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Originally Posted by Mithalwen
What struck me particularly from the description of Ithilien, on rereading it yesterday was how medditerranean it sounds. And having also reread the biography yesterday, I don't think he had visited that area at this point ( though I could be mistaken). I know he visited Venice AFTER LOTR was published and he thought it was like his idea of Old Gondor/ Pelargir. If I am right it is amazing how evocative this description is especially given that this was effectively pre-television and even colour film was fairly poor quality.
If this scenery is evoked by no more than thorough research in to the flora of an area then it is remarkable - especially since it is such a loving description of a landscape, fairly different to the typical English "patchwork quilt" of field, wood and hedgerow which always seems so close to Tolkien's heart. More I would say but it will have to wait.
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Mithalwen's comments offer me a way into a thought that has struck me as I have been reading Book Four, but especially in this chapter with melancoly condition of Ithilien, land once beautiful but now being desecrated. I am wondering how much of the geographical description really arises from Tolkien's well-known love of the countryside and how much it is a narrative necessity at this point of the plot. Does Tolkien lavish so much attention to the land because of his love or because the plot leaves him with little else to work with?
Think for a moment. The three must travel unseen, by stealth. They thus have no opposition to overcome, no direct confrontations. Or at least, there must be few and far between. Many sightings of orcs is possible, and of the Nazgul, but there cannot be actual contact or fighting, for that would destroy the secrecy which the plot demands. So, not much chance for lots of battle set up and description when the prime motivation is avoidance of contact.
The second possibility for action lies in the interaction between the three characters. We have some of this, definitely, but how to extend this over ten chapters? Again, something else is needed. And not just constant discussion of foraging.
That something else, it seems to me, has to be the extensive description of the terrain. The land becomes the formidable opponent, but it also provides a way to develop this part of the story. Ithilien provides the perfect place for such lovingly detailed passages as well because of it history. That history also provides the opportune place for one of the rare encounters, by those who still struggle to preserve the place, against the encroachments of the Enemy. Again, it cannot be Frodo and Sam and Gollem who engage with opponents, for they must remain hidden. Sooner or later, Tolkien had to bring in a new batch of good guys to do the fighting for them.
So, all that tamarisk and terebinth, the olives and the bay, the juniper, the saxifrage and stonecrop is simply and plainly a plot device.
