“We will press on by day and dark.”

Tolkien uses alliteration, a poetic device where the same first sound is repeated in multiple words, giving his prose a song-like and mythological quality. The “d” sound that unites “dark” and “day” emphasizes the symbolism of light and dark (See: Symbols & Motifs), indicating that Aragorn and his companions must persevere through both good and bad.

“Long slopes they climbed, dark, hard-edged against the sky already red with sunset. Dusk came. They passed away, grey shadows in a stony land.”

The imagery of nature in this quote uses darkness and the red light of sunset to create a menacing atmosphere. The color grey is used to describe both Aragorn, Legolas, and Gimli, and also the stones of the landscape that they are running across. This description indicates their ability to blend into nature, whereas the Orcs leave obvious marks of their trail due to their disregard for the environment.

“But now all the land was empty, and there was a silence that did not seem to be the quiet of peace.”

Tolkien describes the plains of Rohan, creating a tone of suspense and dread that foreshadows the troubles in Théoden’s court. Through the book, Tolkien suggests that the nonhuman environment mirrors the condition of the people who live in a particular region: Mordor takes on the evil traits of the Orcs, while Rohan takes on the repressive stillness of Théoden when he is under the influence of Wormtongue.

“The taste brought back to them the memory of fair faces, and laughter, and wholesome food in quiet days now far away.”

This quote uses polysyndeton, a literary device where an author uses more conjunctions than are grammatically necessary in order to space out and give a slower pace to items on a list. By spacing out the fair face, laughter, and wholesome food that Merry and Pippin are remembering, Tolkien creates a feeling of savoring a memory and getting lost in the past.

“So ended the raid, and no news of it came ever back either to Mordor or to Isengard; but the smoke of the burning rose high to heaven and was seen by many watchful eyes.”

The narrative voice shifts from a third-person limited perspective to a third-person omniscient voice, telling the reader information that Pippin is not aware of. This technique uses deliberate ambiguity to create suspense, making the reader unsure who is watching and how they will interpret the signs of Merry and Pippin’s escape. The idea of “many watchful eyes” also echoes the motif of eyes and seeing in the novel (See: Symbols & Motifs).

“It does not look or feel at all like Bilbo’s description of Mirkwood. That was all dark and black, and the home of dark black things. This is just dim, and frightfully tree-ish. You can’t imagine animals living here at all, or staying for long.”

Merry’s reflection on Fangorn Forest uses repetition and the informal suffix -ish to create a playful tone. He compares the malevolent darkness of Mirkwood to the heavy tree cover of Fangorn, separating Fangorn’s lack of light from the usual symbolic association between darkness and evil (See: Symbols & Motifs).

“Together we will take the road that leads into the West,

And far away will find a land where both our hearts may rest.”

Treebeard sings a song written by the Elves about the distance between the Ents and the Entwives, thereby invoking The Value of Storytelling. The song mentions journeying into the West, which for Elves meant returning to the land of Valinor, a place that was never corrupted by evil and death. Metaphorically, traveling to the West in this song represents finding a paradise, or perhaps even an afterlife, where the Ents and Entwives can end their dispute.

“We meet again. At the turning of the tide. The great storm is coming, but the tide has turned.”

Gandalf uses an analogy, comparing the moment where good begins to fight back against evil to the change in the tides of the ocean. Gandalf adds another natural analogy, comparing the war with Sauron to a storm that will cause damage, but reminds Aragorn, Legolas, and Gimli that powerful forces will begin to pull in their favor, just as the tide of the ocean cannot be resisted or disrupted.

“Then darkness took me, and I strayed out of thought and time, and I wandered far on roads I will not tell.”

When describing the end of his battle with the Balrog, Gandalf’s language becomes deliberately ambiguous, euphemistically implying that he did experience something like death. However, because Gandalf is not mortal, he describes the experience by using the metaphor of a journey. Tolkien often uses the language of travel to describe death or leaving the mortal world—a feature that may have been inspired by Tolkien’s deep knowledge of Old English poetry (See: Background).

“Where now the horse and the rider? Where is the horn that was blowing?

Where is the helm and the hauberk, and the bright hair flowing?

Where is the hand on the harpstring, and the red fire glowing?

Where is the spring and the harvest and the tall corn growing?

They have passed like rain on the mountain, like a wind in the meadow;

The days have gone down in the West behind the hills into shadow.”

Tolkien attributes this song to the men of Rohan, but it is also a loose translation of the Old English poem “The Wanderer,” which includes the line “Where is the horse gone? Where is the rider?” Both the original Old English poem and Tolkien’s version use repeated rhetorical questions to create a sense of sadness, longing, and nostalgia. The Old English poem is explicitly Christian, cautioning the reader not to value their temporary mortal existence and to instead value the eternal God. Tolkien’s version uses the sunset in the West (the undying lands of Valinor) to create a similar meaning that fits the cosmology of Middle-earth.

“A witless worm have you become. Therefore be silent, and keep your forked tongue behind your teeth.”

Gandalf insults Wormtongue, employing alliteration to emphasize the phrase “witless worm” and draw attention to Wormtongue’s serpentine traits. Snakes and dragons, sometimes also called worms, are typically associated with duplicity, evil, and the devil in Christian cosmology.

“Far over the plain Éowyn saw the glitter of their spears, as she stood still, alone before the doors of the silent house.”

Tolkien’s description of Éowyn left behind at the start of battle creates a melancholy mood, focusing on her loneliness and the silence of the empty hall without her male relatives. This minor detail foreshadows Éowyn’s later wish to fight in the war in The Return of the King, as she does not wish to be left behind while her uncle and brother risk their lives.

“They wavered, broke, and fled back; and then charged again, broke and charged again; and each time, like the incoming sea, they halted at a higher point.”

Tolkien’s description of the Orcs’ assault upon the fortress of Helm’s Deep uses the metaphor of the tide moving higher and higher up a beach to suggest that the fortress cannot hold them back forever. However, this metaphor harkens back to Gandalf’s earlier statement that the tide is about to turn, foreshadowing that the Orcs will unexpectedly lose the battle.

“Shafts were driven deep into the ground; their upper ends were covered by low mounds and domes of stone, so that in the moonlight the Ring of Isengard looked like a graveyard of unquiet dead.”

The visual depiction of Isengard affiliates Saruman’s mechanical inventions and nascent industrial economy with a graveyard. By digging caverns in the ground, Tolkien suggests that Saruman is violating what is natural, in the same way that the dead emerging from their tombs is horrific and unnatural. This underscores the environmentalist message of the text (See: Background), making industrialization appear macabre and terrifying.

“So that is the King of Rohan!…A fine old fellow. Very polite.”

Merry and Pippin’s reaction to meeting Théoden employs an understatement, a device wherein a great subject is presented as more minor or insignificant than it really is. This creates a comedic effect, showing that the Hobbits treat a powerful king in the same way that they might treat any other acquaintance. Tolkien suggests that one of the positive traits of Hobbits is that they value politeness and hospitality more than political power or military might, reflecting the theme of Warfare Versus Heroism in the novel.

“Soft and quick as shadows we must be!”

Gollum uses a simile that compares Frodo and Sam to shadows, suggesting that they must use stealth to enter Mordor. Rather than directly opposing Sauron and trying to rival his power, Gollum’s words are a reminder that their only chance of success lies in secrecy. This simile connects to Frodo’s fear of Sauron’s watchful eye (See: Symbols & Motifs), indicating that to be perceived is to be vulnerable in Mordor.

“Spoiling nice fish, scorching it. Give me fish now, and keep nassty chips!”

Gollum’s speech patterns often employ a distinctive doubling of the letter “S,” suggesting that he has a hissing voice. He tends to use childlike words such as “nice” and “nasty,” indicating his regressed mental condition. Tolkien gives Gollum a unique dialogue style in order to characterize him as strange and off-putting, but more pathetic than truly evil.

“Fair speech may hide a foul heart.”

Faramir uses alliteration, repeating the letter “F” in both adjectives, in order to create a parallel structure in his sentence. These devices give the statement a proverbial quality, making him sound wise and well-spoken. However, Faramir’s words also demonstrate his awareness that even though he is a good speaker, Frodo’s mistrust is not unfounded or rude.

“It is a hard doom and a hopeless errand.”

When Frodo tells Faramir that he intends to continue on his journey into Mordor, Faramir warns him that he is unlikely to succeed. His words feature alliteration, repeating the letter “H” in order to make his dialogue seem poetic and graceful. This contributes to his characterization as a scholarly commander with a deep respect for history and learning.

“They cannot conquer forever!”

Frodo makes this claim after he sees the crown of flowers growing across the brow of the fallen stone heads. His words use both alliteration and consonance, devices where certain sounds are repeated at the beginning or in the middle of words. The repetition of the hard “C” sound lends a harsh and forceful tone to his words, indicating that this is a moment of The Triumph of Hope despite the terrifying environment of Mordor.

“But you’ve left out one of the chief characters: Samwise the stouthearted. ‘I want to hear more about Sam, dad. Why didn’t they put in more of his talk, dad?’ That’s what I like, it makes me laugh. And Frodo wouldn’t have got far without Sam, would he, dad?”

Frodo’s dialogue involves him imitating the speaking voice of a child. By placing his praise of Sam into the words of this imaginary child, Frodo is able to share a subtle compliment for Sam’s bravery, showing how much he values him without directly stating it. Frodo’s imitation of a child hearing their story also connects to the theme of The Value of Storytelling, indicating that children will be able to clearly see how valuable Sam has been to the fellowship despite his humble origins as a gardener.

“Night always had been, and always would be, and night was all.”

Tolkien uses repetition and polysyndeton, repeating the conjunction “and” when it is not grammatically necessary, to slow the rhythm of the sentence and emphasize the seemingly insurmountable eternity of the darkness (See: Symbols & Motifs). This sentence is also an example of hyperbole, an exaggeration used for dramatic effect.

“Don’t leave me here alone! It’s your Sam calling. Don’t go where I can’t follow!”

Sam tearfully pleads with Frodo, whom he believes to be dead, referring to himself with the second-person possessive pronoun “your” in order to show his absolute devotion to Frodo. He also uses metaphorical language that compares death to a journey, although he laments that he cannot follow where Frodo has gone into death. Sam’s desire to stay by Frodo no matter what invokes the theme of Warfare Versus Heroism, as Sam’s love and loyalty inspire bravery within him.