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Originally Posted by Iziladin
It did seem to me as if Gorbag could be describing some middle ground between this world and next, though.
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Well, given you modify purgatory with "Nazgul", it stands as an intriguing oxymoron.
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Originally Posted by Gordis
Bethberry commented that the "Houses of lamentation was a very poetic expression, not something I would have expected from Witchie." It is poetic indeed, but much in line with the whole aspect of Witchie's abode, the Valley of Wraiths around Minas Morgul. Everything there is totally unlike the coarse Mordor proper: statues, misty river, meadows of pale flowers etc… like a scary enchanted dream.
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Good point on the distinction between the two.
"houses of lamentation" for me always conjures up the book
Lamentations from the Bible. There, dirge-like, beautifully crafted poems lament the destruction of the Temple and the desolation of the faithful at the hands of the Babylonians. Of course, the destruction of the Temple led to an intense period of spirituality for the Israelites, leading to a religion that became centered not on temple but on book, so for me, ironically, Witch King is speaking of a situation wherein Eowyn ultimately will overcome the defeat he prophesises (although it will take the Houses of Healing to help Eowyn fulfil her victory). There's a great deal of female imagery in Lamentations, where the city Jerusalem is given a female voice.
English literature has these echoes, which may be dying out.