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Similes
Book 5, Chapter 7
Explanation and Analysis—Ash:
In Minas Tirith, Gandalf arrives at the House of the Stewards to find Denethor preparing a funeral pyre for himself and the gravely wounded Faramir. Though Gandalf saves the son, the father refuses to abandon his despair. The irony lies in the tragic reversal between Denethor’s perception and reality:
‘[Faramir] lies within,’ said Denethor, ‘burning, already burning. They have set a fire in his flesh. But soon all shall be burned. The West has failed. It shall all go up in a great fire, and all shall be ended. Ash! Ash and smoke blown away on the wind!’
Convinced that Gondor is already lost, Denethor chooses death in despair just as the tide of battle begins to turn in the city’s favor. Reinforcements from Rohan are arriving, and Sauron’s forces are being checked outside the walls. Instead of falling with his people in defeat, Denethor dies needlessly while Gondor moves toward survival.
This situational irony highlights the self-destructive nature of despair. Denethor believes the visions shown in the Seeing Stone prove inevitable ruin, but his “wisdom” blinds him to the possibility of hope. His fixation on ash and fire becomes grimly literal in his fiery suicide, sealing his fate even as hope for Gondor grows stronger.
The reversal also contrasts true leadership with false. As Steward, Denethor was tasked with protecting Gondor until the king’s return, yet he abandons his city at the very moment its fortunes improve. By contrast, leaders like Gandalf, Éomer, and Aragorn persist in uncertainty, trusting that hope is stronger than fear. Denethor’s fiery end is therefore not only a personal tragedy but also an ironic inversion of duty: he surrenders the city he was sworn to defend precisely when it is about to be saved.
Through this irony, Tolkien underscores a central theme of The Lord of the Rings: despair can be more dangerous than the enemy itself. Denethor’s fate reveals that to give up hope is to guarantee defeat, while to endure against all odds is the path to renewal.
Related Themes:
Book 6, Chapter 4
Explanation and Analysis—Great Praise:
In Gondor after the Ring’s destruction, Frodo and Sam are led in honor to Aragorn, who is now revealed as king. The narrative frames this moment as a culmination of their long, harrowing journey through Mordor. It might seem natural for the hobbits to bow before Aragorn, acknowledging his new authority as king. Instead, Tolkien introduces situational irony: Aragorn himself stoops to bow before Frodo and Sam.
And then to Sam’s surprise and utter confusion he bowed his knee before them; and taking them by the hand, Frodo upon his right and Sam upon his left, he led them to the throne, and setting them upon it, he turned to the men and captains who stood by and spoke, so that his voice rang over all the host, crying: ‘Praise them with great praise!’
The irony lies in the reversal of expectation. Readers, and the assembled Gondorians, might assume the hobbits will pay homage to their king, but instead the king bends to the hobbits. Aragorn’s gesture highlights the deeper truth that, though he holds worldly power, it was the seemingly powerless hobbits who bore the greatest burden of the war. The bow elevates their humility, endurance, and sacrifice over titles and bloodlines.
This ironic inversion strengthens the novel’s recurring theme that greatness often lies in the small and overlooked. Aragorn’s act reveals his wisdom: true kingship is not expressed through domination but through honoring others. The situational irony turns what might have been a straightforward coronation into a profound commentary on power and humility. By bowing before Frodo and Sam, Aragorn—and through him, Tolkien—redefines heroism as rooted not in conquest, but in service and suffering willingly borne for the good of others.
Related Themes:
