Tom Bombadil was the most mysterious being in the stories of The Lord of the Rings, who in The Battle for Middle-earth II can be summoned by Men of the West or by Dwarves as a tier-2 Power. The episode with Bombadil does serve to demonstrate that while the Ring is powerful, it pales in comparison to other powers. Because of its Bucklandish form, An Introduction to Elvish lists the name Bombadil under the "Celtic-sounding names". Bombadil has the power to control or banish all these creatures, but he does not do so. Perhaps it's because (tales of) enlightened beings are common in my culture (I am from India) that I did not find Tom Bombadil weird (dare I say, even In, The Letters of J.R.R. He lives in harmony with nature and has some control over it, which makes sense because nature was a thing created for man's use and there was no enmity between man and nature before the fall. (The Letters of J.R.R.
He speaks in a rhyming whimsical way: "Hey dol! In regard to his nature, Tolkien once said that some things should remain mysterious in any mythology, hidden even to … By water, wood and hill, by reed and willow, By fire, sun and moon, harken now and hear us! How will the innocent be protected?As @Rand al'Thor explains in his answer, Bombadil is an important part of the message: good triumphs over evil, not through an escape to innocent pacifism, but by honest individuals standing forth with courage give and risk all they have and are. Here it is seen that the One Ring has no power over Bombadil; he can see Frodo when the Ring makes him invisible to others, and can wear it himself with no effect. He seems to have preferred to wear a swan-feather in his hat, but before he met Frodo and company on the banks of the Tom Bombadil's true nature has been debated over the years, being uncertain what he really is. Unless the author has given us some hints about the character's relevance, we are reduced to speculation, so let us just consider the mechanics of the story.Tolkien has to get the four hobbits from Crickhollow to Bree, where they will meet Aragorn, unharmed, and without Gandalf to protect them; and yet they need to have some adventures on the way, otherwise the story becomes uninteresting. By using our site, you acknowledge that you have read and understand our Literature Stack Exchange is a question and answer site for scholars and enthusiasts of literature.
The Elves are already departing for the West, and the remaining Elves in Middle-Earth are already but a small number of the previous population.Bombadil's existence (nor that of Goldberry) is never really 'dealt with' at least not in my recollection (this read-through is after maybe 10 years since I last read the series) so one can only assume they sort of just fade into the background, not being corporeal any more. Bombadil, the ultimate symbol of freedom from the effects of evil, would get trapped in the role of taking care of everyone else's evil schemes and follies. I mean, I do not really write like that: he is just an invention (who first appeared in the In Letter #20, Tolkien also reveals the out-of-universe inspiration for Bombadil:Do you think Tom Bombadil, the spirit of the (vanishing) Oxford and Berkshire countryside, could be made into the hero of a story? He was played by Tolkien wrote: "The doll looked very splendid with the feather in its hat, but John did not like it and one day stuffed it down the lavatory. However, it is said that the word derives from Boabdil, the Spaniard name of Abu Abdillah Muhammad XII, the last Moorish ruler of Granada. Evil deeds backfire on the do-er - the Witch King - in unexpected ways.Seems to me that the author’s statement of the reason should be the accepted answer, rather than our opinions. A mysterious being, Tom lived in the depths of the Old Forest, close to the Barrow Downs. Literature Stack Exchange works best with JavaScript enabled The origins and nature of Tom Bombadil are unknown; however, he already existed when the Dark Lord came to Arda, signifying he was alive even before the coming of the Valar.His role and nature in the Elder Days is unknown, but he must have witnessed most of the major events and battles. In regard to his nature, Tolkien once said that some things should remain mysterious in any mythology, hidden even to its inventor. The story began as a sequel to Tolkien's 1937 children's book The Hobbit, but eventually developed into a much larger work.Written in stages between 1937 and 1949, The Lord of the Rings is one of the best-selling …