Editing Denethor (section)

== Analysis ==

=== Character flaws ===

[[Mental illness in Middle-earth|Denethor's madness]] and despair has been [[Shakespeare's influence on Tolkien|compared to that of Shakespeare's]] [[King Lear]]. Both men are first outraged when their children (Faramir and Cordelia, respectively) refuse to aid them, but then grieve upon their children's death – which is only perceived in the case of Faramir. According to [[Michael D. C. Drout]], both Denethor and Lear "despair of God's mercy", something extremely dangerous in a leader who has to defend his realm.<ref name="Smith 2007">{{cite book |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-WGaDtnHUOYC&pg=PA140 |title=Tolkien and Shakespeare: Essays on Shared Themes and Language |chapter=The Influence of King Lear on Lord of the Rings |first=Leigh |last=Smith |editor-first=Janet Brennan |editor-last=Croft |editor-link=Janet Brennan Croft |page=140 |publisher=[[McFarland & Company]] |year=2007 |isbn=978-0-78642-827-4}}</ref> Sauron drives Denethor to suicide by showing him in the [[Palantír]] the Black Fleet approaching Gondor, while concealing the fact that the ships are carrying Aragorn's troops, coming to Gondor's rescue.<ref name="Kocher 1974 p63"/> The Tolkien scholar [[Tom Shippey]] comments that this forms part of a pattern around the use of the Palantír, that one should not try to see the future but should trust in one's [[Luck and fate in Middle-earth|luck]] and make one's own mind up, courageously facing one's duty in each situation.{{sfn|Shippey|2005|pp=188, 423-429}} The medievalist [[Elizabeth Solopova]] comments that unlike Aragorn, Denethor is incapable of displaying what Tolkien in ''[[Beowulf: the Monsters and the Critics]]'' called "[[Northern courage in Middle-earth|northern courage]]", namely, the spirit to carry on in the face of certain defeat and death.<ref>{{ME-ref|Solopova|pages=28–29}}</ref> Alex Davis, in the ''[[J.R.R. Tolkien Encyclopedia]]'', writes that many critics have examined his fall and corrupted leadership, whereas Richard Purtill identifies Denethor's pride and egoism, a man who considers Gondor his property.<ref name="Davis 2006">{{cite encyclopedia |last=Davis |first=Alex |editor-last=Drout |editor-first=Michael D. C. |editor-link=Michael D. C. Drout |title=Jackson, Peter: Artistic Impression |encyclopedia=[[J.R.R. Tolkien Encyclopedia|J.R.R. Tolkien Encyclopedia: Scholarship and Critical Assessment]] |year=2006 |publisher=[[Routledge]] |isbn=1-135-88034-4 |page=120}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Purtill |first1=Richard L. |title=J.R.R. Tolkien: Myth, Morality, and Religion |date=2003 |publisher=Ignatius |isbn=978-0898709483 |page=85}}</ref>

=== Denethor vs Théoden ===

{{further|Feudal allegiance in The Lord of the Rings}}

The Tolkien scholar [[Jane Chance]] contrasts Denethor both with another "Germanic king", [[Théoden]], and with the "true king" of Gondor, Aragorn. In Chance's view, Theoden represents good, Denethor evil; she notes that their names are almost [[anagram]]s, and that where Theoden welcomes the Hobbit [[Merry Brandybuck]] into his service with loving friendship, Denethor accepts Merry's friend [[Pippin Took]] with a harsh contract of [[fealty]]. Chance writes that Tolkien further sets both Theoden and Denethor against the "Christian lord" Aragorn. In her opinion, Denethor "fails as a father, a master, a steward, and a rational man," giving in to despair, whereas Aragorn is brave in battle and gentle with his people, and has the Christlike attribute of healing.{{sfn|Chance|1980|pages=119-122}}

Shippey makes the same comparison, extending it to numerous elements of the two Men's stories, writing that Théoden lives by a theory of Northern courage, and dies through Denethor's despair.{{sfn|Shippey|2005|pp=136–137, 177–178, 187}}{{sfn|Shippey|2001|pp=50–52, 96}}

{| class="wikitable" style="margin: 1em auto;"
|+ Tom Shippey's analysis of symmetry in the tales of [[Théoden]] and Denethor{{sfn|Shippey|2001|pp=50–52, 96}}
|-
! Story element !! [[Théoden]], King of Rohan !! Denethor, Steward of Gondor
|-
| Subgroup meets a helpful stranger || [[Aragorn]], [[Gimli (Middle-earth)|Gimli]] and [[Legolas]] meet [[Éomer]] || Frodo and Sam meet [[Faramir]] 
|-
| Subgroup leader confronts the stranger || Aragorn defies Éomer || Frodo hides his quest from Faramir
|-
| Stranger decides to help the group, against their superior's wishes || Éomer lends horses || Faramir lets Frodo and Sam go
|-
| Leader is an old man who has lost a son || Théodred died in battle || [[Boromir]] died saving the [[Hobbit]]s
|-
| Leader sees other heir as "doubtful replacement" || Éomer is a nephew || Faramir is scholarly, not warlike
|-
| Leader dies at time of [[Battle of the Pelennor Fields]] || Théoden dies in battle || Denethor commits suicide during battle  
|-
| Leader's hall is described in detail || [[Meduseld]], the "golden hall" || The stone hall in [[Minas Tirith]]
|-
| [[Feudal allegiance in The Lord of the Rings|A Hobbit swears allegiance to leader]] || [[Merry Brandybuck|Merry]] joins the [[Riders of Rohan]] || [[Pippin Took|Pippin]] becomes a palace guard of Gondor
|}