WARNING: SPOILERS AHEAD!
“Who says that I am dead knows nought at all.
I am that is,Two mice within Redwall.
The Warrior sleaps twixt Hall and Cavern Hole
I am that is, Take on my mighty role...
Look for the sword In moonlight streaming forth
At night, when days first hour Reflects the north
From o'er the threshold Seek and you will see;
I am that is, My sword shall wield for me.”
Ah, Brian Jaques' Redwall, one of my favorite series of books. And one that involves a lot of riddling clues to what our heroes have to accomplish. But then again, riddles and poetry sometimes play an interesting role in a story, whether it's a riddle like in the above quote, or even a method of exposition like in Tolkien's Lord of the Rings epic.
Let's use this poem as an example. How does it serve the story? We find out as we read that it is a riddle. Look at the phrase repeated thrice throughout the poem: "I am that is." These are the words written over the picture of Martin the Warrior on the Redwall tapestry. What does it mean? Continuing on a little further, it turns out that the phrase is a word scramble. Unscramble the letters and you get "I Matthias". The answer is that long ago, Martin chose Matthias to take on his role as Warrior Mouse. Matthias then sets out on a quest to find Martin's lost sword and become a warrior, using the rest of the clues contained in the verse. So that's how this poem serves the story.
Let's take another case, The Song of the Misty Mountain from Tolkien's novel The Hobbit.
"Far over the misty mountains cold
To dungeons deep and caverns old
We must away ere break of day
To seek the pale enchanted gold.
The dwarves of yore made mighty spells,
While hammers fell like ringing bells
In places deep, where dark things sleep,
In hollow halls beneath the fells.
For ancient king and elvish lord
There many a gleaming golden hoard
They shaped and wrought, and light they caught
To hide in gems on hilt of sword.
On silver necklaces they strung
The flowering stars, on crowns they hung
The dragon-fire, in twisted wire
They meshed the light of moon and sun.
Far over the misty mountains cold
To dungeons deep and caverns old
We must away, ere break of day,
To claim our long-forgotten gold.
Goblets they carved there for themselves
And harps of gold; where no man delves
There lay they long, and many a song
Was sung unheard by men or elves.
The pines were roaring on the height,
The winds were moaning in the night.
The fire was red, it flaming spread;
The trees like torches blazed with light.
The bells were ringing in the dale
And men they looked up with faces pale;
The dragon’s ire more fierce than fire
Laid low their towers and houses frail.
The mountain smoked beneath the moon;
The dwarves they heard the tramp of doom.
They fled their hall to dying fall
Beneath his feet, beneath the moon.
Far over the misty mountains grim
To dungeons deep and caverns dim
We must away, ere break of day,
To win our harps and gold from him"
The Dwarves sing this piece while explaining to the Hobbit Bilbo Baggins where they came from. This group is led by Thorin Oakenshield, grandson of the King Under the Mountain. This poem is a means of exposition, telling in ten short verses what the kingdom of Erebor was and how it was destroyed by Smaug the Dragon. The Dwarves want to reclaim their home and golden treasure from him. Bilbo is then taken with them on a long journey eastward to help the Dwarves on their mission. So now we see how that serves the story.
Stories have an interesting way in incorporating poetry into the narrative. Go find out for yourself. Do you want poetry in a novel that's just for fun? Look at Lewis Carrol's various works. Do you like seeing how poetry can show just how much someone has between the ears? Find a copy of Edmond Ronstad's play Cyrano de Bergerac. You'll be amazed and just how much poetry can serve a story.
