All That Is Gold Does Not Glitter
All that is gold does not glitter,
Not all those who wander are lost;
The old that is strong does not wither,
Deep roots are not reached by the frost.
From the ashes a fire shall be woken,
A light from the shadows shall spring;
Renewed shall be blade that was broken,
The crownless again shall be king.
Summary of All That Is Gold Does Not Glitter
- Popularity of “All That Is Gold Does Not Glitter”: This short poem occurs in the novel, The Fellowship of the Ring. It is one of the sequels of, The Lond of the Rings. This first part appeared in 1954. Frodo sings this song when he meets Bilbo. The beauty of this short poetic piece lies in turns and twists in popular proverbs such as “All that glitters is not gold” has been put into other words. This is the main reason of the popularity of this poem.
- “All That Is Gold Does Not Glitter” As a Representative of Transformation: The speaker of the poem starts by turning all the old proverbs topsy turvy yet with paradoxically universal themes. The first one is that all that is gold does not glitter is the twister of all that glitters is not gold and the same goes for other proverbs. The speaker is of the view that all those who wander are not lost, but only some of them lose their way. Similarly, he states that the old things that have strength do not wither, and the deep roots or people having deep roots do not worry about hardships. Similarly, he states that there is hope at the end of the tunnel that everything will turn topsy turvy as ordinary people may assume the responsibility of the kings. It means that things are going to change.
- Major Themes in “All That Is Gold Does Not Glitter”: Transformation, the emergence of something significant, and the preciousness of common things are three major themes of this poem. Almost every other line of the poem emphasizes the change. The first one is a popular proverb with a twister in it. However, the next verse shows that something good is going to happen, whether with the emphasis on things that are strong, have roots, or have the power to stay put against the odds. However, commoners may assume significance and become kings or important people in the wake of the invasion of such transformations. The poetic output is significant in the overall idea of the novel, The Lord of the Rings.
Analysis of Literary Devices Used in All That Is Gold Does Not Glitter
- R. R. Tolkien has used various literary devices to make his poem relevant to the main idea of the poem. Some of the major literary devices used by Tolkien are as follows.
- Assonance: Assonance is the repetition of vowel sounds in the same line, such as the sound of /a/ in “The crownless again shall be king” and the sound of /o/ in “Not all those who wander are lost.”
- Alliteration: Alliteration is the repetition of consonant sounds in the same line in quick successions, such as the sound of /sh/ in “shadows shall” or /w/ in “who wander” or /b/ in “Be blade.”
- Consonance: Consonance is the repetition of consonant sounds in the same line, such as the sound of /t/ in “The old that is strong does not wither” and the sound of /s/ in “A light from the shadows shall spring.”
- Irony: Irony is a figure of speech in which words are used in such a way that their intended meaning is different from the actual meaning of the words. The poem shows irony used in the last line that “The crownless again shall be king” which means that the people will wear crowns. That seems ironic, seeing that all people cannot wear crowns.
- Imagery: Imagery is used to make readers perceive things involving their five senses. R. R. Tolkien has used imagery in this poem, such as “A light from the shadows shall spring”, “Renewed shall be blade that was broken” and “Not all those who wander are lost.”
- Metaphor: It is a figure of speech in which an implied comparison is made between objects different in nature. The poem shows the use of implied metaphors, such as the old that is strong does not wither, which shows that this withering is associated with the plants and leaves. Therefore, it could be some tree though the poet means old people.
- Symbolism: Symbolism is using symbols to signify ideas and qualities, giving them symbolic meanings different from the literal meanings. The poem shows symbols such as glitter, gold, old strong, and roots to point to the life of people.
Analysis of Poetic Devices Used in All That Is Gold Does Not Glitter
Poetic and literary devices are the same, but a few are used only in poetry. Here is an analysis of some of the poetic devices used in this poem.
- Diction: It means the type of language. The poem shows the use of poetic and formal diction have sound devices at work.
- End Rhyme: End rhyme is used to make the stanza melodious. J. R. R. Tolkien has used end rhyme in this poem, such as glitter/litter and lost/frost.
- Rhyme Scheme: The poem follows the ABABCDCD rhyme scheme in the poem.
- Stanza: A stanza is a poetic form of some lines. It is an eight-lined poem having a single stanza.
- Tone: It means the voice of the text. The poem shows a politically charged tone throughout its verses.
Quotes to be Used
The following lines are useful to quote when talking about the political upheavals.
From the ashes a fire shall be woken,
A light from the shadows shall spring;
Renewed shall be blade that was broken,
The crownless again shall be king.
