Poems and stories
Poems and Stories shows J.R.R. Tolkien's vast talents as storyteller and critic through an important collection of his shorter works. The Adventures of Tom Bombadil is a collection of delightful songs and verses featuring a number of hobbit legends, from tales of princesses, dwarves and trolls, to stories of Old Oliphaunt and the Man in the Moon. The dramatic poem The Homecoming of Beorhtnoth, unavailable in any other edition, is a moving lament for the death of Beorhtnoth at the Battle of Maldon in the year 991. Tolkien's essay On Fairy Stories is central to an understanding of his work. In it, he discusses the nature of fairy stories, arguing that they should not be treated as stories written only for children. They are as relevant and universal as any form of fiction. Two further stories in this collection aptly illustrate his point: Smith of Wootton Major which tells of the preparation of the Great Cake to mark the Feast of Good Children, and the strange events which follow, and Leaf by Niggle, which recounts the strange adventures of the painter, Niggle. Farmer Giles of Ham is one of Tolkien's most popular stories, full of wit and humour, set in the days when giants and dragons walked the earth. Farmer Giles is fat and unheroic but he is also very shrewd. When a large and stupid giant blunders into his fields, it sets off a surprising chain of events. Poems and Stories is complemented throughout by Pauline Bayne's delightful illustrations.