It’s all about the language:
From Book I, Near the end of “The Bridge of Khazad-dûm”::
The Balrog made no answer. The fire in it seemed to die, but the darkness grew. It stepped forward slowly on to the bridge, and suddenly it drew itself up to a great height, and its wings were spread from wall to wall; but still Gandalf could be seen, glimmering in the gloom; he seemed small, and altogether alone: grey and bent, like a wizened tree before the onset of a storm..
He gives away his Anglo Saxon here in aliteration:
but still Gandalf could be seen,
glimmering in the gloom;
he seemed small,
and altogether alone:
The mere phrase “glimmering in the gloom” is one of the shortest fragments that can wholly serve as evidence to why Tolkien fascinates me and moves me: Language, or rather the sound of it.
Just say it out loud: “glimmering in the gloom.” My, what a lovely sound.
And the masterful choice of word order:
… still Gandalf could be seen — There is this huge monster of a Daemon, but still Gandalf could be seen, grey and bent, like a wizened tree before the onset of a storm.
Imagery. Sound and Imagery. Verse poems. No wonder the misologistic literati dislike him. Well, that and the anti-irony. Damn Etonians! Your time is coming to an end! 😉
There is a scene in Amadeus where Salieri is describing the simple brilliance one of Mozart’s pieces and he manages to convey said brilliance to the non-musically inclined (me)…
You just did that for Tolkien.
I knew there was some reason that I liked you…
Brief thought: Khazad-dûm? Zahadum (from Babylon 5)? Any connections here, or am I just smoking? I actually don’t know, not having read Tolkien, nor having seen TT, but I thought I’d throw that out there.
I’ve heard (B5 never held my interest) that much of the structure of the plot/storyline is based on J.R.R.T.
-=C
Hehe… truly, there are no such things as original ideas anymore; just clever borrowing from old ones.