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70-year-old Tolkien poem reveals early 'Lord of the Rings' character

Elf queen Galadriel makes an appearance as a magical being who grants a couple's wish for children, then demands payment.

Cate Blanchett as Galadriel in "The Hobbit" film series.

New Line Cinema

A poem by J.R.R. Tolkien that's been out of print since the year World War II ended will be published this fall for the first time in 70 years, the Guardian reports.

And even if you were around in 1945, you likely didn't see the poem unless you were a dedicated reader of literary journal The Welsh Review. That's where "The Lay of Aotrou and Itroun" (Breton for "lord and lady") was published, based on a work Tolkien had started around 1930.

Why should modern readers care? The poem suggests an early version of elf queen Galadriel from "The Lord of the Rings" and "The Silmarillion." The poem tells of a couple that cannot have children until visiting a witch known as the Corrigan, who grants them twins, but later demands a price be paid for her assistance.

Doesn't sound like the Galadriel played by Cate Blanchett? HarperCollins, which is publishing the poem in November, said that the poem comes "from the darker side" of Tolkien's imagination. "She would finally emerge, changed in motive and character but still recognizable, in The Lord of the Rings as the beautiful and terrible Lady of the Golden Wood, the Elven queen Galadriel," the publisher said of the Corrigan character.

The poem and related Tolkien works will be published on November 3.