Tolkien and Norse Mythology

[Lalwendë]

Originally Posted by littlemanpoet

Despite the similarities you point out between Loki and Melkor, the latter seems to bear a greater resemblance to the Judeo-Christian Satan; Tolkien even makes this one-to-one comparison in his Letters in a couple different places.

We're not saying Melkor=Loki, that's far too simplistic, we're saying that in Melkor you might find a Trickster figure, comparing him with Loki, one of the best known tricksters.

I wouldn't say any character equals any mythic or literary figure, including saying Melkor=Satan, as this reduces Tolkien's creation and Art to mere allegory. I could dump a load of points here but we're talking Norse myth so I won't divert it off on to tangents well covered elsewhere.

Back to the Norse stuff anyway!

The other influence, drawn from the Eddas, a huge favourite with Tolkien, was that at Ragnarok, Loki will come down from the North with Hel and her subjects to fight in the last battle, as Melkor will do at the end of Ea. Like Loki, he too is an outcast because of the trouble he has caused: Melkor is cast into the Void by his Valar kin and Loki is chained to a rock.

Then there's also that intense pleasure that Melkor takes in sheer destruction. When he finds he cannot set up his own Ea or be a rival to Eru he just sets about smashing the place up - very Trickster-ish. He's quite a chaotic figure too, outside the 'rules' as far as he can get.