Long had it been forging in the dark smithies of Mordor,
and its hideous head, founded of black steel, was shaped in the likeness of a
ravening wolf; on it spells of ruin lay. Grond they named it, in memory of the
Hammer of the Underworld of old. Great beasts drew it, Orcs surrounded it, and
behind walked mountain-trolls to wield it.
---
Grond crawled on. Upon its housing no fire would catch; and
though now and again some great beast that hauled it would go mad and spread
stamping ruin among the orcs innumerable that guarded it, their bodies were cast
aside from its path and others took their place.
---
Grond crawled on. The drums rolled wildly. Over the hills of
slain a hideous shape appeared: a horseman, tall, hooded, cloaked in black.
Slowly, trampling the fallen, he rode forth, heeding no longer any dart. He
halted and held up a long pale sword. And as he did so a great fear fell on all,
defender and foe alike; and the hands of men drooped to their sides, and no bow
sang. For a moment all was still.
The drums rolled and rattled. With a vast rush Grond was
hurled forward by huge hands. It reached the Gate. It swung. A deep boom rumbled
through the City like thunder running in the clouds. But the doors of iron and
posts of steel withstood the stroke.
Then the Black Captain rose in his stirrups and cried aloud
in a dreadful voice, speaking in some forgotten tongue words of power and terror
to rend both heart and stone.
Thrice he cried. Thrice the great ram boomed. And suddenly
upon the last stroke the Gate of Gondor broke. As if stricken by some blasting
spell it burst asunder: there was a flash of searing lightning, and the doors
tumbled in riven fragments to the ground.
-
Another siege weapon. Grond. Tolkien goes to great lengths
to personify this weapon like it's a living thing. How does this make these
passages particularly creepy?
-
I also like the parallel sentence structure that Tolkien
uses (Grond crawled on. Thrice he cried.). It mimics the booming of
the ram against the doors. Do you see any other literary devices Tolkien
used here?
-
Does Grond contain some spell to cause ruin? Does
this imply that only something with supernatural powers could bust down the
Great Gate?
-
Who gave it this power? What about its name sake? Why name
it after Morgoth's hammer?
-
Any other comment/observations?
Now again for your enjoyment another parody from yours truly
using the song "Ben" (from that really bad movie about a boy's
love for a rat) by Michael Jackson (this was before he looked like an orc and was in the
Jackson Five). WARNING PG-13
Grond
Grond, the hords of Orcs
need look no more.
They all found a
ram for Gondor's door.
Like the mighty mace of
old
A terror to behold.
The men of Gondor see
Grond's ticked when he's
angry.
(he's ticked when he's
angry)
Grond, made of blacken
steel- not some alloy.
(not some alloy)
Made for terror and to
destroy (to destroy).
With bodies lined up a
your lei-sure
Wouldn't it be ea-sier
Knocking on the door?
But that's what Grond is for.
(But that's what Grond
is for)
Sauron says, "Grond
is he.
He's not a birch or
ivory."
Sauron says, "Grond
is he.
Not an elm, not a
tree."
Grond, when men don't
like what they see
(what they see)
What they feel inside
deep is envy. (deep envy)
Today this phallic
symbol finds
That when they look
behind
The Gondorians
will see
How painful Grond can
be.
(How painful Grond can
be)
Freud would say, "Grond
is he.
Oh how I wish, he were
me."
Freud would say, "Grond
is he,
He has no,
inferiority."
Grond, most men run from
you and say:
(you and say)
"Get the heck outta
my way." (outta my way)
They don't know you like
Sauron do--
They don't even try to.
Why don't they
respond?
'cause they're not so fond of Grond.
(so fond )
Of Grond
(of Grond)
Of
Grond.
`^`^`^`^`^`^`^`^`^`^`^`^`^`^`^`^`^`^`^`^`^`^`^`^`^`^`^`^`^`^`^`^`^`^`^
To
Reverend:
Alas,
we cry for us today--
A
dearest friend has gone away.
As
we recall his words we read
And
weep for words not to be said--
Remember
what our eyes enclose:
The
lasting imprints of his prose.
The
purest tribute our heart rends
Is
written within minds of friends.
~ CA Jolin
`^`^`^`^`^`^`^`^`^`^`^`^`^`^`^`^`^`^`^`^`^`^`^`^`^`^`^`^`^`^`^`^`^`^`^
