Grammar Question - The Barrow-Downs Discussion Forum

Olorin · 09-09-2003, 06:24 PM

If there are any of you who know your grammar well, I have a question for you. Repeatedly, Tolkien used the word further in relation to distance. For example:

"He put the ring in his pocket almost without thinking; certainly it did not seem of any particular use at the moment. He could not go much further, but sat down on the cold floor and gave himself up to complete miserableness, for a long while." -The Hobbit: Riddles In The Dark

I can't find any more at the moment, but I distinctly remember him using it in the same way several times.

For any of you who are thoroughly confused, the word further is in relation to degree whereas farther is distance. What I'm wondering is why he used further and not farther.

I realize that I'm probably missing something, because Tolkien could not be wrong. He was a professor of English at Oxford after all.

I'm thinking that Tolkien was taking artistic license with the language, which he does repeatedly also. For instance, in the passage above, he uses the word miserableness, which isn't a word. The proper word would be misery. I don't know.

Any thoughts?

09-09-2003, 06:24 PM	#1
Olorin Wight Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: Where the sun sails and the moon walks. Posts: 155	Grammar Question If there are any of you who know your grammar well, I have a question for you. Repeatedly, Tolkien used the word further in relation to distance. For example: "He put the ring in his pocket almost without thinking; certainly it did not seem of any particular use at the moment. He could not go much further, but sat down on the cold floor and gave himself up to complete miserableness, for a long while." -The Hobbit: Riddles In The Dark I can't find any more at the moment, but I distinctly remember him using it in the same way several times. For any of you who are thoroughly confused, the word further is in relation to degree whereas farther is distance. What I'm wondering is why he used further and not farther. I realize that I'm probably missing something, because Tolkien could not be wrong. He was a professor of English at Oxford after all. I'm thinking that Tolkien was taking artistic license with the language, which he does repeatedly also. For instance, in the passage above, he uses the word miserableness, which isn't a word. The proper word would be misery. I don't know. Any thoughts? __________________ Many that live deserve death. And some that die deserve life. Can you give it to them? Then don't be too eager to deal out death in judgement. For even the very wise cannot see all ends.