27 * The most significant change to the cultural fabric of Middle Earth in the film is the almost total absence of poetry and song. Tolkien uses poetry and song as key indices to the cultural capital and cultural identity of societies throughout The Lord of the Rings and other books. Their vital role is made clear if we think of 'culture' in terms of Raymond Williams' familiar social definition--"a description of a particular way of life, which expresses certain meanings and values not only in art and learning but in institutions and ordinary behaviour". 28 In Middle Earth, poetry and song are not merely the province of high cultural forms, but extend to the practice of everyday life. Even the simplest domestic ritual become infused with the poetic--such as washing dishes, having a bath, and of course, drinking beer. 29 All these are catalysers which add phatic dimension to the nuclei of the narrative, and whose omission materially affects the discursive complexity of the film. The book of 'The Fellowship of the Ring' provides many occasions for poetic expression, including reciting, chanting and singing of verses. For example, there is much light-hearted verse, such as Tom Bombadil's jolly rhymes, and a variety of Hobbit nonsense and occasional songs. At a more serious level, there are heroic sagas (of Durin, and Erendil); a romance lay (of Beren and Luthien); a series of laments (for Gil-Galad, Gandalf, and Boromir), and much more besides. 30 All of this is absent in the