Talking about Tolkien and the weather II , by Golden Lady

The Lord of the Rings (Trilogy).

In this famous trilogy, Tolkien lays down his great talent as narrator and one who deeply possesses the art of description and the art of combining the words in such a way that the reader stays ecstatic!

The first book is mostly an introduction to what is about to follow. It focuses on life in the Shire, the Hobbit-land where Frodo and his relatives live. Hobbits are quiet, love food and good life and most of them do not ever seek for adventures. (Exception to this was the line of Frodo). So the weather at the beginning of the book is sunny and the sky bright and nice images spring to the readers’ mind. But the Shadow is near…..

When the plot goes on, a great cloud gathering occurs to the sky few hours before the appearance of the Nashgoul, the Ring-ghosts. And finally when they show themselves up, in The Weather Top a strong rain pours from the sky as to welcome the evil that the Nashgoul bring with them. The weather also depicts the difficult situation where the four Hobbits are trapped in.

In Rivendell, the House of Elrond the Half-Elven, there is a great sun-shine and a nice weather until the time when Gandalf speaks the Black Speech of Mordor in this hallowed land. Then, a big black shadow covers Rivendell during the speaking of the dark words which indicates the evil these words enclose inside them. In addition to this, this weather-change confesses that everything hallowed or not, will be touched by the Great Evil that rouses in the East.

Another part where Tolkien uses the weather is in the battle at Helm’s Deep. Before the battle starts, the night has come and the Helm’s defenders are unable to see the enemy. Then a storm comes and in the lightings Legolas, with his elfish sight, sees where the panoplies of the Enemy are easy to be stricken. So he provides the Defenders with helpful information. The weather here comes as a help for those who still serve the Good upon the world.

In many other of his books Tolkien uses the weather for various reasons. In these two books the use of it is greater and carries many and meaningful messages. Anyone who wants to say that has wholly and fully understood how an author can use the weather and which are his purposes, must read some of Tolkien’s masterpieces!!!