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Well, the first appearance of the Eagles was a Deus Ex Machina, but after that, you come to expect them
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Doesn't make them any less of a Deus Ex Machina. Gods were
alwayslowered onto the stage by cranes to resolve problems in Greek drama--that was their job. It was so the audience came to expect it, and the playright was considered foward-thinking (or odd) when he wrote the play otherwise. Since the plays were performed in honor of the gods, odds are that the god in question (Appollo, Dionysos, Zeus) would play a big part in the plot. Why not come in and fix everything? It would both tie up the loose ends and show the overwhelming power that was being glorified at the festival to begin with. [img]smilies/wink.gif[/img]
Now, back to LOTR (thank god! [img]smilies/biggrin.gif[/img]) I think that it has been already established that the Eagles were DEM. They fit criteria noted. The question remaining is that if their repetition made them any less of a DEM. I venture to say no. The audience came to expect Dionysos decending in all his glory suspended on a rope held by a crane (or oxen, or slaves, or whatever), but he was still "god in the machine." The fact that he continually came to the rescue did nothing for the catagorization. The Eagles are the same. Perhaps the
effectiveness or the
believeability of the DEM... but that's another topic.
-'Vana
PS: this is so fun!! [img]smilies/biggrin.gif[/img]
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Oh, thanks a lot! Now I have a vision of the Valar lowering Gandalf into Middle Earth on a winch.
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Teehee. It could be worse.
[ February 27, 2003: Message edited by: DaughterofVana ]