...which my spouse and I discussed into the wee hours last night (and then read aloud portions of various chapters of Ulysses), I have a question about the language that Faramir employs when speaking of his dead brother (or at least the vision he was given of Boromir). 

As Faramir describes to the hobbits what he saw, we find him a solid, poetic speaker, but speaking in the manner of an educated leader.  I'll give an excerpt below:

I sat at night by the waters of Anduin, in the grey dark under the young pale moon, watching the ever-moving stream; and the sad reeds were rustling.  So do we ever watch the shores nigh Osgiliath, which our enemies now partly hold, and issue from it to harry our lands.  But that night all the world slept at the midnight hour.  Then I saw, or it seemed that I saw, a boat floating on the water, glimmering grey, a small boat of a strange fashion with a high prow, and there was none to row or steer it."

As I read this, I'm struck by the specific, telling details ("young pale moon", "sad reeds rustling" "glimmering grey" and so forth).  It's lovely, and almost poetic, but still conversational.  But when he describes what he uttered at that moment, it is:

Boromir! I cried.  Where is thy horn?  Whither goest thou?  O Boromir!"

Suddenly we've gone from prose poetry to high level poetry (it's even written as such, with "O" rather than "Oh").  Suddenly we have archaic, biblical sounding language ("thy", "whither", "goest", "thou"). It should be noted that his recollection appears in the text as italics, and not quoted, unlike his present conversation.  Then, a bit later, a Frodo tells them that the boat comes from Lorien, and that they all had passed through the "Hidden land," Faramir utters something outloud. Again, this time, his words are italicized and quoted:

'Boromir, O Boromir!' he cried.  'What did she say to you, the Lady that dies not?  What did she see?  What woke in your heart then?  Why went you ever to Laurelindoreman, and came not by your own road, upon the horses of Rohan riding home in the morning?'

Granted, this final cry isn't as poetic/archaic, but I can't help wonder about the use of italics and "high" language when Faramir is invoking Boromir.  Also, I wonder about the use of italics (the other things italicized in this chapter are Isildur's Bane and a quote Faramir utters of Gandalf's (uh, and Sam chiding himself after he blunders and tells Faramir about the ring).  What is the significance?  We've already heard "handsome is as handsome does," and I can't help but wonder if Tolkien isn't making us think more highly of Faramir based on his ability to wield an argument and his mastery of normal and high speech.  Not sure about the italics, though.  Am I attributing too much significance to this? 

Happy Bloomsday, all!  (and Father's day, too)

Not all those who wander are lost.