Do Balrogs Have Wings?

[davem]

I suppose its possible that the 'wings' were a deliberate illusion created by the Balrog to intimidate the Fellowship: 'His enemy halted again, facing him, and the shadow about it reached out like two vast wings.' Which implies that the Balrog, being a creature of 'shadow & flame' had control over its 'appearance'.

The 'wings' would not be real, but would seem so. It could not use them to fly only to intimidate. I get the sense of them being intended to give a sense of there being no escape - they 'were spread from wall to wall' - increasing the impression of size & power. In that sense they weren't 'wings' at all - they weren't a means to fly - perhaps Tolkien is using the word 'wings' in the sense of a house having 'wings'. The Balrog was making itself 'bigger' - like a cat raising its hackles...