Let's Talk Morgoth

In Morgoth's Ring (by C. Tolkien) we are told that his power/life-force was vested in ME itself.
What does this mean in its logical totality?
And, based upon that answer, who did J.R.R. Tolkien mean Morgoth to be (symbolically)?

[Hookbill the Goomba]

It is important for any fantasy and made up history for they’re to be a form of evil. Morgoth is just that. Many will say he represents Lucifer, Tolkien being Catholic and all that’s an understandable theory. I can sympathise with this theory in many ways, there are some similarities. Firstly he was a mighty spirit, like an angel, and he was the chieftain of them. Like Lucifer, who was a chief angel and is counted to have been given the greatest gifts of power, beauty and wisdom. As was Melkor.

He tries to raise himself above all his peers and wishes to be master over other wills. He is then cast from the order and remains an evil force in the world for many an age. And perhaps Melkor's being thrown into the void is a representation of Satan's being cast into hell.

Melkor's power and life force were bound to middle earth like all of the Valar. Also, one could say this referees to the fact that the black seed of evil that was left by Melkor, he still lived on. Like Sauron was his student and soon became the master in Morgoth's shadow.

That is one view. I cannot say that it holds all the water needed. There are many theories, but this was the only one I could think of at the moment.

[Makar]

I try not to read to much into Tolkien, symbolically. Especially since I read that bit in the prologue about "applicability". Beyond that, it seems that Morgoth being bound to the earth helped reinforce that he was no longer of Aman or the Valar, which separated themselves from the earth. All "worldly" evil seems to have come from him. (Ungoliant being an example "external" evil, not a direct result of Melko's meddling). As always, correct me if I'm wrong.

[Aiwendil]

who did J.R.R. Tolkien mean Morgoth to be (symbolically)?

He intended Morgoth to be Morgoth.

As for Morgoth's dissemination of power: I think that this is an interesting feature and is one way in which Tolkien's mythology diverges somewhat from Christian myth. It is tempting to say that this brings a Manichean strain into the mythos.

[burrahobbit]

The taint of Melkor exists in every bit of matter that exists. This taint can not be removed without destroying everything and starting over. The bodies of Men and Elves are made of the stuff of the earth. Thus, Evil always exists inside of us a something to overcome. It's sort of Eru's little test to make sure that you are a worthwhile person.

[alatar]

Melkor, unlike the other Valar, sought dominion and this required a piece of himself to be given up. Like when Aule created the Dwarves, they had no soul/freedom until it was given to them by Eru; Melkor sought to take away freedom, and in order to do so he needed to take a piece of himself and seed the item, soul, etc as he did not have the power/ability that Eru has.

Others created, and he perverted. To twist or destroy the thing that his brethren created, he again had to yield part of himself. In later ages his 'power' therefore was still considerable, yet if he were stripped of all of the 'help' and devices that he had seeded, then one would see that his power had declined as it was diluted amongst his servants and slaves.

But, to get back to the original question, all of these seeds became part of the world though having their origin in Melkor.

And I think that JRRT had Lucifer/Satan in mind when he wrote about Melkor as there are many similarities between the two.

[King of the North]

Tolkien is very good at encrypting symbolism and meaning in his writing so that the reader has to think. Therefore Melkor (Morgoth) could stand for many things. Being a Roman Catholic I relate Belegurth to Lucifer. Both stories are kind of a fall from grace, Lucifer was once an angel, and Melkor an Ainu (in fact the most powerful, wisest, and cunning). Another similarity is the way in which they were cast away from the good angels/Ainu. Even though the Dark Lord had already seperated from the rest of Great Ones, it was really made official in the Battle of the Powers when Tulkas defeated him. In the battle between Michael (and his angels) and the Dragron (Lucifer), the end result was Satan and all his angels being cast out of heaven like "lightning from heaven" Luke 10:18 NIV. Both battles were battles between Gods, divine beings. There is another explanation for what Melkor stands for though. After experiencing one of the deadliest battles in the whole of WWI (the Somme), Tolkien and others like him needed a new explanation of evil. In his hospital bed, recovering from the Somme, he began writing The Silmarillion and began with the destruction of the beautiful Elven city of Gondolin. Morgoth became the main bad guy, and I think he created a great representation of evil.

[obloquy]

Classifying Melkor as "evil" is questionable. He sought to further his own purposes, and since those were in disharmony with the other themes in the Music they were resisted and this caused strife. What's interesting is that, while the Valar did not know what physical manifestation their music would have, Iluvatar did and still he did not condemn Melkor. Instead he declared that ultimately his will would be accomplished, with Melkor as his instrument.

At this point it had all been laid out for Iluvatar to see. This suggests to me that Melkor had not done anything "evil"--at least in the absolute sense--in the eyes of his father. The corruption of Arda becomes minor on this universal scale, and the "big picture" had not been altered from Iluvatar's original purpose. Melkor, at the time when he had already wrought all his corruption, was above (or outside the jurisdiction of) the concepts of "morality" or "good and bad" that we and the Children of Iluvatar are familiar with and use as guides to make our decisions. Melkor merely resisted the vision of his Creator, which he was created with the will to do and this action was apparently still within his rights. Iluvatar did chastise him, but then made it clear that the beauty of his vision had not been compromised:

In the midst of this strife, whereat the halls of Ilúvatar shook and a tremor ran out into the silences yet unmoved, Ilúvatar arose a third time, and his face was terrible to behold. Then he raised up both his hands, and in one chord, deeper than the Abyss, higher than the Firmament, piercing as the light of the eye of Ilúvatar, the Music ceased.

Then Ilúvatar spoke, and he said: 'Mighty are the Ainur, and mightiest among them is Melkor; but that he may know, and all the Ainur, that I am Ilúvatar, those things that ye have sung, I will show them forth, that ye may see what ye have done. And thou, Melkor, shalt see that no theme may be played that hath not its uttermost source in me, nor can any alter the music in my despite. For he that attempteth this shall prove but mine instrument in the devising of things more wonderful, which he himself hath not imagined.'

I use the word "questionable" above because I'm not sure how much of this I can buy, myself. There has to be a line drawn. Since Melkor existed both prior to and without Arda, and then subsequently within Arda as well, we have to ask, At what point did his actions become wrong or "evil?" For example, we're sure it was wrong for him to torture Hurin cruelly for years, but at the same time the War of Wrath was woven into the fabric that Iluvatar had seemingly approved of.

[Kuruharan]

For example, we're sure it was wrong for him to torture Hurin cruelly for years, but at the same time the War of Wrath was woven into the fabric that Iluvatar had seemingly approved of.

Maybe Iluvatar approved of the fabric but did not necessarily like all that was in it. Besides, Iluvatar did not have on his happy face by the end of Melkor's little disruption.

[obloquy]

Originally Posted by Kuruharan

Maybe Iluvatar approved of the fabric but did not necessarily like all that was in it. Besides, Iluvatar did not have on his happy face by the end of Melkor's little disruption.

Iluvatar takes ownership for all that Melkor contributed, though. The Music did not deviate from his purpose, so did Iluvatar's purpose include "evil"?

No, Melkor wasn't happy about being cut down to size, but he also wasn't damned in any way as he would have been if he had managed to sabotage Iluvatar's purpose.

[Makar]

All of this just complicates the question, I believe. I'm sure the word "evil" is used in Tolkien, but does it just mean "a bad thing" or "a fell deed" and not an action in opposition to an ideal (which is Good)? If everything that happens is part of Iluvatar's plan, then is there no "evil"? Are we to assume that Eru is neither good or evil, but simply is? And therefore, everything that results from his plan/song also just is ? In this case things such as the kinslaying and the burning of the ships would not be considered "evil". However, if this is the case, would Men be able to commit "evil", since their actions reamained unseen or they opperated outside of the bounds of fate (I think that's how it works, correct me if I'm wrong)? Was Sauron "evil"?

[Celebaglar]

As one of the Ainur, Melkor could create new life (correct me if I am wrong). In his jealousy when he looked down on Arda, he created (unwillingly?) a putrid creature named ungoliant. How did the rest of the Ainur not know of its creation or see it? What would they do to it or Melkor if they did?

Melkor= The quenya name for the great rebellious vala, the beginning of evil, in his orgin the mightiest of the ainur. afterwards named Morgoth,Bauglir,the dark lord,the enemy, etc. The meaning of melkor was "He who arises in might" ; the Sindarin form was Belegurth 'great death' after the rape of the silmarils he got the title of morgoth. Morgoth "the black enemy" name of melkor given to him by Feanor (during rape of silmarils)...

[Noxomanus]

Call me literally the (ME) Devil's Advocate, but I think it was inevitable for a being as great,wise and powerful as Melkor,given so much initiative,capability and pride by its creator to have his own ideas.

I think that certainly before he Entered, Melkor was not evil or wrong in any way. Instead of blindly following what was dictated by Eru, Melkor used the gift of free will which was given to him,to think and act as he himself thought best. It is only natural for a child to rebel against authority,rules and parents (Father,in this case) when he can think and act on his own. To me, Melkor was as a teenager that did not neccesarily disagree with what Father says,but nevertheless sees room for improvement and is certain that Father sees certain things wrong.
And as any teenager, Melkor wanted to break free.

Melkor was, in my opinion, the only Vala to show a real free will. If Eru knew all, he must have seen this coming and I can not imagine a wise, in fact all-knowing, being as Eru not foreseeing that the greatest among his children would rebel.

I dare say that Eru was restrictive. He gave free will,yet seemed to expect all freewilled beings would still follow the rules as he set them. He gave free will, but no freedom. When comparing Eru,Melkor and Manwë to a father and his sons, Manwë would have been the rule-abider who was happy with the situation as it was and did not seek to find his own way. A being that follows only the will of another and does not think for itself,ends up limited. And this is what we see happen, Manwë can not understand evil (which is by its nature in Arda, 'something that goes against the will of Eru') and indeed Manwë could not understand this, because he himself had never done anything against Eru's will. He was limited and he was limited because he had allowed himself to be limited.

Melkor on the other hand, was the rebel of the two brothers. He sought to find his own way and as he did, he let the other Valar know what true free will was. Whereas the other Valar,in the Shaping of Arda, did not go against each other and followed the same plan, Melkor used his own free will to show the others there was more then just their will. As they raised mountains,he leveled them and so he made Arda different from what the others had in mind and in the end, he must have made it more varied and more marvelous and greater then it could have been with only one will dominating and directing the Shaping.

I dare say that it were those Maiar that had most free will of their own,that joined Melkor. They saw there was room to complement and add to what allready was.

Fall of Melkor

I think that Melkor only turned bad or 'bad' when he chose to try to dominate the Children and when he started breeding them into his own designs. He had been ordered to help the Children and to tutor them, not to rule them. He failed to see that he took away their free will by taking them under his wing and trying to make them into what he saw as something Better. As time progressed, he became more and more fixed into his ways untill no longer Acting By Free Choice and A Better Arda were his goals, but Obstruction and Arda Ruled By Melkor became.

I think it was the Coming of the Children was what truly kickstarted Melkors ways (and those of his Maiar) becoming wrong rather then alternative.

I still think Melkor was the only Vala ( I would not say Ainu) that really made use of the free will that was given to him by Eru.