Prosimetrum, the mixed style, in Tolkien's work The lord of the rings

The study deals with prosimetrum, the mixed style, in the work The Lord of the Rings of J.R.R. Tolkien, professor of Old English and Old English literature. The author of this article first briefly demonstrates that prosimetrum occurs in ancient literature in various literary genres and not only in Menippean satire, as has previously been supposed. From ancient literature this phenomenon found its way into medieval literature where it occupied a fixed place; to a smaller extent, prosimetrum can be recognized in modem literature as well. Tolkien's Oxonian education and his academic background guarantee that the existence of prosimetrum, the mixed style, in Greek and Latin literature was nothing new to him. In the book The Lord of the Rings, which has ca. 1100 pages, a very large number of verses included in the prose text can be found - altogether 1138 lines in 95 places. The extent of the verse passages considerably varies; we can come across one or two verses as well as extensive passages consisting of several tens of lines. Although the verses in Tolkien are not frequently stylistically incorporated into the prose text, the author shows that the prosimetrum in The Lord of the Rings is nevertheless stylistically totally relevant prosimetrum, in which the story unfolds, continues and brings new information.