LotR -- Book 3 - Chapter 02 - The Riders of Rohan

[Bêthberry]

I suppose one good thing about being too busy to write long posts these days is that short little ideas catch my eyes. There is a comment given to Legolas which reminds me of an old saying I grew up with.

As before Legolas was first afoot, if indeed he had ever slept. "Awake! Awake!" he cried. "It is a red dawn. Strange things await us by the eaves of the forest. Good or evil, I do not know; but we are called. Awake!"

I'm not terribly sure if Legolas is using this red dawn as a portent, but I wonder if he is. It could a small way that the elf is linked, again, to the sea, for this is the old saying I grew up with:

Red sky at night, Sailors' delight.
Red sky at morning, Sailors' warning.

Of course, I have no idea if this saying would have been known to Tolkien, but it was handed down in my family by those as old as Tolkien who hailed from his side of the pond.

One other small point: While I agree with everyone here, going back to Estelyn's good opening salvo, that this is Aragorn's chapter, I was also struck by the number of opportunities where we get to see Legolas' elven traits brought out, traits which really supply important information at times in this terrible endurence trek. And not just that eagle!