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Shire Quotes

Browse 49 quotes about Shire.

Shire Quotes

“Thus began the Shire-reckoning, for the year of the crossing of the Brandywine (as the Hobbits turned the name) became Year One of the Shire, and all later dates were reckoned from it.* At once the western Hobbits fell in love with their new land, and they remained there, and soon passed once more out of the history of Men and of Elves. While there was still a king they were in name his subjects, but they were, in fact, ruled by their own chieftains and meddled not at all with events in the world outside. To the last battle at Fornost with the Witch-lord of Angmar they sent some bowmen to the aid of the king, or so they maintained, though no tales of Men record it. But in that war the North Kingdom ended; and then the Hobbits took the land for their own, and they chose from their own chiefs a Thain to hold the authority of the king that was gone. There for a thousand years they were little troubled by wars, and they prospered and multiplied after the Dark Plague (S.R. 37) until the disaster of the Long Winter and the famine that followed it. Many thousands then perished, but the Days of Dearth (1158–60) were at the time of this tale long past and the Hobbits had again become accustomed to plenty. The land was rich and kindly, and though it had long been deserted when they entered it, it had before been well tilled, and there the king had once had many farms, cornlands, vineyards, and woods.”

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Book:The Lord of the Rings
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“Long wooden farm tables with turned legs that looked like they'd been collected over a hundred years were placed end to end and ran the entire length of the space. Tapered candles in glass sleeves were mixed among birch-wrapped vases overflowing with colorful wildflowers and maidenhair ferns. Vintage china and silverware adorned every place setting, and our place cards were perched perfectly in their own little beds of green moss. It felt like we'd stepped into the Shire from a Tolkien novel. It was the perfect creation of rustic elegance.”

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Book:Piece of Cake: A Novel
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“So, though there was still some store of weapons in the Shire, these were used mostly as trophies, hanging above hearths or on walls, or gathered into the museum at Michel Delving. The Mathom-house it was called; for anything that Hobbits had no immediate use for, but were unwilling to throw away, they called a mathom. Their dwellings were apt to become rather crowded with mathoms, and many of the presents that passed from hand to hand were of that sort.”

StillsUseHandsUsedHouseWallWeaponsStoresMuseumsCrowdedDwellingUnwillingTrophiesShireDelving
Book:The Lord of the Rings: One Volume
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“The thing that helps me do a good job is that I don't feel the need to explain everything about the world to my reader. I'm not writing a history text on the Four Corners. I'm telling a story that's set there. The setting belongs in the background for the most part, and it's easy for fantasy authors to forget that. That's one of the unfortunate parts of Tolkien's legacy, in my opinion. Read the first hundred pages of the Fellowship of the Ring and you start to get pissed, "Shut up about the Shire's museums! Isn't the world supposed to be in peril or something?"”

WorldNeedsFeelsWritingFirstsHelpingStoriesJobsEasyForgetOpinionFantasyFourReaderPagesHundredCornersRingsBackgroundsSettingSettingsSupposed To BeLegacyHelp MeMuseumsUnfortunateShut UpGood JobPerilFellowshipFellowship Of The RingShire
Author:Patrick Rothfuss
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“Warsan means "good news" and Shire means "to gather in one place". My parents named me after my father's mother, my grandmother. Growing up, I absolutely wanted a name that was easier to pronounce, more common, prettier. But then I grew up and understood the power of a name, the beauty that comes in understanding how your name has affected who you are.”

MeanWantedMotherFatherNamesParentUnderstandingCommonGrowing UpGrowingGrewEasierGrew UpNewsUnderstoodWho You AreGrandmotherAffectedGood NewsMy GrandmotherShire
Author:Warsan Shire
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“All that is gold does not glitter, Not all those who wander are lost; The old that is strong does not wither, Deep roots are not reached by the frost. From the ashes a fire shall be woken, A light from the shadows shall spring; Renewed shall be blade that was broken, The crownless again shall be king.”

DoeLightFaithLostStrongFireInspireBrokenKingsSpringShadowRootsGoldRingsWanderAshesBladesFellowshipFrostGlitterStrength Of WillFrodoWitheringFellowship Of The RingMiddle EarthFrodo BagginsReturn Of The KingLord Of The RingShireDeep RootsSamwiseFantasy NovelsStriderWandering MindGondorStrong Roots
Book:The Fellowship of the Ring: Being the First Part of The Lord of the Rings
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“Deep roots are not reached by the frost.”

StrengthRootsGoldRingsWanderInner StrengthFellowshipStrong EnoughFrostGlitterBeing StrongGold MedalsStrength Of WillFrodoWitheringStrong WilledFellowship Of The RingMiddle EarthFrodo BagginsReturn Of The KingFeeling LostLord Of The RingShireDeep RootsSamwiseFantasy NovelsStriderWandering MindWeak And StrongGondorStrong Roots
Book:The Fellowship of the Ring: Being the First Part of The Lord of the Rings
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“We have inhabited both the actual and the imaginary realms for a long time. But we don't live in either place the way our parents or ancestors did. Enchantment alters with age, and with the age. We know a dozen Arthurs now, all of them true. The Shire changed irrevocably even in Bilbo's lifetime. Don Quixote went riding out to Argentina and met Jorge Luis Borges there. Plus c'est la même chose, plus ça change.”

KnowsWayLongAgeParentChangedMetsLong TimeLifetimeRealmsPlusDozenAncestorRidingImaginaryArthurEnchantmentArgentinaBorgesShire
Author:Ursula K. Le Guin
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“I knew that danger lay ahead, of course; but I did not expect to meet it in our own Shire. Can't a hobbit walk from the Water to the River in peace?" "But it is not your own Shire," said Gildor. "Others dwelt here before hobbits were; and others will dwell here again when hobbits are no more. The wide world is all about you: you can fence yourselves in, but you cannot for ever fence it out.”

WorldSaidCoursesWaterWalksDangerRiversLaysWideFenceShire
Book:The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, The Two Towers, The Return of the King
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“Dear me! We Tooks and Brandybucks, we can't live long on the heights.' 'No,' said Merry. 'I can't. Not yet, at any rate. But at least, Pippin, we can now see them, and honour them. It is best to love first what you are fitted to love, I suppose: you must start somewhere and have some roots, and the soil of the Shire is deep. Still there are things deeper and higher; and not a gaffer could tend his garden in what he calls peace but for them, whether he knows about them or not.”

KnowsFirstsLongSaidStillsI CanHigherGardenRootsRateDearDeeperHeightSoilHonourMerryPippinShireDear Me
Book:The Lord of the Rings: One Volume
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“They hammered on the outer gate and called, but there was at first no answer; and then to their surprise someone blew a horn, and the lights in the windows went out. A voice shouted in the dark: 'Who's that? Be off! You can't come in. Can't you read the notice: No admittance between sundown and sunrise?' 'Of course we can't read the notice in the dark,' Sam shouted back. 'And if hobbits of the Shire are to be kept out in the wet on a night like this, I'll tear down your notice when I find it.”

IfsFirstsLightNightCoursesVoiceDarkAnswersTearsWindowSurpriseGatesWetSunriseHornsHammeredShireAdmittance
Book:The Lord of the Rings: The return of the King
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“Tolkien understood about the things that happen after the end. Because this is after the end, this is all the Scouring of the Shire, this is figuring out how to live in the time that wasn’t supposed to happen after the glorious last stand. I saved the world, or I think I did, and look, the world is still here, with sunsets and interlibrary loans. And it doesn’t care about me any more than the Shire cared about Frodo.”

ThinkingWorldLooksStillsEndsHappensCareLastsUnderstoodSavedGloriousSunsetLoanFrodoShireLast Stand
Book:Among Others
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“I should like to save the Shire, if I could - though there have been times when I thought the inhabitants too stupid and dull for words, and have felt that an earthquake or an invasion of dragons might be good for them. But I don't feel like that now. I feel that as long as the Shire lies behind, safe and comfortable, I shall find wandering more bearable: I shall know that somewhere there is a firm foothold, even if my feet cannot stand there again.”

IfsKnowsFeelsShouldLongHas BeensMightLyingFeltBehindsFeetStupidSafeComfortableBe GoodWanderFirmDullIf I CouldDragonsInvasionEarthquakesBearableFellowship Of The RingShire
Book:The Fellowship of the Ring: Being the First Part of The Lord of the Rings
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“I don't know how to say it, but after last night I feel different. I seem to see ahead, in a kind of way. I know we are going to take a very long road, into darkness; but I know I can't turn back. It isn't right to see Elves now, nor dragons, nor mountains, that I want - I don't rightly know what I want: but I have something to do before the end, and it lies ahead, not in the Shire. I must see it through, sir, if you understand me.”

IfsKnowsWayWantFeelsKindLongI CanDifferentEndsSeemsLastsLyingNightTurnsDarknessKnow HowMountainDragonsLast NightUnderstand MeLong RoadShire
Author:J. R. R. Tolkien
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“Are you in pain, Frodo?' said Gandalf quietly as he rode by Frodo's side. 'Well, yes I am,' said Frodo. 'It is my shoulder. The wound aches, and the memory of darkness is heavy on me. It was a year ago today.' 'Alas! there are some wounds that cannot be wholly cured,' said Gandalf. 'I fear it may be so with mine,' said Frodo. 'There is no real going back. Though I may come to the Shire, it will not seem the same; for I shall not be the same. I am wounded with knife, sting, and tooth, and a long burden. Where shall I find rest?' Gandalf did not answer.”

YearsWellsMayLongSaidRealSeemsTodayPainSidesMemoriesAnswersDarknessMinesYears AgoBurdenHeavyWoundsShouldersTeethKnivesWoundedAcheAlasFrodoReturn Of The KingShire
Author:J. R. R. Tolkien
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“And so it was settled. Sam Gamgee married Rose Cotton in the spring of 1420 (which was also famous for its weddings), and they came and lived at Bag End. And if Sam thought himself lucky, Frodo knew that he was more lucky himself; for there was not a hobbit in the Shire that was looked after with such care. When the labours or repair had all been planned and set going he took to a quiet life, writing a good deal and going through all his notes. He resigned the office of Deputy Mayor at the Free Fair that Midsummer, and dear old Will Whitfoot had another seven years of presiding at Banquets.”

IfsWritingYearsEndsCareDealsLuckyQuietOfficeMarriedSpringFairsRoseNotesSevenDearLabourBagsSeven YearsMayorsCottonResignedBanquetsFrodoMidsummerDeputiesQuiet LifeReturn Of The KingShireSam Gamgee
Author:J. R. R. Tolkien
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“And you tried to change, didn't you? Closed your mouth more. Tried to be softer, prettier, less volatile, less awake... You can't make homes out of human beings. Someone should have already told you that. And if he wants to leave, then let him leave. You are terrifying, and strange, and beautiful. Something not everyone knows how to love.”

IfsKnowsWantShouldHumansHomeBeautifulHuman BeingsBreakKnow HowStrangeMouthsShould HaveAwakeBreak UpHow To LoveShire
Author:Warsan Shire
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“The second suggestion is to think as well as to read. I know people who read and read, and for all the good it does them they might just as well cut bread-and-butter. They take to reading as better men take to drink. They fly through the shires of literature on a motor-car, their sole object being motion. They will tell you how many books they have read in a year. Unless you give at least 45 minutes to careful, fatiguing reflection (it is an awful bore at first) upon what you are reading, your 90 minutes of a night are chiefly wasted.”

PeopleThinkingKnowsMenGivingYearsFirstsWellsDoeBookMightNightReadingLiteratureCuttingMinutesCarObjectsDrinkReflectionCarefulBreadAwfulSoleBoresSuggestionsMotorBetter ManBread And ButterShireMotor Cars
Book:How To Live On Twenty-Four Hours A Day
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“I’m not sad, but the boys who are looking for sad girls always find me. I’m not a girl anymore and I’m not sad anymore. You want me to be a tragic backdrop so that you can appear to be illuminated, so that people can say ‘Wow, isn't he so terribly brave to love a girl who is so obviously sad?’ You think I’ll be the dark sky so you can be the star? I’ll swallow you whole.”

PeopleThinkingWantWholeGirlStarsDarkBoysSkyBraveTragicWowWant MeFind MeYou Want MeBackdropShireDark Sky
Author:Warsan Shire
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“All that is gold does not glitter.”

DoeLordTravelRootsGoldRingsWanderFellowshipTravellerGlitterOf My MindBeing StrongTravel The WorldRoad TripLife Is An AdventureMy JourneyStrength Of WillFrodoLife Is A JourneyWitheringFaithlessStrong WilledFellowship Of The RingGreat PoetryMiddle EarthTravel JourneyRoads And JourneysFrodo BagginsReturn Of The KingFeeling LostPippinLord Of The RingDeep MeaningShireRoad LifeInspiring MovieDeep RootsTravel LightSamwiseFantasy NovelsStriderWandering MindWeak And StrongTravel BooksBeautiful BooksAmazing BookSilmarillionGreatest PoetryGondorMordorStrong RootsProfound Spiritual
Book:The Fellowship of the Ring: Being the First Part of The Lord of the Rings
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