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.

[alatar]

Weren't Dwarves known for bathroom humour and pratfalls? Oh wait, that was the movies...

[Inziladun]

Save me from the movies. I've only seen them once, and that was enough. It's off topic, but the comic treatment of Gimli was one of my major problems with them. Dwarf-tossing, indeed.

[Mithalwen]

If you look at the beginning of "The Ride of the Rohirrim" you will see that Elfhelm the Marshall likes his puns. I always wonder if Elfhelm was cursing in Westron or whether Merry had piclked up enough Rohirric in a short time (not impossible given it's relationship to Hobbitish) to understand "wretched" tree roots. Even the priggish and serious Aragorn makes a slight joke about the Master of the Houses of healing knowing all the names of herbs but not actually having any.

Of a similar nature is Elrond's comment about Sam not being separable from Frodo even when not invited to a secret council. A dry humour but one no less.

[Peregrin Took]

There is plenty of humor to be found in The Lord of the Rings! Humor comes in many different forms. In LotR we get direct "slapstick" humor, sarcasm, dry humor, etc. All are funny!

I can recall lines from all the races in Middle-earth that were funny. Tolkien does not leave humor out of any race in M-e...again, it depends what you find funny, mind you, but it's all humor. I'll give some examples used by each race-

For Hobbits, there are obvious answers, for we know they were very humorous folk. One example that comes to my mind is when Pippin made a joke about Frodo getting a little flabby before they set out from Bag End.

For Men, we have the humor of Aragorn and of Boromir. Aragorn uses humor in Bree - "a fat innkeeper...", leaving Bree "foul and fair", in Minas Tirith when he makes fun of Ioreth and the "herb master", etc. Boromir uses sarcasm on more than one occasion. During The Great River, I believe it is, he asks Aragorn what they will do after a certain point - "Leap down the falls?"

For Elves, Legolas talks to Gandalf about chasing the sun while on Caradhras. "I go to find the sun!" I'm sure there are more instances.

Gandalf uses humor all the time. Angry humor, you might call it. As has been mentioned "knock your head against these walls, Peregrin Took!", as well as plenty of humor about Hobbits throughout the Quest, chiming in with Aragorn making fun of Ioreth in Minas Tirith, etc.

Unforuntely for Dwarves, I can't think of a specific time of humor, besides when, and this part always cracks me up, after the victory at Helm's Deep the Company passes through the Huorns and Legolas turns back and sees eyes and starts galloping towards them in curiosity. Gimli, who is helpless behind Legolas on the horse cries out in freight, "I wish to see no eyes!" Gets me every time!

Anyway, you get the point! There is a lot of humor in The Lord of the Rings. With such an amazing and intense story, Tolkien knew just the right places to put humor in.

[Lindale]

I always thought it was with a touch of humor, when Eomer and Gimli were comparing Galadriel and Arwen. Something about an axe, a swordm decapitation, and the fairest lady in ME. Don't have my book with me though. I'll have this edited when I get home.

[Eönwë]

Well, we know Gandalf had humour. But was it because of his body, or was it his Maia part?

Did the Ainur have a sense of humour?

[Legate of Amon Lanc]

Originally Posted by Lindale

I always thought it was with a touch of humor, when Eomer and Gimli were comparing Galadriel and Arwen. Something about an axe, a swordm decapitation, and the fairest lady in ME. Don't have my book with me though. I'll have this edited when I get home.

Indeed, though it was kind of a "high humour". It was the humour with straight face and actually, about serious things, while they both were aware of it. I think such could be the humour of the "noble men" and noble Dwarves, too, in lots of situations - if people like Elendil or Húrin joked, it would have been like that. You can see something similar in Aragorn's case - as Strider, he has that kind of "grim humour".

The Elves, actually, make the impression of making fun mostly of other races. Just check all the Elf-jokes and see (tra-la-ley Elves in Rivendell making fun of Bilbo and Dwarves, Legolas on Caradhras making fun of "strong men", Gildor and his company making fun of the Hobbits. The only different case I can think of is the Wood-Elves in hobbit making fun of sleeping Galion, but then, he was drunk and they were too, and they were all Wood-Elves, so not of the "high" sort). May be so because the other Elves won't be as amused or their reaction won't be so amusing (after long time of practice). Anyway, I don't belive the Elves meant any harm by it, but sometimes, especially from the Dwarves' point of view, it might have been pretty annoying and it might have contributed to the image of Elves as kind of nose-up and maybe in some things not understandable folk in the view of the other races.

[Rumil]

I think there are a few reasons we don't get so much comedy out of the Rohirrim or Gondorians.

First they were in the middle of a war and thus likely less inclined to japes. Also we meet mostly princes, lords and the like, usually in the company of the Great and the Good and in public, where they are trying to be serious and responsible and, as Legate says, using 'higher' or grimmer humour where it occurs.

Beregond, Bergil and Ioreth are the few ordinary folk we meet in Gondor. B&B are naturally a bit subdued with the impending attack and meeting a strange hobbit but Beregond gently ribs Pippin about 'Lesser men do the greater deeds' and Bergil was soon 'laughing and talking gaily' with Pip. I definitely believe Ioreth must have enjoyed a good belly-laugh as much as the next lass!

[Nerwen]

Originally Posted by Lindale

I always thought it was with a touch of humor, when Eomer and Gimli were comparing Galadriel and Arwen. Something about an axe, a swordm decapitation, and the fairest lady in ME. Don't have my book with me though. I'll have this edited when I get home.

Here is the passage:

"And I will come, too," said Gimli. "The matter of the Lady Galadriel lies still between us. I have yet to teach you gentle speech."

"We shall see," said Éomer. "So many strange things have chanced that to learn the praise of a fair lady under the loving strokes of a Dwarf's axe will seem no great wonder."