Figurative Language In The Hobbit

Music is beautiful and inspiring and is something we can all enjoy. Even animals can enjoy music so… can magical creatures? Well if J.R.R Tolkien gives any indication through his magnificent novels then they sure can. In Tolkien’s famous novel The Hobbit music helps the reader understand the characters’ personalities better. Whether it be dwarves, elves, or the torturous goblins, music plays a role in their development. In chapter one of The Hobbit the dwarves are introduced and with their introduction comes song.The dwarves are adventurous creatures or at least that is what their song implies. Their song is one of a great dragon named Smaug. Their song is long and serious and that shows that the tone of the song is more somber than cheerful. The song speaks of retaking lost treasure from Smaug and uses somewhat common words but there is intricate figurative language within the song. The length and structure of their song is very important to convey their feelings. For instance, one verse in their song is,”The dwarves of yore made mighty spells, While hammers fell like ringing bells In places deep, where dark things sleep, In hollow halls beneath the fells,” the long verses show that the dwarves are serious about the subject they’re talking about.
Their songs speak of torture and death and other horrendous things. The goblins are truly sadistic with the way they make their songs sound. They make words that are commonplace sound horrific and terrible and send shivers down the spines of anyone in their vicinity. They are like the shadows one sees at night that gives them a terrible fright. The content of their songs are scary and short and aren’t complex. The structure of their song shows that they don’t have the greatest vocabulary. They like to use onomatopoeia like “Snap!” and “Grab!”. They of course are referring to the torture that they will bestow upon their