The Mewlips

This article is about the poem. For the race itself, see Mewlips.

The Mewlips was a nonsensical, but eerie poem about a mythical^[1] race that made a habitat somewhere in Middle-earth. The poem is the only one in the collection that is not referenced in the "Preface", and therefore no background is given about it.^[2] Several locations are mentioned in this poem that do not appear on the known map, while it is possible the Merlock Mountains is the fictitious imagination created by the poet on what little Hobbits knew of the outside world, although it is also possible this references the Misty Mountains.^[1]

First stanza

In other versions

Knocking at the Door

In possibly 1927, J.R.R. Tolkien wrote a poem entitled Knocking at the Door: Lines Induced by Sensations on Waiting for an Answer at the Door of a Reverend and Academic Person.^[1] Tolkien later struck the subtitle through and then restored it.^[1] The poem was later first published on February 18 of 1937 under the pseudonym Oxymore as no. 13: Knocking at the Door: Lines Induced by Sensation When Waiting for an Answer at the Door of an Exalted Academic Person on page 403 in issue 55 of the Oxford Magazine.^[4][5]

Further revisions

In 1962, Tolkien rewrote the poem as The Mewlips for The Adventures of Tom Bombadil and Other Verses from the Red Book.^[1][4]

In adaptations

Richard Svensson released a stop-animation short film of "The Mewlips", with accompanying music by Colin Rudd.^[6]

Dutch black metal band Walpurgisnacht released their musical interpretation of "The Mewlips", with the poem being the lyrics to their music.^[7]

Translations

Translated name
Arabic	القطط اللزجة
Chinese	缪利普
Dutch	De Muspels
Finnish	Naukuhuulet
French	Les Miaulabres
Georgian	მიულიპები
German	Die Muhlipps
Hebrew	האשמנים
Italian	I Mewlips
Japanese	ミューリップ族
Korean	이상한 것
Persian	را مولیپ‌ها
Spanish	Los Maulladores
Swedish	Dyvättarna
Ukrainian Cyrillic	Нявкуни

References