July 11, 2002

To Smaug Re:
Mewlip

Smaug, because JRRT wrote that the ships of the Sea-men simply had wings does not (hopefully) mean that they had physical "birdlike" appendages, or similar whatnot. Tolkien had earlier compared the ships cloths (sails) to wings. The cloths were like wings: subsequently JRRT is free to use the word wings in his followup description (and we know that the cloths are still meant).

But moreover, a shadow that is "winglike" or has reached out like wings, can simply be described as wings ~ and still be a shadow, ie "wings" not necessarily meaning "flesh-type" permanent things (like those of a bat for example). See my earlier post (there is only one earlier by me) for the quotes I'm offering to this ... one wherein JRRT describes reaching wings of darkness.

I'm not trying to definitively "prove" the Balrog didn't have (some sort of permanent) wings, but to offer support rather of the shadow, the creatures "unlight" momentarily being "wings".