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Literary Devices
Definition of Allusion
In literature, an allusion is an unexplained reference to someone or something outside of the text. Writers commonly allude to other literary works, famous individuals, historical events, or philosophical ideas... read full definition
In literature, an allusion is an unexplained reference to someone or something outside of the text. Writers commonly allude to other literary works, famous individuals... read full definition
In literature, an allusion is an unexplained reference to someone or something outside of the text. Writers commonly allude to... read full definition
Book 2, Chapter 2
Explanation and Analysis—Weregild:
Tolkien alludes to the ancient Germanic concept of "weregild" (often translated as "man price" or "blood money") in a scene in which Elrond explains the history of The One Ring to the council in Rivendell:
"Alas! yes," said Elrond. "Isildur took it, as should not have been. It should have been cast then into Orodruin’s fire nigh at hand where it was made. But few marked what Isildur did. He alone stood by his father in that last mortal contest; and by Gil-galad only Círdan stood, and I. But Isildur would not listen to our counsel.
‘“This I will have as weregild for my father, and my brother,'” he said; and therefore whether we would or no, he took it to treasure it."
After Isildur, a human, defeated Sauron by slicing off the finger that bore the Ring, Elrond advised him to destroy the Ring, thereby defeating Sauron forever. Rejecting his advice, Isildur kept the Ring, which he described as "weregild" for his "father" and "brother." Here, Tolkien alludes to a legal concept of the Germanic peoples, who lived in Northern Europe in antiquity and the early Middle Ages. Notably, Tolkien was a scholar of the literature and language of these ancient peoples. According to the logic of weregild, a person's life held a certain monetary value, and their death could therefore be compensated by paying that price (the "weregild"). Here, then, Tolkien situates Middle-Earth within the broader cultural and literary traditions of the Germanic peoples, including those who populated the isle of Britain. For Isildur, the sword was the weregild that he deserved from Sauron for the deaths of his family members. Ultimately, however, the Ring only brings further misfortune to Isildur.
Related Themes:
Book 2, Chapter 4
Explanation and Analysis—Will-o’-the-wisp:
Tolkien alludes to will-o'-the-wisps, creatures in British folklore, in a scene in which the Fellowship follows Gandalf through the dark and dangerous mines of Moria:
For eight dark hours, not counting two brief halts, they marched on; and they met no danger, and heard nothing, and saw nothing but the faint gleam of the wizard’s light, bobbing like a will-o’-the-wisp in front of them. The passage they had chosen wound steadily upwards. As far as they could judge it went in great mounting curves, and as it rose it grew loftier and wider. There were now no openings to other galleries or tunnels on either side [...] Evidently they had struck what once had been an important road.
Moria was formerly a major city of the dwarves. Mining deep into the earth, the dwarves awoke various dangerous creatures lying deep below the earth's surface and were forced to abandon Moria. Here, Gandalf leads the Fellowship through this ominous environment, dimly lighting their way with "the faint gleam" of his "wizard's light," which Tolkien describes, in a simile, as "bobbing like a will-o'-the-wisp in front of them." In British folklore, will-o'-the-wisps resemble flickering lights and lead travelers astray, often into dangerous areas. Here, Tolkien's allusion further embeds Middle-Earth in British folk tradition. Further, this simile foreshadows later events in the novel. Though Gandalf is not deliberately leading the Fellowship astray, Moria proves to be a dangerous place where they suffer their first major loss.
