The White Council

Re: Balrog And Tolkien's Use Of The Word "LIKE"

Tolkien and Inklings Discussion

: : This debate is taking place lower down the board, but I thought I'd bring up a point or two up here.

: : First, I noticed that Tolkien uses the word 'like' in the following passages:

: : "What it was could not be seen: it was LIKE (emphasis mine) a great shadow."

: : So, was it a shadow or not? Tolkien says it was "like" a great shadow.

: : Okay, let's get on to the next passage:

: : "His enemy halted again, facing him, and the shadow about it reached out like two vast wings."

: : Now the "like" a shadow has become a "shadow" period. Hmmm...

: : Next passage:

: : "...and suddenly it drew itself up to a great height, and its wings were spread from wall to wall..."

: : And now suddenly the "like" wings have become "wings" period.

: : Next passage:

: : "With a terrible cry the Balrog fell foreward, and its shadow plunged down and vanished."

: : Notice that "its shadow" plunged down. I've puzzled over this passage quite some time - long before this present debate. We know that when the shadow fell, the whole balrog fell, but from the wording one might think that the balrog's shadow detached itself ala Peter Pan.

: : But Tolkien crafted his words with care. And he possibly made a few grammatical errors that have been overlooked. From reviewing the preceeding passages we are left with a problem. Was the shadow merely "like a great shadow"? Were the "like two vast wings" wings in actuality? If the shadow was a shadow (not like a shadow), then we must apply the same rule to the wings. The wings must be wings, based upon the usage that Tolkien provides. Else the whole event, right up to the falling of the balrog makes no sense from a grammatical point of view.

: : It's no use saying that Tolkien said it was shadow and then arguing that the passage about wings refers back several sentences to the 'like wings'. If that is done we have to go back and deal with the "like a great shadow" passage. I can imagine getting into a debate over what is "like" a shadow, but not a shadow.

: : I could conjecture that the "shadow" encompassing the balrog was similar to the unlight of Ungoliant, which seems to be the best explaination (at least to me). But whatever it was we are still left with this odd wording. The piece works just as well if we leave out the word 'like' and just take the scene at face value.

: I think that Tolkien was leading the reader into a gradually greater awareness of what was approaching, as if from the perceptions of Gandalf's group (perhaps specifically the Hobbits, as Gandalf, Legolas and perhaps Aragorn may have had more idea of what they were looking at). Thus initially they felt and saw something LIKE a great shadow approaching, later they could see that it was a shadow and that it had a winged appearance, subsequently the observers could see that, at the heart of the shadow, there was an awesome winged being.

: Tolkien also uses terms shuch as "shadow", "darkness" and even relative tallness (how many times does someone [Gandalf or Aragorn] suddenly appear "taller" when revealing their inner power) as moral rather than physical entities. The Balrog's shadow fell, in some ways it could be also said that the shadow of the Balrog's baleful presence fell from the opressed spirits of the observers.

I tend to agree that Tolkien was "leading the reader" -building the suspense, but I'm not sure I agree with the symbolic or metaphorical view of the Balrog's fall. At any rate, my argument is with those that use the word 'like' to try and prove that the word 'wings' refers back to a metaphorical description, but ignore the same usage when referring to the shadow itself. Either the shadow and the wings are both metaphorical or they are both real. The evidence supports that something real was there -that goes without saying. The Balrog was obviously real. But Tolkien also describes the Balrog as a shadow (the shadow fell), so if the shadow is a metaphor, then the Balrog itself is a metaphor - a concept I reject. So if the shadow is NOT a metaphor, then neither are the wings.

I firmly believe that the wings were real, not metaphorical. Whether or not the Balrog could fly (perhaps there wasn't enough room, or the wings were just for show), I do not know.