LotR -- Book 1 - Chapter 02 - The Shadow of the Past

[HerenIstarion]

It always struck me as (especially, when considered on the scope of the whole book) as expression of simmetry in the composition of the book. To explain myself, exerpt from the contents of my edition:


Book I

Chapter 1 A Long-expected Party
Chapter 2 The Shadow of the Past
Chapter 3 Three is Company
etc

to be compared with:

Book II

Chapter 1 Many Meetings
Chapter 2 The Council of Elrond
Chapter 3 The Ring Goes South
etc


Not only names are somehow interrelated, but the context is neatly up to match what happens in each book. So to say, in the first chapter of each book all is relatively peacefull, but inner tension builds up, in relative second chapters nothing much happens (not a feat often seen in modern writing!), just people talk(in retrospective), the third relative chapters deal with conclusions following retrospective conversation in second chapters and the rest of each book is the quest itself.

very neat, I should say!