The leaves were long, the grass was green,
The hemlock-umbels tall and fair,
And in the glade a light was seen
Of stars in shadow shimmering.
Tinúviel was dancing there
To music of a pipe unseen,
And light of stars was in her hair,
And in her raiment glimmering.
There Beren came from mountains cold,
And lost he wandered under leaves,
And where the Elven-river rolled
Tolkien’s creation of Beren and Lúthien initially stemmed from visiting a hemlock glade at the Humber Forts in northern England in 1918, while in military service during the First World War. 
 While there, Tolkien romanced Edith Bratt, his future wife, who danced for him in the glade. 
 It is believed of all of Tolkien’s characters, Beren and Lúthien are the most semi-autobiographical. Indeed, J.R.R. had the tombstone of himself and his wife read: 
 Edith Mary Tolkien 
 Lúthien 1889–1971 John Ronald Reuel Tolkien 
 Beren 1892–1973 
