The ears...

[The Saucepan Man]

Originally Posted by littlemanpoet

... and was quite convinced that there was no way Tolkien could go so low as to give any of his creations (arg) pointed ears!

What's wrong with pointed ears? They are traditionally "Faerie".

[Hot, crispy nice hobbit]

It seems to me just as interesting that no one noticed that orcs have pointy ears as portrayed in the movie... But had there been any real indication as to the pointy ears of the orcs?

[The Saucepan Man]

Originally Posted by Hot, crispy nice hobbit

But had there been any real indication as to the pointy ears of the orcs?

Well, if one holds with the proposition that Orcs were originally corrupted Elves, and assuming one accepts that (Tolkien's) Elves had pointed ears, then it makes sense that Orcs would have pointed ears too (albeit less shapely and attractive, no doubt ).

[littlemanpoet]

What's wrong with pointed ears? They are traditionally "Faerie".

I dunno. I recall from Tolkien's On Fairy Stories that he disliked the idea that they are for the "nursery room"; I just had a presumed association of pointy ears with the nursery room. I guess Tolkien didn't. Go figure.

Yep, Orcs should have pointy ears if Elves do.

[Mithalwen]

Having been outraged initially by pointy ears in the films, I was persuaded by that quote in HoME. I don't think that the genetic variation dictating pointy ears would prevent interbreeding any more that the one affecting eye-shape does. I mean of all the differences between elves and men, ear-shape would be the least significant surely?

The other possibility is that since ears (and nose-tips) are made of cartilidge, they do actually continue growing throughout life ( bad luck Christopher Ecclestone )... so maybe the extensions merely reflect their long elvish life .... they could all look like Dumbo by the end of Arda...

[The Saucepan Man]

Originally Posted by littlemanpoet

I recall from Tolkien's On Fairy Stories that he disliked the idea that they are for the "nursery room"

That does seem rather a dismissive approach for one so absorbed with mythology. My understanding is that the idea of Faerie beings having pointed ears pre-dates the "nursery room" incarnations of fairy-tales and has its roots in the much grimmer (if you'll pardon the pun) origins of those tales. Aren't many creatures of ancient mythology also portrayed with pointed ears, or is that just a modern take on them?

Interesting. I wonder how and why "pointed ears" became one of the hallmarks of Faerie/Myth creatures.

[Lathriel]

I always saw elves having pointed ears. I don't know why but I assumed everyone else saw it that way too. Turns out that its not.

Actually I once saw a woman and her ears were actually really close to being pointy. It looked like she had elven ears as in the movie. Well... not quite but the ears were really similar.