (Tolkien 201). The reason for the magical superiority of the Ainur is quite simple they were involved in the original music of the world.They were originally formed by Iluvatar for the express endeavor of creating in symmetry together a Great Music and through it the world, and so it is far more natural to them (Tolkien 3). Although Luthien herself has no experience with true creation, as Sauron and her sire do, she nonetheless has the blood of a being that was essentially created for song, as Melian also sprang from the mind of Iluvatar for the purpose of creating the world. By no means are all great singers in Tolkiens world Maiar however, or even those related to them, as th e example of Felagund illustrates.While Felagund may not be able to outgo a Maia such as Sauron, he is still able to compete with a Maia for what appears to be the majority of their conflict, and it is outright stated that the power of the King was very great in the conflict (Tolkien 201). He lacks the experience and inborn purpose for song that any Maia would suffer as a being originally born to create Arda, but he remains a force to be reckoned with, and he is emphatically more powerful through his skill with song than most early(a) characters in the tale.It is clear, then, that force of will and drive can to an extent rationalise the difference in natural ability between a Child of Iluvatar and an Ainu. Luthiens exemplary skill with song in the latter half of the tale may have thus been influenced by her drive to help Beren and the weight of horror that her love caused her to feel at the possibility of his death (Tolkien 202). The act of song-making in the Ainulindale is, at its core, an act of creation.What is present throughout Of Beren and Luthien however and, for that matter, all other stories set in Middle-Earth during the First through ordinal Ages is sub-creation. Just as Iluvatar created the Ainur originally for the purpose of creation, the Children of Arda and those that Iluvatar would humans, elves, hobbits, and dwarves were made to sub-create. In other words, they were meant to create even further, through art, literature, and above all, song. By attempting to emulate the song of creation, the Children would make the world even more vibrant, rich, and pleasant than the Valar had originally managed.Tolkien states in his letter to Milton Waldman prefacing The Silmarillion that for the Elves, magic is Art, delivered from many of its human limitations and Art not power, sub-creation not domination and tyrannous re-forming of creation (Tolkien xvi-xvii). The effect of song in Of Beren and Luthien was evenhandedly different. If songs made by the Valar were what originally brought about and shaped the world, then songs made by the Children could do the same, beyond merely in terms of producing music for pleasures sake.As exemplified by Felagund, a sufficiently strong, refined will could sub-create in a way that mirrored creation itself, and shape the world despite lacking the natural affinity for song that an Ainu possesses. What this evidence points to is a concept that at first may seem ridiculous that the magical song-making of the Ainur and the Children are fundamentally exactly the same. The ability of several of the Children in Of Beren and Luthien to contend with Ainur in contests of power through song already lends credence to this idea, suggesting that the music created by the Ainur is the same, only greater.It would appear that the difference between the use of songs by the Ainur and the Children merely results from the inherently greater willpower of the Ainur. As beings that are not only older but are al so the offspring of Iluvatars public opinion, their wills are considerably more refined and honed than those of the Children (Tolkien 3). Theoretically however, any elf, man, hobbit, or dwarf with sufficient mental discipline and/or training could make music as great as that of an Ainu.Thus, the casualness to the natural world and magic of the elves is simply a consequence of their having spent more age amongst the Valar and within the world than the other Children, gaining more competence with song and closeness to the melodious skill of the Ainur as a result. In addition, the ability of Melkor to flood out the songs of the other Ainur in the Ainulindale resulted from him having been given the greatest gifts of power and knowledge and resulting musical affinity, and that greater force of will alone was that set him apart (Tolkien 4).The cardinal sections being discussed point to one other significant notion that there is an inherent difference between the music produced by t he Children and good Ainur, and the music produced by the Dark Powers of Morgoth. The Ainulindale indicates that the Music of the Ainur was initially harmonious, with endless interchanging melodies woven in harmony (Tolkien 4). It was only once Melkor, desiring to overpower and control the course of the Music, distinguishable to interfere, that the Music became disjointed and red-faced.Eventually, Iluvatar himself steps in, at which point it is clear that the melodies of Iluvatar and Melkor are diametrically opposed, and that only Melkors music hath not its uttermost source in Iluvatar (Tolkien 6). The music of the other Ainur, which was harmonious with that of Iluvatar, was gentle, melodious, and pleasant. Melkors music was violent and aggressive. To an extent, the musical conflict between Felagund and Sauron in Of Beren and Luthien mirrors this, though in that case Saurons aggressive, spiteful song proves victorious due to his superior will.While the songs produced by the forces of good and evil are somewhat similar, their basic nature and purpose to create, and to dominate, respectively are polar opposites, and the dominative nature of evil is the source of the force-out and cacophonous nature of the songs. Indeed, Tolkiens statement of the Elvess magic as Art not Power, sub-creation not domination in contrast with that of Melkor and Sauron, supports the notion that the nature of their magic and this applies to all other forces of good as well is irreconcilable with that of Melkor and his minions (Tolkien xvi-xvii).In the Ainulindale, as well as Of Beren and Luthien, Tolkien reveals the true nature of magic and song in his world, they are synonymous. While there may be major differences in the fundamental nature of the songs used by good and evil, only force of will and purpose make the song of an Ainu such as Morgoth any greater than that of a half-Maia such as Luthien, or a mere elf-king such as Felagund. Keeping these conclusions in mind, one may reach a single, overarching definition of magic in Tolkiens works an act of musical creation or sub-creation with enough force of will behind it to tangibly affect the world.There is no need to get wind the mechanics of music in the legendarium, only that any being is open(a) of it and that it is the source of all magical acts. Truly, the significance of song in Tolkiens work, especially for the purpose of understanding the magic of the world and the nature of the conflict that spans the entire legendarium, cannot be overstated. WORKS CITED Tolkien, J. R. R. , and Christopher Tolkien. The Silmarillion. 2nd Ed. Del Rey Books, 2001. Print.