Why Tolkien Wouldn't Let the Eagles Solve The Lord of the Rings

"Why didn't they just fly the Eagles to Mordor?" Letter 210 did not directly answer that modern question. It did record Tolkien's warning: "The Eagles are a dangerous 'machine'. I have used them sparingly." This episode tests the proposed flight against the books: a mission built on secrecy, bows and winged Nazgûl, the Eagles' own limits, the unknown risk of carrying the Ring, and the narrative machine Tolkien refused to make routine. The Somme offers a real-history comparison for the danger of being observed from the air, not a claimed origin for Tolkien's idea. Which of the four had you already worked out? Tell me in the comments. Sources: The Letters of J.R.R. Tolkien, no. 210 (June 1958, on the Zimmerman film treatment) The Letters of J.R.R. Tolkien, no. 246 (Frodo at the Crack of Doom) The Fellowship of the Ring, "The Shadow of the Past", "The Council of Elrond", "The Ring Goes South", "The Great River", "The Breaking of the Fellowship", "The Mirror of Galadriel" The Two Towers, "The White Rider" The Return of the King, "The Siege of Gondor", "Mount Doom", "The Field of Cormallen" The Hobbit, "Out of the Frying-Pan into the Fire", "The Clouds Burst" The Silmarillion (Manwë and the Eagles) Tolkien, "On Fairy-Stories" (1939 lecture; eucatastrophe) John Garth, Tolkien and the Great War; Humphrey Carpenter, J.R.R. Tolkien: A Biography Imperial War Museum, RFC artillery observation 1916-17 Aristotle, Poetics Illustrations are original artwork made for this channel. Narration is a synthetic voice. Not affiliated with the Tolkien Estate, Middle-earth Enterprises, Warner Bros. or Amazon. #LordOfTheRings #MiddleEarth #LOTRLore #Tolkien #Eagles