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btilly

Tolkien used the eagles as his standard deus ex machina.

- Dwarves + Bilbo + Gandalf stuck in burning trees with enemies around? The eagles to the rescue!

- How to wrap up the Battle of the 5 armies when all is lost? The eagles are coming!

- How to rescue Gandalf from Sauruman! The eagles!

- How to rescue Gandalf from the top of a mountain after an epic battle with a balrog? The eagles!

- How to rescue Frodo and Sam from a volcano blowing up? You guessed it! The eagles!

If you read The Silmarillion and other related works, eagles show up several more times in deus ex machinas in the Gondolin stories.

See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eagle_(Middle-earth) for more on eagles in his stories, and http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Eagle_and_Child for a possible explanation of Tolkien's fondness for eagles.

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From Unfinished Tales-The Istari:

"Eagles are Manwe’s birds, and they play a much more interventioinst role in the earlier ages because the Valar played a more interevtionist role in earlier ages of ME. The Eagles thus effectively withdraw in the Third Age other than for the intervention at Orthanc and at Mount Doom, as the Valar themselves no longer directly intervene-using instead the Istari, who themselves have strict limtations placed on their powers"

And that is a good thematic reason to not use eagles to resolve the challenge of Sauron!

This counterpoint has a counter-counterpoint in the article.

Yes, the "theme be damned, it should be written the way I want" point. Or, the "why I do not read modern fantasy" point.

Somewhat curiously, the "deus ex machina," usually referred to as cheap trick in contemporary commentary on literature/theatre/film, was an expected and appropriate resolution in classical theatre. One might find in Fortinbras Shakespeare's own descending god, although he presides over a funeral rather than a positive resolution (the preferred outcome of virtually all American theatre).

Actually Aristotle criticized using the "machina" (one of several instruments used in Greek theater) to resolve a plot difficulty:

http://classics.mit.edu/Aristotle/poetics.2.2.html

(search for "deus ex")

I think Aristophanes also made fun of it, but I can't find that reference now.

As long as I'm getting upvotes for Classics stuff on Hacker News...:

The Greek name for "machina" is μηχανή. It was used for more than just solving knots in a plot. In a way it was one of the earliest "special effects."

I'm not sure what Clouds reference prospero means, but when Socrates first appears, up in a basket examining the heavens, he is probably on a μηχανή. I suspect this is a deliberate allusion to sophists acting like gods. (I think it's rare to find anyone but gods on a μηχανή.)

Wikipedia thinks that in Aristophanes' Thesmophoriazousae (aka Thesmo), Euripides enters a scene on a μηχανή in comic allusion to his frequently resorting to it to solve plot problems [1]. I'm not sure what scene that is, but I'd encourage anyone to read this little-read play, in which Aristophanes stages Euripides trying to infiltrate a conclave of women upset that his plays show women in a bad light (e.g. Medea). During the play Euripides has to keep acting out scenes from his own plays. If you like Euripides, it's a pretty great read.

[1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deus_ex_machina

That was what I was referencing, I was just on a phone at the time and didn't have the time or will to write it all out.

I didn't know about the latter example, though, thanks for tracking that all down.

You might look in The Clouds.

You are totally right but, because I love Tolkien, I'm down-voting you. It's unfair but it has to be done. Sorry.

Ironically, it is also totally right that I get downvoted for downvoting you, too. Sigh. What we do for love.

This isn't a coherent point...even if it were relevant, which "side" does your love support more?

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