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Personification
Explanation and Analysis—The Earth Groaned:
At the climax of the War of the Ring, when the Ring is destroyed and Sauron’s power collapses, Tolkien describes the upheaval at Mordor’s gate. This passage exemplifies personification in its description of the earth:
Then rising swiftly up, far above the Towers of the Black Gate, high above the mountains, a vast soaring darkness sprang into the sky, flickering with fire. The earth groaned and quaked.
The ground does not merely shake under volcanic force; it “groan[s],” as if it is a living being capable of voicing pain. By attributing human qualities to the land, Tolkien conveys that Middle-earth itself shares in the drama of Sauron’s downfall.
The groaning earth suggests centuries of strain under Sauron’s domination. The ground becomes more than a physical setting—it takes on the role of a witness, echoing the suffering and release of the world now freed. This personification amplifies the apocalyptic atmosphere, so the collapse is felt not just as a battlefield victory but as a universal convulsion.
The detail also frames the destruction as cosmic in scale. Armies and fortresses fall, but the natural world itself cries out, registering both the violence of the moment and the release that follows. The earth’s “voice” becomes part lament, part exhalation, marking the transition from oppression to liberation.
Through this personification, Tolkien enlarges the scope of the scene. The victory at the Black Gate belongs not only to Aragorn’s host but to the very land they fight for. The groan of the earth makes the moment feel absolute and final, underscoring that Sauron’s fall reshapes the world at its most fundamental level.
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