# Different interpretations...



## Beorn (Dec 17, 2001)

As we all know, Tolkien's works can be interpreted in many different ways. I was thinking, and I thought of my interpretation of the All that is gold poem, spoken by Bilbo in the Council of Elrond, of Aragorn:



> _1. All that is gold does not glitter,
> 2. Not all those who wander are lost;
> 3. The old that is strong does not wither,
> 4. Deep roots are not reached by the frost.
> ...



Now, here comes my interpretations of the lines:

1. Aragorn is not the prettiest guy you've ever seen, yet he is valuable in his knowledge and his ability to keep his head in times of fear/danger/despair. He also doesn't appear to show any qualities of a king as he is escorting, I guess you may say, the hobbits to Rivendell. He shows his knowledge with athelas, but he doesn't act as of royalty.
2. Aragorn wandered about in the wild for a good portion of his life. He went through forests & such, wandering, and gaining knowledge.
3. *The old knowledge of the men of Numenore was not lost. He was one of the few who possessed knowledge such as that of athelas.
4. The roots of Aragorns led straight to Isildur. His family line was probably pretty strong...
5. *From these above roots, Aragorn will regain his power, and he would show kingly things. 
6. *A light from the shadows shall spring. This, I believe, means that Aragorn will be a savior, a great person, in the shadows of then end of the third age.
7. He got his little toy remade in Rivendell...
8. Aragorn's gonna be king...

*-These are most likely to have different interpretations...

Now, I ask of you, what are your interpretations of these lines, AND, what other song/poem do you believe can be interpreted in different ways, AND how do you interpret these?


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## Grond (Dec 17, 2001)

Ah, my man Mike B. Leave it to you to come up with a truly thought provoking thread. I will endeavor to respond when I get to my home tonight and cand unwind and give it a go. (Ancalagon taught me some English lingo). 

BTW, I anxiously await the start up of your website. Please PM me when it opens.


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## Rosie Cotton (Dec 17, 2001)

Line #5 should read, "From the *ashes* a fire shall be woken"

1) I interpret this line about the same as Mike does. Aragorn doesn't appear like much, but he is really the king of man.
2) Same as Mike's.....
3) Many generation's have come and gone between the peak of the Numenorean's, and Aragorn's story; but the power, and wisdom of such a great people need more then a few generations to fade out.
4) This one's hard. I think that this line can be either be interpretted in much the same way as #3. Or you could say that, though Aragorn and his people have faced many hardships they are a strong people, and not easily diluted.
5) From a dying people, a great king as of old shall appear.
6) Help unhoped for, comes to Gondor from the most unlikely seeming place. Or, a king appears from out of the wilderness.
7) Same as Mike's
8) pretty obvious


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## Beorn (Dec 17, 2001)

whoops...I guess I missed that in going over...


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## Lantarion (May 30, 2003)

Bump. 
I would be very interested in hearing other peoples' interpretations! (I don't have time right now, myself)


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## BlackCaptain (May 30, 2003)

1 - Aragorn was quite the foul man, as Frodo said. But, he was of priceless value
2 - Sure, Aragorn wanders. I wander around my house. I'm not lost, I'm just looking for something, and I don't know what, much like Aragorn was
3 - Numenorean blood was obviously failing in the 3rd age. Aragorn was at the end of the High Numenorean line, which would make his blood old one could say, but he was still as valliant as any other Numenorean from before
4 - The same failing mentioned above, could be compared to the frost. Aragorn's Numenorianness was affected very trivialy, if at all
5 - From all of this fading of the Gondorians and Dunedain, a flame, possibly of the west (Anduril), would be awoken. The flame could also represent hope, which was Estel/Aragorn
6 - Same as above. 
7 - Anduril/Narsil
8 - Hmm... Aragorn, King, Crownless... Lets put 2 and 2 together...

I've always thought this poem very fun to interpret... Good thread Mike


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## ltas (May 31, 2003)

Mmm, I'd like to add something about line three... _The old that is strong does not wither_... In my view this could reflect the idea that the ethics and morale of ancient times are not completely forgotten or lost. Also, those old ideals and principles are the source of the strength of the line of Isildur, the soil that protects their roots.


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## HLGStrider (Aug 16, 2003)

I'll give it a whirl. . .

1. All that is gold does not glitter,
Same as most everybody. . .Aragorn is a dimond in the rough.

2. Not all those who wander are lost;
Can't this just be pretty? Why do we need meaning. . .It's pretty!  Seriously, Aragorn wanders about with a purpose unlike those who wander about because they're drunk.

3. The old that is strong does not wither,
Aragorn was from a long lived race. Aragorn was at the tail end. I can also see this as the old traditions.

4. Deep roots are not reached by the frost.
This can be Aragorn's cultural or genetic roots surviving through many years of hardships. 

5. From the ashes a fire shall be woken,
Aragorn will come out of the seeming defeat of his house.

6. A light from the shadows shall spring;
Same as above, just another way of saying it.

7. Renewed shall be blade that was broken:
This means that the balde that was broken shall be renewed.

8. The crownless again shall be king.
And the kingless again shall be crown.


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## Mindy_O_Lluin (Aug 16, 2003)

*OK, I'll give it a try.*

1. All that is gold does not glitter,
(He needs to brush off some layers of mud and dirt) 
2. Not all those who wander are lost;
(Just homeless) 
3. The old that is strong does not wither,
(Old shoe leather is nigh indestructible.) 
4. Deep roots are not reached by the frost.
(Good hair folicles makes him resistant to gray hair.) 
5. From the ashes a fire shall be woken,
(Excels at campfire making)
6. A light from the shadows shall spring;
(Hungry dwarves?) 
7. Renewed shall be blade that was broken:
(A little tarn-X and spot welding should do it.) 
8. The crownless again shall be king. 
[COLOR=aaaa66](When he gets into power, he plans on reviving the retro-fashion of tiaras.)[/COLOR]


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## Manveru (Aug 16, 2003)

I never liked "poem interpretations", but since I joined TTF many of my "old habits" have changed (mostly in a good way).

OK, that's enough of talking, here's my (little) interpretation:

_1. All that is gold does not glitter,_
In most cases "true value" is hidden from unaware eyes...

_2. Not all those who wander are lost;_
I think it reflects Aragorn's ability of finding the "right" path (not only out there in the wilderness...)

_3. The old that is strong does not wither,_
I tried to find some 'other' interpretation (since Mike indicated that this one can be interpreted in many ways), but I guess that "all roads lead to Rom...*bites his tounge* (oops... I mean to Numenor)". I'll stick with what was said earlier... at least until I find sth that differs in some way

_4. Deep roots are not reached by the frost._
His faith is so deep as to not be "corrupted" by Enemy's Evil will (does it make sense?)

_5. From the ashes a fire shall be woken,_
From the "ashes" of Numenorian kingdoms in Middle-earth shall come the heir ("fire") of all times of glory (again "ashes")

_6. A light from the shadows shall spring;_
Something new... maybe even unexpected shall happen... sth like that "new hope ("light") on the Pirates' ships ("shadows") sailing the Anduin"...

_7. Renewed shall be blade that was broken:_
"blade that was broken" shall be forged again... that's simple, but not to everyone in Middle-earth (hobbits never heard about the Last Allience and its results, did they?)

_8. The crownless again shall be king._
The King shall rise again... but who shall it be? Not everyone possesses such a wisdom --> it's meant to be SURPRISE


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## Lúthien Séregon (Aug 16, 2003)

Strangely enough:

_3. The old that is strong does not wither,_

With this line, I immediately thought that it referred to Aragorn's long life as a Numenorean, although it could refer to his roots and history.

Every other line for me was pretty much the same as everybody else's interpretations though.


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