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Near the end of The Fellowship of the Ring, Boromir, the proud son of the Steward of Gondor, falls prey to the Ring’s corrupting influence and tries to take the Ring from Frodo to use in battle to defend his country. The beginning of The Two Towers finds Boromir dying from numerous arrow wounds after attempting to protect Merry and Pippin from a company of orcs. Though Boromir is rash and often arrogant, his final act is one of futile generosity, born out of his love for the hobbits. As he dies, he confesses his crime against Frodo to Aragorn and repents, begging him to protect Gondor. Though Boromir’s greatest desire is to preserve his country, he is also driven by his deep loyalty to his friends, the other members of the Fellowship. With his death, he proves that loyalty and redeems himself. Aragorn keeps the secret of Boromir’s betrayal, and he, Gimli, and Legolas give him a hero’s funeral.
Boromir Quotes in The Two Towers
The The Two Towers quotes below are all either spoken by Boromir or refer to Boromir. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
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Book 3, Chapter 1 Quotes
Boromir opened his eyes and strove to speak. At last slow words came. ‘I tried to take the Ring from Frodo,’ he said. ‘I am sorry. I have paid.’ His glance strayed to his fallen enemies; twenty at least lay there. ‘They have gone: the Halflings: the Orcs have taken them. I think they are not dead. Orcs bound them.’ He paused and his eyes closed wearily. After a moment he spoke again.
‘Farewell, Aragorn! Go to Minas Tirith and save my people! I have failed.’
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Book 3, Chapter 5 Quotes
‘You have not said what you know or guess, Aragorn, my friend,’ he said quietly. ‘Poor Boromir! I could not see what happened to him. It was a sore trial for such a man: a warrior, and a lord of men. Galadriel told me that he was in peril. But he escaped in the end. I am glad. It was not in vain that the young hobbits came with us, if only for Boromir’s sake.’
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Boromir Character Timeline in The Two Towers
The timeline below shows where the character Boromir appears in The Two Towers. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Book 3, Chapter 1
...Suddenly, Aragorn hears the voices of orcs and an echoing blast from the horn of Boromir. Realizing Boromir is in need, Aragorn rushes down the path and notices that Sam is...
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Boromir says goodbye to Aragorn and begs him to save Gondor in the wake of his...
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...Gondor and searching for the hobbits, mourns the collapse of the Fellowship and weeps over Boromir’s body. Legolas and Gimli find him there, also summoned—too late—by the sound of Boromir’s horn....
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Fashioning a bier made of branches and their cloaks, the three companions carry Boromir’s body to the river with some difficulty, since he was tall and strong. There they...
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...flee so quickly, but Aragorn disagrees. He doesn’t tell Legolas and Gimli that it was Boromir who provoked Frodo’s quick departure by trying to take the Ring.
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...river or rescue Merry and Pippin from the orcs. They have lost several hours arranging Boromir’s funeral, and it will be difficult now to catch up with either pair of hobbits....
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...spare to increase their speed, they pick up the orcs’ trail from the glade where Boromir died. The orcs are quick and tireless, trampling down anything in their way. Aragorn, Legolas,...
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Book 3, Chapter 2
When Aragorn reveals that he set out with Boromir and Gandalf in a company, Éomer warns him that Gandalf is no longer in Théoden’s...
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Aragorn tells Éomer that Boromir, too, is dead, killed by the orcs they were hunting. Éomer calls Boromir a worthy...
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Book 3, Chapter 3
...Merry had run into the orcs in the woods and attempted to fight them before Boromir arrived. The orcs knocked Pippin out after they shot Boromir with arrows, and he doesn’t...
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Book 3, Chapter 5
...the travels of the Fellowship after Gandalf’s death, and Gandalf realizes that Aragorn is omitting Boromir’s weakness in trying to take the Ring from Frodo. Gandalf remarks that he’s glad the...
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Book 4, Chapter 4
...and see that the men are dressed in green and brown. They remind Frodo of Boromir and are surprised to discover that the hobbits aren’t orcs. The tallest man introduces himself...
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...Sam and explains that they set out from Rivendell with a number of companions including Boromir of Minas Tirith. The men are astonished to hear the name Boromir but believe Frodo...
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Book 4, Chapter 5
Frodo assures Faramir that Boromir would answer his questions, if he were there, and also knows about Frodo’s role as...
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Faramir tells them that Boromir was his brother. Eleven days ago, Faramir dimly heard Boromir blow his horn, and then...
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...Faramir all he could, and Faramir guesses that Isildur’s Bane was the reason Frodo and Boromir parted badly because Boromir wanted to take it to Minas Tirith.
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Faramir is certain that Boromir died well for a good purpose and apologizes to Frodo for his harshness in asking...
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...the Fellowship, careful not to reveal anything important about his quest and instead focusing on Boromir.
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...have become more like the Rohirrim (lesser, Middle Men) in their love of war itself. Boromir, for his valor and skill in battle, was considered the best man in Gondor.
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...him that people bring “their peril with them into Lórien” and almost says something about Boromir before he cuts himself off. Faramir prompts him to continue about Boromir and the peril...
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...his quality.” Sam and Frodo run for their swords, but Faramir sits again, finally understanding Boromir’s struggle with his desire for Isildur’s Bane and realizing that the “trial” was too much...
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