Tolkien, a linguist, understood well the relationship between language and its speakers. Thus, one of the ways he differentiated the various races and peoples in The Lord of the Rings was by giving each a distinctive language that represented, in some way, the culture of the speakers. The Elvish tongue, for instance, seems musical even to those hearers who do not understand it, whereas both the Dwarvish and Orcish languages sound harsh by comparison. Such was Tolkien's ability with these invented languages that he was able to write not only prose but poetry and even songs in them.

1. Discuss the methods of persuasion employed by Wormtongue versus those Gandalf uses to motivate Theoden, lord of the Mark, to action. What are the essential differences in the rhetoric employed by the speakers? How do Theoden and those around him respond to each of the speakers?

2. Compare and...