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Pile o' Bones
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<img src="http://www.barrowdowns.com/images/posticons/onering.jpg" align=absmiddle> umm...
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"His enemy halted again, facing him, and the shadow about it reached out like two vast wings."
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"It stepped forward slowly on to the bridge, and suddenly it drew itself up to a great height, and its wings were spread from wall to wall"
In these two passages the term "wings" is used as a simile and also as a metaphor. It would make no sense for Tolkien to use the term as a simile and and actual physical describtion because that would simply undo his previous work. I submit that due to a lack of a term synonimous with "wing" tolkien used it as a metaphor and a simile instead of using further and more similes because of the shere lack previously stated.
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Also wings on Balrogs would be a very promenant features but in the silm there is no mention of them ever being present on a Balrog, nor in HoME(not even in "THe War of the RIng"
. The only time wings were described on a Balrog the term was used in the presence of the same word used as a simile for the darkness.
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Also such things as troll escorts mentioned in the silm would not be needed if inded balrogs could fly.Tolkien is pretty explicit that Dragons could fly (some at least) why would he be vague as to the abilities of Balrogs?
I don't think he would it seems to me the very nature of his works are vivd well placed texts completely out of line with the Balrog/Wing concept.
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Origionally Tolkien had no intention of using the term wings of any sort in describing the Balrog of Moria, but the reason he did was to make it seem larger and more dreadfull then it would have otherwise looked, as supported by these two quotesThe treson of Isengard, The Bridge pg 199 Houghton Milton Company and pg 202 Houghton Milton Company:
quote:
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There is a penciled note on the manuscript against the describtion of the Balrog: 'alter the describtion of the Balrog. It seemed to be of man's shape, but its for could not be plainly decerned it FELT larger than it looked.' After the words 'Through the air it sprang over the fiery fissure' my father added: 'and a great shadow seemed to black out the light...'
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What this quote proves is that tolkien wanted the Balrong to seem larger than it was and so
to do this he employed just a shadow in the first drafts.
quote:
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Fellowship of the RIng] it is said only that the
Balrog 'stood facing him' : in C'the Balrog halted facing him, and the shadow about him reached out like giant wings'. Immediately afterward in FR the Balrog "drew itself up to a great height , and its wings spread from wall to wall', neither B nor C has the words 'to a great height' nor speak of 'wings'.
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what this quote prove it that wings were just the culmmonation of tolkien endevoring to make the Balrog seem larger and more commanding, it shows that tolkien did not want the balrog to be seen as a Winged beast but as a man-shape with a towering presence due to the imense shadow which seemed to accompany it. Tyhe fact that the shadow was present in the revious drafts but actual wings weren't until the very final supports the idea that tolkien had no intention of giving tha balrog wings and that when he did use the term 'wings" he used it as a simile and a metaphor.
There are more quote in TTOI but I don't have time to post them
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