Re-reading the Lord of the Rings, Chapter 47
Since Denethor is the central figure of the chapter some care must be taken in assessing him.
Let us perhaps begin by remembering that Denethor has a long curved nose, dark eyes, pale skin and looks old and lordlike, much like Aragorn, within reasonable limits, like the colour of the eyes or the hair or whatever more seemed inessential to Pippin, when he made the comparison.
So... who was Christopher Lee cast to play?
I'm not mentioning this in jest, for Christopher Lee's voice may give a hint of the grimness that Pippin has observed in Denethor.
His stab at the unthankfulness of Hobbits doesn't really fit his dignity. There are two possible explanations. He either said it jokingly to himself as a comment on the nature of things, or he really said it to Gandalf, echoing his steward speech, claiming likeness, both of which I could picture Christopher Lee doing splendidly.
Pippin in any case takes away grimness and his assessment is correct as the further course of events proves.
Denethor orders to hold the river and the wall, although he could achieve a higher foreign to own casulties ratio, if he ordered all his men behind the walls of Minas Tirith.
Soon after the order he learns of the north-eastern army through the Palantír in his possession.
The order was correct, for it cost him men, but the enemy two days time, and he's waiting for the Rohirrim to arrive.
However, the north-eastern army greatly reduces the apparent value of Denethors decision. Faramir wasn't sent into his death, but was struck by an arrow by ill chance, and he did achieve a lot, namely the success of the stalling maneuver.
Denethor is frank, when he admits Boromir's and Faramir's places had been exchanges, but he is true to his word, when he says that it is vain to bemoan the past and he doesn't take an irrational revenge on Faramir, but simply spends his sons.
All of his actions, up to the late timing of the sortie, follow the cold arithmetics of war. And as for The Ring, both he and Gandalf know that Gollum tries to feed Frodo to Shelob.
Denethor is far from the creepy steward of the film - of course.
But then he snaps, regretting his own grimness towards Faramir and despairing over the course of the battle, having no strength left after his battles of wills with Sauron, while using the Palantír.
Yet even as a broken man he's following his own words, seeking to die as a free man as he sees most befitting his situation.
To Pippin of course it's just madness, for Pippin knows nothing of the restraint that Denethor had laid upon himself for all those years, from which the pyre would release him in the only acceptable manner, he, whose house had failed Gondor, as he thinks. Had he had any strength left, he might have used the Palantír one last time to see that the Rohirrim circumvented the north-eastern army, but he had none. Instead he probably saw the Orcs as they carried Frodo away.
Alas, the tragedy of Denethor seems to be have been as comprehensible to the makers of the film as human speech is to orang-outans.
Let us perhaps begin by remembering that Denethor has a long curved nose, dark eyes, pale skin and looks old and lordlike, much like Aragorn, within reasonable limits, like the colour of the eyes or the hair or whatever more seemed inessential to Pippin, when he made the comparison.
So... who was Christopher Lee cast to play?
I'm not mentioning this in jest, for Christopher Lee's voice may give a hint of the grimness that Pippin has observed in Denethor.
His stab at the unthankfulness of Hobbits doesn't really fit his dignity. There are two possible explanations. He either said it jokingly to himself as a comment on the nature of things, or he really said it to Gandalf, echoing his steward speech, claiming likeness, both of which I could picture Christopher Lee doing splendidly.
Pippin in any case takes away grimness and his assessment is correct as the further course of events proves.
Denethor orders to hold the river and the wall, although he could achieve a higher foreign to own casulties ratio, if he ordered all his men behind the walls of Minas Tirith.
Soon after the order he learns of the north-eastern army through the Palantír in his possession.
The order was correct, for it cost him men, but the enemy two days time, and he's waiting for the Rohirrim to arrive.
However, the north-eastern army greatly reduces the apparent value of Denethors decision. Faramir wasn't sent into his death, but was struck by an arrow by ill chance, and he did achieve a lot, namely the success of the stalling maneuver.
Denethor is frank, when he admits Boromir's and Faramir's places had been exchanges, but he is true to his word, when he says that it is vain to bemoan the past and he doesn't take an irrational revenge on Faramir, but simply spends his sons.
All of his actions, up to the late timing of the sortie, follow the cold arithmetics of war. And as for The Ring, both he and Gandalf know that Gollum tries to feed Frodo to Shelob.
Denethor is far from the creepy steward of the film - of course.
But then he snaps, regretting his own grimness towards Faramir and despairing over the course of the battle, having no strength left after his battles of wills with Sauron, while using the Palantír.
Yet even as a broken man he's following his own words, seeking to die as a free man as he sees most befitting his situation.
To Pippin of course it's just madness, for Pippin knows nothing of the restraint that Denethor had laid upon himself for all those years, from which the pyre would release him in the only acceptable manner, he, whose house had failed Gondor, as he thinks. Had he had any strength left, he might have used the Palantír one last time to see that the Rohirrim circumvented the north-eastern army, but he had none. Instead he probably saw the Orcs as they carried Frodo away.
Alas, the tragedy of Denethor seems to be have been as comprehensible to the makers of the film as human speech is to orang-outans.
Eingetragen Am/um
11:03
