A Lament for Boromir

This week we begin a new book.  It is the first (third overall) book of the second volume, The Two Towers.  The Fellowship has broken.  Sam and Frodo have left the others behind.  What happens to them?

At the end of the last chapter, their fates were unclear.  Merry and Pippin were looking for Frodo, unaware he had left the company by boat.  Boromir had succumbed to the call of the Ring, but had recovered and had been sent to defend Merry and Pippin. 

This week's chapter is called "The Departure of Boromir."  Boromir will leave the fellowship, too.  But in what fashion?

We find Aragorn looking frantically for Frodo, but he hears the Horn of Gondor, which is Boromir's, and is a sign he is in danger.  Aragorn rushes to where the sound is coming from.  He finds Boromir laid up against a tree, mortally wounded.  He is too late.

Boromir tells what he has done.  He found Merry and Pippin, but they were attacked by Orcs.  He tried to defend them (dozens are dead on the ground around him) but they were captured and taken away.  Having said this, he dies.  As Aragorn kneels at his side in mourning Aragorn and Legolas appear, they, too, having heard his horn.

They decide they should give Boromir a proper funeral.  But there is not enough time to bury him or to build a pyre.  They decide to place his body in one of the boats.  They will put his weapons with him, as well as the weapons of his enemies at his feet.  The river will take him down the Falls of Rauros, which leads towards the Sea.

Having prepared the boat in this way, they send it down the river.  Legolas and Aragorn then break into song.  This week I'd like to analyze the song, as well as to discuss why Gimli adds nothing.  I will bold the parts of the song I will analyze, and then write my analysis below.  Hopefully it will be clear enough.  Also, if you prefer to follow the lyrics while listening, check out this rendition!

Aragorn:

Through Rohan over fen and field where the long grass grows

The West Wind comes walking, and about the walls it goes

"What news from the West, O wandering wind, do you bring to me tonight?

Have you seen Boromir the Tall by moon or by starlight?"

"I saw him ride over seven streams, over waters wide and grey

I saw him walk in empty lands until he passed away

Into the shadows of the North, I saw him then no more

The North Wind may have heard the horn of the son of Denethor"

"O Boromir! From the high walls westward I looked afar

But you came not from the empty lands where no men are"

Legolas:

From the mouths of the Sea the South Wind flies, from the sandhills and the stones

The wailing of the gulls it bears, and at the gate it moans

"What news from the South, O sighing wind, do you bring to me at eve?

Where now is Boromir the Fair? He tarries and I grieve"

"Ask not of me where he doth dwell – so many bones there lie

On the white shores, on the dark shores under the stormy sky

So many have passed down Anduin to find the flowing Sea

Ask of the North Wind news of them the North Wind sends to me"

"O Boromir! Beyond the gate the seaward road runs south

But you came not with the wailing gulls from the grey sea’s mouth"

Aragorn:

From the Gate of Kings the North Wind rides, and past the roaring falls

And clear and cold about the tower its loud horn calls

"What news from the North, O mighty wind, do you bring to me today?

What news of Boromir the Bold? For he is long away"

"'Neath Amon Hen I heard his cry. There many foes he fought

His cloven shield, his broken sword, they to the water brought

His head so proud, his face so fair, his limbs they laid to rest

And Rauros, golden Rauros-falls, bore him upon its breast"

"O Boromir! The Tower of Guard shall ever northward gaze

To Rauros, golden Rauros-falls, until the end of days"

The first question to answer is: From whose point of view are these lyrics?  As we see, some of the lyrics on in quotes.  Someone particular is speaking in this poem.  The narrator is clearly in Minas Tirith, given the description of what the winds pass.  Who the speaker is proves harder to pin down specifically, but let's suffice to say it's a guard of the city who has been told to look for Boromir's return.

This first verse references the West Wind - that is, a wind from the west blowing east.  What is west of Minas Tirith?  Well, everything good.  The Shire, Rivendell and Lothlorien, etc.  Mordor is to the east, as is Minas Morgul (a fallen city) and Osgiliath (a falling city).

Why is Boromir called "the Tall"?  In Middle Earth, men of old (and remember, in Middle Earth, everything old is good) were actually taller.  Elendil, the old King of Gondor who fought Sauron in the second age, is called "Elendil the Tall" (Some sources say he was an absurd 7 foot 11 inches).  By calling him Boromir the Tall, the poem directly compares him to Gondor's greatest king.  

Then the west wind suggests the North Wind may know of Boromir, since Boromir went north ("Passed away into the shadows of the North").  It specifically suggests it may have heard his horn, a particularly significant choice, since wind of course carries any such sound that may have come from the horn.

Next comes the South Wind.  South of Gondor is the Sea, which is not really part of our text.  But we know the Sea will eventually (if all goes well) receive Boromir's body.  It is apparently a common practice, since "so many bones there lie."  The South Wind doesn't deny Boromir may be there, simply that it does not know.  It, too, suggests the North Wind may know.

In this verse Boromir is called "Boromir the Fair."  In Middle Earth 'fair' is sort of like "nice" in our world - positive but meaningless.  But this is the only verse where the guard of his own volition suggests Boromir may be dead (Since he says he grieves).  While we may have seen a complicated, and ultimately ugly, side of Boromir, the people of Gondor know him only as the heroic son of their leader.  His death will only be a tragedy for them.

In the final verse the North Wind speaks.  We have so far been lead to believe the North Wind will know of Boromir's fate, and relieve our guard of their ignorance.   The guard asks the North Wind specifically of 'Boromir the Bold.'

The North Wind answers that it has seen Boromir, and that he fought valiantly.  Bold, indeed.  By saying his shield and sword were broken the wind tells the guard that he died while fighting and not while fleeing.  Further, his head is proud and his face is fair: That is, he has died with honor and his body was not ravaged by enemies.

Having learned Boromir's fate the guard ends by saying the Tower of Guard (Which is what Minas Tirith translates to) will look forever northward, awaiting the return of his body.  Gondor has lost a son, and will forever hope to bring him home.

Perhaps you noticed two things.  Gimli does not sing any verse, nor is there any verse for the East Wind.  In our text, this is addressed:

"You left the East Wind to me," Said Gimli "But I 
will say naught of it." "That is as it should
be," said Aragorn. "In Minas Tirith they endure
the East Wind, but they do not ask it for tidings."

The East Wind, of course, would blow from Mordor.  There is no sense in listening to anything from that direction.

I was going to write more about Gimli's decision to say nothing, but analyzing the lament has made this post quite long enough.  I will say this: We are often eager to say our piece and make ourselves be heard.  But intentional silence also sends a message, and refusing to say anything at all can be as impactful as a scathing rebuke.  Though in the current culture silence is usually seen as complacency.  Perhaps, then, the answer is not to say nothing, but to - like Gimli did - say you will say nothing.  "I'm not even going to dignify that with an answer!"  That way everyone knows you saw it and that your silence is purposeful.

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