LotR -- Book 5 - Chapter 06 - The Battle of Pelennor Fields

[Lalwendë]

Fell is a word that interests me in the way Tolkien uses it so I think it's a good topic to discuss. I think that he was trying to make the point that 'fell' beasts and 'fell' Rohirrim warriors were taken by the same mood of anger - the first cannot but help be 'fell' as this is how they are bred to be, but the second can help it - which emphasises just how committed to battle they are.

The word itself is interesting as it has a Norse origin, whereas in the geographic sense 'hill' (and even 'mountain') is a lot more mild. As a child I imagined all fells to be tough places to walk, while hills would be gentler. Norse names such as Scafell or Helvellyn sound far more foreboding than names such as Losehill which sounds much softer. Tolkien also uses the term 'fey' to describe the moods of characters in the book, which always strikes me as alike to 'faerie' - does he mean to conjour up an idea that the mood which takes people at this point could be both noble and at the same time perilous?

About animals in LotR - I wonder if I am the only one who feels a little sad that the Oliphaunts and other creatures seem to die out after the War of the Ring? Maybe it is a symptom of modern times that we feel sadness for such creatures and the way they are exploited?