The poem of the rings

[Theodopolis]

Three Rings for the Elven-kings under the sky,
Seven for the Dwarf-lords in their halls of stone,
Nine for Mortal Men doomed to die,
One for the Dark Lord on his dark throne,
In the Land of Mordor where the Shadows lie.
One Ring to rule them all, One Ring to find them,
One ring to bring them all and in the darkness bind them
In the land of Mordor where the Shadows lie.

Question 1. It has the line " One for the Dark Lord on his dark throne."
Which is that ring if it has "One Ring to rule them all?"

Question 2. Do the Seven Dwarf-Lords who received rings pose any significance?

Question 3. Is the One Ring that Frodo receives just the "One Ring to rule them all?" or the whole sentence:" One Ring to rule them all, One Ring to find them, One Ring to bring them all and in the darkness bind them?"

[Bill the Pony]

Question 1 & 3
As far as I see it, the last five lines of the poem are about the same 'One Ring', so the one ring is for the Dark Lord, it rules them all, finds them all and binds them in the darkness.
So the Ring Frodo receives is the whole thing.

Question 2
I don't know if the dwarf lords who owned the rings played any part in the history before LOTR starts, but at the time LOTR starts, if I remember right all rings were lost to the dwarves. Some were comsumed by dragons, and the rest was in the hands of Sauron.

New Question: Does anyone know what Sauron did with those Dwarven Rings?

[Centin]

The seven rings given to the Dwarves had no real effect on them, Sauron's attempt to corrupt them failed.

It only made them love gems, gold, etc. more.

[Gamil Zirak]

Sauron gave the seven to the Dwarves to seduce them to his service. The Dwarves proved too hardy to be lured in this way, though, and the Rings did little more than increase their native lust for gold. By the end of the Third Age, Sauron had recovered three of the Seven Rings to himself, and the other four had been consumed by dragons. It's believed that there was a ring at the center of each of the seven dwarve kingdoms.

[Lantarion]

Ooh, I read a part in UT just the other day with a piece about the Dwarf Rings.. But I can't find it now! Curses..

[Zale]

Aulë made the Dwarves specifically to resist Morgoth and his works (including Sauron). Therefore, when Sauron attempted to seduce/corrupt them with the 7 rings, he failed - it only made them slightly greedier for gold etc.
I had always understood lines 6 & 7 to refer to the "one ring for the dark lord on his dark throne".

[Lantarion]

Every part of the poem with the words "One" and "Ring" in it is referring to the One Ring, not to three seperate rings. Sheesh.. :D
And Zale, that might be the case but it does say in the Sil that Aulë created the Dwarves because he was impatient, and didn't want to hang around waiting for the Children of Ilúvatar to wake up.

[Zale]

*And* he didn't want them to be corrupted by Morgoth, who was rampaging round Arda at the time. (I think)

[Tao]

When referring to the 'Three Rings for the Elven Kings', they're talking about the Silmarils, right? That's what i thought. :D. Also, at the end of LotR, when Gandalf, Galadriel, and Elrond (?) are wearing the Silmarils, why are they not corrupted? Hm, actually I think I know the answer to this. It is probably because the One Ring and Sauron has been destroyed. Never mind.

[Gamil Zirak]

The Silmarils are totally different than the three elven rings. The Slimarils are the three great jewels made by Fëanor in Valinor, in which he locked the light of the Two Trees, Laurelin and Telperion, before their destruction. Morgoth stole all three Silmarils. During the First Age, one Silmaril alone was recovered from Morgoth's Iron Crown by Beren and Lúthien, and was borne by Eärendil when he sailed into the West to seek the aid of the Valar. Morgoth was utterly defeated, and the Silmarils recovered. Maedhros and Maglor, the only two of Fëanor's seven sons to survive until that War of Wrath, stole the jewels from the camp of the Valar. Their evil deeds in pursuance of the jewels, however, drove them to madness; Maedhros cast himself into a fiery chasm with one of the Silmarils, and Maglor threw the other into the depths of the sea. So only one Silmaril remains visible in the World, bound to Eärendil's brow as he sails the heavens; the Morning and Evening Star. The three rings were made by Celebrimbor and without the influence of the Sauron, unlike the seven and the nine. They are named Nenya, Narya and Vilya. Their power maintained the realms of the Elves in Middle-earth until the destruction of the Ruling Ring.

[Tao]

I realized that all of the Silmarils had been stolen by Morgoth, I just wasn't quite sure. You see, I haven't finished The Silmarillion yet, so don't go to hard on me.

[Gamil Zirak]

I didn't mean to be hard on you and I hope I didn't ruin part of the book. I was trying to let you know that the Silmarils and the three rings, although there are some similarities between them, are not the same.

[Tao]

It's okay. I wasn't referring to you, I was referring to everyone in general. As for spoiling the book, I hope you didn't either. :)

[Lantarion]

The "Three Elven Rings" doe actually refer to the three Elven Rings, coincidentally: Nenya, Vilya and Narya. In the Silmarillion the silmarils are ... *falls uncontious to the floor with a chloroform rag over his face*
:) Sorry. Read the Sil!