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Originally Posted by Bęthberry
In giving the main focus to the choices and travails of the heroes, without developing the baddies to any large extent, without making them as attractive, as, say, the Byronic heroes were attractive, was Tolkien in fact creating a situation in which the very unwritten parts, the unstated possibilities, in fact create a situation which, likely, Tolkien wished to avoid, that is, an imaginative and dramatic interest in the baddies.
Would we all be as interested in balrog wings if Tolkien had been more direct? I don't think so. So, all this interest in Sauron and Melkor and orcs and Saruman, is it in fact created by Tolkien's avoidance of extensive description of evil. Is this a pursuable line of discussion?
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I agree; I
previously answered to one of davem's post that we can hardly be impressed by the might and splendour of Melkor, since Tolkien dedicates very little space to that.
I would say that Tolkien definitely saw displaying of majesty/power as morally wrong; it was an error for the valar to manifest themselves in majesty fully revealed to bring the elves to Aman; fully revealed power was also forbidden to the Istari; Melkor himself has shown himself in a most majestic form to corrupt Men. I believe there is a theme at play.