Hail and Well Met,
Man of the Wold!
* bows a greeting * [img]smilies/smile.gif[/img]
Kudos on an excellent post. There's much treasure in your words. Time now permits only a brief response to one of your points, though in truth you deserve far better recognition and acknowledgement.
You say:
Quote:
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Similarly, Gildor and his people are in their own world, merry shadows with only memories of greatness, which is probably true of most of the Eldar remaining in Eriador, except for Elrond’s and Círdan’s immediate retainers, who still maintain the obligations of their allies and ancestors long dead. The elves light singing in jest about Bilbo and the Dwarves in The Hobbit may not be so uncharacteristic.
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In my eyes, Elves making merry and singing lightly in jest does not diminish their respectability, but rather vouches for the kind of personal integrity and humility that allows one to laugh at self and with others. I would say the same for Tom Bombadil. I'd even venture that it takes courage to be oneself in such a way, to show sincere lighthearted whimsy. In a world where people judge according to appearances and often seek to project an aura of dignity the better to make a powerful first impression, and look for an expected air of answering sizing-up dignity in those they meet ... how very refreshing to simply enjoy life!
Contrast this with Mordor, where a wholesome sense of humor is unheard of. Jesting in the East often becomes the jousting of weapons ... figuratively, and even literally. I would offer the difference between Elves and Orcs as being, that Orcs by their nature are given to a mockery that destroys rather than to an Elvish gentler good-natured bantering that bonds.
Gandalf the Grey