TCG Letter #2354

Writing to Margaret Carroux, the German translator of The Lord of the Rings, Tolkien remarks on various points on the poetry found in the story. Noting that they are an essential part of it. He describes them as essential to the "delineation of the characters" and is pleased with her efforts to translate them, feeling that she needs only "a little help" in the matter.

Margaret Carroux was a renowned translator, correspondent, and adviser to the US armed forces in Germany. She maintained a correspondence with Tolkien during her translation work and he encouraged her at various points in time.

The letter is found among the 'Tolkien–George Allen & Unwin archive' at HarperCollins.