Talk:Melian (Middle-earth)/GA1

GA Review
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Reviewer: TompaDompa (talk · contribs) 19:06, 27 July 2023 (UTC)

I will review this. As an initial observation, I think the title is rather odd. This is not a real-world concept or thing appearing in a work of fiction (like for instance Plants in Middle-earth), this is a fictional character. A title using the same construction as e.g. Balin (Middle-earth) would make a lot more sense to me. Melian (Tolkien character) might make the most sense, but I don't know if there are any other titles along those lines. TompaDompa (talk) 19:06, 27 July 2023 (UTC)


 * Yes. Let's move it to "Melian (Middle-earth)" as soon as this is finished. There aren't any "(Tolkien character)" titles. Chiswick Chap (talk) 19:39, 27 July 2023 (UTC)

General comments

 * I have added some links and removed some duplicates.
 * Thank you.


 * I have tweaked a bunch of references, adding links and fixing errors.
 * Noted, and thanks.

Lead

 * I don't know if the body of the article really justifies describing Melian as a "pivotal" character in the First Age. "Important", perhaps.
 * Fixed.

Fictional biography

 * I'm guessing that parts like It is said that she arrives in Middle-earth to teach its birds to sing that do not appear in the cited source(s) is implicitly sourced to Tolkien's writings?
 * Yes; added explicit ref.


 * "child of Ilúvatar" is fairly esoteric, basically Tolkien jargon.
 * Replaced.

Analysis

 * Might be worth including Fontenot's description of Melian as "the Orpheus of Arda", if you can find an appropriate spot for it.
 * Added.


 * Might be worth including Fontenot's comparison to Cassandra.
 * Added that too.


 * Melian is a Homeric female archetype. – I think this is going too far. Fenwick draws a fair amount of parallels between Galadriel and the women in Homer, but barely discusses Melian at all—except in relation to Galadriel.
 * Yes. Toned down.


 * In an entry for the J.R.R. Tolkien Encyclopedia titled "Music in Middle Earth", Bradford Lee Eden remarked that Melian's daughter Lúthien is named Tinúviel or "Nightingale" by Beren, even though that bird, the nightingale, is connected with Melian's backstory – I don't find this in the cited source?
 * Removed.

Genealogy

 * It seems a bit odd to me to not indicate the (rough) number of generations on Aragorn's side of the family tree.
 * Ok, we'll use the full Half-elven template then. She's about his 65th-great-grandmother.

Summary
Ping. TompaDompa (talk) 13:42, 31 July 2023 (UTC)


 * many thanks for the suggestions. All done to date. Chiswick Chap (talk) 15:58, 31 July 2023 (UTC)

Great job! TompaDompa (talk) 17:15, 31 July 2023 (UTC)