Perry-the-Winkle: A Nursery Rhyme in the House of Master Samwise[1] is a humorous poem written by J.R.R. Tolkien included in The Adventures of Tom Bombadil and Other Verses from the Red Book.[2] The poem is "a children's song in the Shire"[3] that was recorded in the Red Book of Westmarch and attributed to Samwise Gamgee.[4]
First stanza[]
The Lonely Troll he sat on a stone
and sang a mournful lay:
'O why, O why must I live on my own
in the hills of Faraway?
My folk are gone beyond recall
and take no thought of me;
alone I'm left, the last of all
from Weathertop to the Sea.'[2]
Synopsis[]
In Samwise Gamgee's poem,[4] a Lonely Troll entered The Shire seeking for friends, because he was the last troll "from Weathertop to the Sea". In fact, he was a very strange troll, because he did not steal gold, drink beer, or eat meat. However, when he came to Delving all the secretive and scared Hobbits started to run and hide whenever they saw him. Thus, only Perry-the-Winkle was unafraid and befriended the troll while he was crying outside of the Lockholes gate. Because the troll was a very good cook, he thanked Perry by feeding him generously. When the other Hobbits learned that Perry had eaten well thanks to the troll, they showed up asking for food, but they were denied since they had refused to be his friend. Perry, instead, was invited to tea-time Every Thursday and the troll taught him how to be a great Baker.[2]
In other versions[]
The Bumpus[]
After Tolkien wrote the first version of the poem in early 1928,[3] which he entitled The Bumpus, he drew an unintentionally sinister[1] sketch of the Bumpus on the first manuscript.[3] On March 29,[1] Tolkien made a second manuscript in which he revised the poem as part[1] of his Tales and Songs of Bimble Bay series.[3] This version may have been the version that Tolkien sent to his publishers September 30 of 1946 to be possibly published alongside Farmer Giles of Ham.[1] The second manuscript was what was later published posthumously in the 2014 edition of The Adventures of Tom Bombadil and Other Verses from the Red Book.[3][5]
William and the Bumpus[]
The third version of the poem was a typescript in which Tolkien had added 111 lines,[1] entitling it William and the Bumpus. It contains some additions that are more in line with the final version of the poem.[3]
Further revisions[]
In early 1961,[1] Tolkien revised the poem for inclusion within The Adventures of Tom Bombadil and Other Verses from the Red Book. He made numerous changes such as changing the Bumpus to the Lonely Troll and including references to The Shire and Bree[5] in place of references to Bimble Bay. In a later typescript, Tolkien gave the poem the name Perry-the-Winkle: A Nursery Rhyme in the House of Master Samwise.[1] In a final[1] preserved typescript at the Bodleian, the phrase a children's song in the Shire (attributed to Master Samwise) or A Children's Song in the Shire (Attributed to Master Samwise)[1] appears as a heading.[3]
On November 15 of 1961, Tolkien sent the poem to his publishers for inclusion in the poetry collection.[1] Many years later, in 1967, Tolkien recorded a version of the poem for Poems and Songs of Middle Earth, which was later reissued.[5]
Inspiration[]
While the origins of the name Perry-the-Winkle is untold, it may be possible that it could be related to the word Periwinckle, that is the name of a marine mollusc and of a creeping plant.[6] The name Winkle may be a short form of the word. The word Brolly is a nickname for "umbrella" and Bong is just a word with a convenient rhyme with "long". The word "cramsome" must be referring to cram.[3]
References[]
- ↑ 1.00 1.01 1.02 1.03 1.04 1.05 1.06 1.07 1.08 1.09 1.10 The Collected Poems of J.R.R. Tolkien, Volume Two, no. 105: "The Bumpus · William and the Bumpus · Perry-the-Winkle (?1928–61)"
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 The Adventures of Tom Bombadil and Other Verses from the Red Book, No. 8: "Perry-the-Winkle", pgs. 41-4
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 3.6 3.7 The Adventures of Tom Bombadil and Other Verses from the Red Book, commentary, No. 8: "Perry-the-Winkle"
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 The Adventures of Tom Bombadil and Other Verses from the Red Book, "Preface"
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 The J.R.R. Tolkien Companion and Guide, II: "Reader's Guide", pg. 754 (entry "Perry-the-Winkle")
- ↑ James D. Allan, An Introduction to Elvish and to Other Tongues and Proper Names and Writing Systems of the Third Age of the Western Lands of Middle-Earth as Set Forth in the Published Writings of Professor John Ronald Reuel Tolkien, "Giving of Names" (1978)