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It jumps back and forth, you can be at one point and then a paragraph later it will be 300 years later, then it will be back to where it was... (But not as confusing as HoME, where there's notes in the middle of the chapter.)

In the words of the Professor himself:
 

Fall.

;)

I cannot belive I overlooked this thread
 

Lovely

It's less based on chronology than on points.

I noticed...

I noticed this one hasn't been used...
 

Archaic

Broken. Mostly because it was too archaic and _boring_.

Enchanting.

**

And although I don't quite agree with you, welcome to the Downs, Tietäjä. :) It is beginning to seem that Finns make up the largest (active) non-native English speaking group here. :D

Impossible!



try as I might, I just cannot get past the first few pages before tuning out. Very similar to Stephen Hawkins' "A Brief History Of Time", a fashionable book that everyone talked about but no one actually read to completion

Frustrating

Sublime.

eternal

I also agree with those who said lore, loss, historical.
Especially loss

Sounds strange but...

Nostalgia. Sad, sad nostalgia that makes you want to weep...

yeah, that too, Galadriel.
If there was one word in English that is a combination of "curse" and "oath", I would choose that word.

Haha. Say, the English language never really had single words as oxymorons, did it?

It's not exactly an oxymoron. For example, in Russian, there in a general word that could mean curse, bless, and swear (as in oath). All these words coe fro the same root. I never heard such a word in English, so I guess there isn't any. Or maybe I'm such a dunce I just don't know English properly.

Er, the word "swear" can mean both of those two words ("curse" and "oath"), just not at the same time or the way I think you intended. Still... just had to point that out.

Would have to agree with Galadriel on the word Nostalgia, that would be the one word I would choose to describe it.

:) Hurrah for companionship :p

Majestic!:D

...I do hope nobody else said this...:p

Haha, just browsing through the replies is so tedious, is it not? :p I despise it. Especially when there are 3+ pages.

Yep...my point exactly...:D

POWERFUL
In all aspects. In all meanings of that word.
And I totally agree with MAGESTIC.

That's the word!!!

How true. Though I still hold that for me, it was nostalgia.

not sure if this has been said before...

Beautiful

Just noticed this: generally the "words" divide into 2 groups: those like lore, nostalgia, grand, and others of this kind, and words like boring, confusing, and the like. Either very positive views, or very negative. I agree with most of the positive ones! But that would stretch it to several dozen words...:D:p

Emotional

The Silmarillion reads like a collection of legends and myths. Stories of this kind often carry a message that hits at a visceral level. And so many things in it are larger than life, like Feanor's passionate reactions to events.

After reading a couple of the more detailed and polished 1st age stories in Unfinished Tales, The Silmarillion seems quite 'rough', as in rough draft outline, but even that is brilliant.

Bible.

(Seems like it'd be the Bible of Middle-Earth, does it not?)

I am sorry, but I don't really agree with you, Diane C. It does take some time to get into, but once you get the essence, it is unputdownable.

For me, The Silmarillion is,

Imperfection in perfection. A saga. An endowment. Captivating.

(And to be honest, I also found 'A Brief History of Time' to be an interesting read.)

Indomitable: because the Noldor fought on even when there was no hope.

Hope: because the history of the Noldor on middle earth was filled with hope at first, but it was hope that faded as they realized there could be no lasting victory against Morgoth.

Valor: because valor is strength of spirit, determination, and courage. The characters that made this book for me had this in abundance.

Lastly, Sorrow: I don't think I need to explain this one.

Satisfying

As in?

Macalaure spoke: The Silmarillion in one word.
Since the Sil is not as universally loved as the LotR, I'm looking forward to some controversy!

Leperous
corrupting; poisonous

I like Lord of the Rings pure. Not with all that fungal growth attached to it. That stuff is toxic.

I do not quite understand how The Sil is "fungal growth". And it's not "attatched" to LOTR - more the opposite; even though LOTR was published first, The Sil was the original idea.

Can you please explain why you think so?

And welcome to the Downs! Enjoy your stay!

Galadriel55 spoke: [I do not quite understand how The Sil is "fungal growth".]
A metaphor and a joke on a Hobbit's love of mushrooms. :)

Galadriel55 spoke: [And it's not "attatched" to LOTR - more the opposite; even though LOTR was published first, The Sil was the original idea.]
Oh, I'm quite aware of the relationships. Moreso than you would believe.

Galadriel55 spoke: [Can you please explain why you think so?]
The ideas in The Silmarillion were quite "fluid" when it came to writing Lord of the Rings. I liked that Gil-Galad was the only son of Feanor, that Neldoreth (home of Thingol and Melian) was the forest abutting the Sea of Rhun (see HOME War of the Ring; the second map) and other massive changes that he was considering when writing Lord of the Rings.

Those stories were meant as a backdrop, not something to be forever encapsulated in Silma and sworn an oath by.

Galadriel55 spoke: [And welcome to the Downs! Enjoy your stay!]
Thank you.

In that case, we will just have to disagree. :) I think that The Sil is a beautiful work, even if it wasn't completed by JRRT.