Sense of humour

[Melilot Brandybuck]

It always strikes me, when I re-read LOTR, that hobbits and orcs are the only beings in ME who have a sense of humour. I can easily imagine a group of rowdy hobbits, crowded around a table in a local inn, singing drinking songs and telling ridiculous jokes.

Pippin leaning over a table in the Green Dragon, "An orc, a troll and a wolf walk into a bar...."

Or, Shagrat, leaning up against a damp wall in Cirith Ungol, sniggering to Gorbag, "Yo momma's so ugly, she's gonna put Shelob out of business...
BWAHAHAHAHAHA... "

I can't see this with Elves. Nor men, especially men from Gondor. Do you think Tolkien did this on purpose, mixing the "higher" races - those with noble lineage and history of great deeds (elves and men), with those of lesser stature? Or in the case of orcs, just down right evil? It seems to me, if the books were all about elves and men, they would be full of "thee" and "thou" and not nearly as interesting without the hobbits from a place with "the uncouth name of Shire."

[Folwren]

I believe it depends on your own personal sense of humour. The orcs humour, as you just demonstrated, would be crude, evil, and vile. The hobbits, more down to earth. The elves and higher races of men had a more refined sense of humour, but I'll bet they had a sense of humour all the same. Although I've not read the Lord of the Rings for over a year, I seem to remember Legolas making a joke to Gandalf while on Caradras. Don't have the time to look it up, but you look for yourself in the Ring Goes South.

-- Folwren

[Morthoron]

Okay, so you're an Elf. You're immortal. How many times over a few thousand years do you hear the same knock-knock jokes before they are no longer funny?

[Kitanna]

Originally Posted by Morthoron

Okay, so you're an Elf. You're immortal. How many times over a few thousand years do you hear the same knock-knock jokes before they are no longer funny?

Celeborn: Knock knock
Galadriel: Who's there?
Celeborn: Interrupting Nazgul
Galadriel: Interrupting Naz-
Celeborn: *screech*

The great enhancement of the fairness of the Elves.

I can see the Elves making jokes though, but jokes in a more Shakespearean way. Funny, but in many cases dated. Even men must have had some form of humor. Think about the men of Laketown or Bree, they seemed laid back enough to enjoy a joke. The men of the south couldn't have been so severe not enjoy a good laugh now and then either.

[Inziladun]

It always strikes me, when I re-read LOTR, that hobbits and orcs are the only beings in ME who have a sense of humour.

As noted above, the Men of Bree did appear fairly light hearted, at least the ones who frequented the Prancing Pony.
And one of the "high" Men, Aragorn, had a sense of humor. I refer to his remark about "looking foul and feeling fair" at Bree in particular.

Tom Bombadil was of course always laughing and joking about something, but Gandalf himself wasn't too lofty for the likes of "knock on the door with your head, Peregrin Took" outside the Moria Gate.

And there was Gildor and his group in the Shire:

But we have no need of other company, and hobbits are so dull, they laughed

It's notable that those were apparently Noldorin Elves, too.
Granted, those aren't really "ha ha" kinds of jokes for some people, but they are examples or humor.

[skip spence]

The Elves seemed to have favoured irony and tongue-in-cheek wordplay as opposed to the slapstick Hobbits prefered. Dwarves were heavily into prop-comics.

Actually, Elves often seem to be joking around. In the Hobbit they laugh at and mock the silly Dwarves and Bilbo ('watch out or he''ll eat all the cookies'). Another example of Elvish humour is when Bilbo wants the Rivendell folk to judge his song and pick put which lines are his and which ones are Aragorn's:

Originally Posted by FotR

...They're as different as peas and apples [said Bilbo]
'Maybe. To sheep other sheep no doubt appear different,' laughed Lindir. 'Or to shepheards. But Mortals have not been our study. We have other business.'

I'd guess Elves really felt that Hobbits and such were rather dull and that their simple and direct sense of humour was below them, sort of like how most adults view the jokes of little children.