Who wrote...

[Sardy]

Originally Posted by Gordis

Strange thing about this verse....

The line about Men.

"Men" already implies "mortal". "Mortal men" is a bit of an overkill already. But "Mortal Men doomed to die" tells the same thing TRICE.

Why is this line so redundant? Especially considering that these particular nine men didn't die after all...

That's a really intriguing point! I think that this redundancy offers a lot of potential insight as to who is the author(s) (in middle-Earth, not Tolkien) of the verse, as well as who is the intended audience.

Most likely, men wouldn't remind themselves of something so ingrained as their own mortality in a poem. The immortal elves, however, within their poetry very well may make use of the "artistic liberty" of redundently describing men as mortal, in a way poetically re-affirming their own immortality...

On the other hand, an audience of men may see the unnecessary pointing out of their mortality---and their "doom" as it were---by immortals as in poor taste, or an arrogance of the immortal poet(s)? Or perhaps, the mention of men "doomed to die" is an elven poet's attempt as empathizing the sadness of his mortal brethren...

Just some initial thoughts. But I do think that this redundancy that Gordis pointed out may be a key to understanding the natures of the storyteller(s) and listeners...