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The History of Middle-earth: Difference between revisions
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(Import from TV Tropes TVT:Literature.TheHistoryOfMiddleEarth 2012-07-01, editor history TVTH:Literature.TheHistoryOfMiddleEarth, CC-BY-SA 3.0 Unported license) |
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* [[Elves vs. Dwarves]]: The ''Lost Tales'' present the origins of the conflict, as in ''[[The Silmarillion]]'', but the Dwarves are presented as another evil race comparable to Orcs (the influence of [[Norse Mythology]] being obvious). It wouldn't be until ''[[The Hobbit]]'' that they got to be sympathetic characters - and indeed given the Wood-elves of that book were essentially a recycled version of Tinwelint's folk from the ''Lost Tales'', it can even be considered a [[Perspective Flip]].
* [[Evil Albino]]: Lungorthin, from ''The Lays of Beleriand'', is a Balrog that was encased in white flames, as opposed to red like the other Balrogs.
* [[Expy]] and [[Self
* [[The Fair Folk]]: Subverted, the ''Lost Tales'' say that the Celtic notion of evil elves is due to conflicts and misunderstanding, and that the more positive English view is correct. To take one example, Tolkien plays with the idea that eating fairy food traps you in their land forever - the Elves of Tol Eressea drink something called ''limpë'', but warn the human traveller Eriol against drinking it, for his heart will forever be filled with their own sadness and he will be compelled to fight for their causes against his own kindred.
* [[God]]: Ilúvatar. Interestingly treated in ''The Lost Tales'', which uses 'Gods' in a pagan sense to describe the Valar:
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** Also, [[CS Lewis (Creator)|CS Lewis]] wrote a review of the ''Lay of Leithian'' as though it was an actual piece of mediaeval literature that had been rediscovered.
* [[Magic Realism]]: ''The Notion Club Papers''.
* [[
* [[Nice Job Breaking It, Hero]]: In ''The Book of Lost Tales: Part 1'', A Gnome named Daurin rushes up to attack Ungoliant as she drains the Two Trees of their sap. Although he manages to wound one of her legs with his sword, its blade becomes stained with her [[Black Blood]], turning it into a poisonous weapon. This doesn't work so well in the end, since he ended up being disarmed by Ungoliant, and killed by Melkor, who then used the tainted weapon to kill the remaining Tree.
* [[Offscreen Moment of Awesome]]: Legions of Balrogs riding [[Ninja Pirate Zombie Robot|robotic]] dragon-shaped troop carriers to invade Gondolin in the earliest manuscripts of ''Book of Lost Tales'', a scene never elaborated on. Also, the whole concept of Elvenhome (the island-ferry used to transport the Elves to Valinor) becoming England, the Elves being displaced by Eriol/Aelfwine's Anglo-Saxon cousins, and Avallone, the capital of the exiled Noldor, being Warwick.
* [[Omniglot]]: Omar the Vala, who knows all tongues. Didn't survive to the final ''Silmarillion''.
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* [[Satan]]: Morgoth (Melko, Melkor). The ''Athrabeth Finrod ah Andreth'' explicitly identifies the two.
* [[Shoo Out the Clowns]]: in ''The Book of Lost Tales'', Sauron is a giant cat (who tests Beren's skills as a trapper by having him catch three mice, because his castle is positively ''overrun'' with them), Morgoth has a wife and kids, an Elvish defector invents tanks, the sun and moon are ships that sail in the upper atmosphere, and, in one version of the story, Morgoth is banished from the world when he climbs up a gigantic pine-tree to escape the Valar and the Valar cut it down after him. As early as the 1930s, though, [[The Silmarillion]] is closer to its modern form.
* [[Shoot the Messenger]]: In ''The Book of Lost Tales, Part 1'', Melkor attempts to persuade the Valar to allow him and his companions to leave Valinor, but the messenger he sends to announce his demands is denounced as a "rogue" and a "traitor", and promptly executed. This actually made the Dark Lord upset, considering he had just Averted this trope earlier, when an Eagle was sent by the Valar to deliver a message to ''him'', and [[What the Hell, Hero?|would have expected his own messengers to be treated in kind by the Gods]].
* [[Shout Out]]: The original ''Tale of Turambar'' includes one to Sigurd from [[Norse Mythology]], in which the teller of the story mentions that men think that eating the heart of a dragon allows you to understand all tongues, but this is a false belief because the blood of a dragon is poisonous.
* [[Steampunk]]: Númenor under Sauron's tutelage in ''The Lost Road'' has steam-powered ironclad ships, some form of aircraft and what sound from the description like some kind of guided missiles. In an example of [[Schizo Tech]], however, they also still fight with swords and armour. Also, in ''The Book of Lost Tales'' Morgoth attacks Gondolin with mechanic dragons.
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* [[The Watson]]: Ælfwine. He serves as the [[Audience Surrogate]] to whom the elves of the Lonely Isle relate the history of the Elder Days.
* [[What Could Have Been]]: The point of the ''History''.
* [[What Happened to The Mouse?]]: The group of rogue Maiar that accompany Melkor and Ungoliant in an early account of the Darkening of Valinor. After assisting Melkor in the theft of the Silmarils and accompanying him when he meets with Ungoliant, they all flee after the destruction of the Two Trees, and never appear again. Although it is mentioned that the Valar found many of these rogues in the Northern regions of Valinor, and slew them, they are mostly forgotten by the time the next part of the story sets in.
** Several characters, both major and minor, also suffer from this throughout the various drafts of the stories.
* [[Write What You Know]]: The Fall of Gondolin from ''The Book of Lost Tales'' is clearly inspired by Tolkien's then-recent experiences in [[World War One]], down to Morgoth's mechanical dragons evoking the early tanks used in the war.
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