Tolkien's Pointy Ears: Re: tolkien actually intended pointed ears?

» Michael_Martinez - Re: tolkien actually intended pointed ears?

In response to message posted by Laitoste:

Tolkien's use of the word "elvish" in that letter had no connection with HIS elves (since no one for whom the letter was intended had ever read about or seen pictures of his elves, except in the Hobbit manuscript).

Douglas Anderson and I discussed the Elvish ears controversy while he was preparing the new edition of The Annotated Hobbit last year. His latest word on the subject is that Tolkien probably envisioned his Elves with pointed ears in the 1930s. That is about as much room for agreement as there ever will be on this issue.

Certainly there are no stories where Tolkien puts pointed ears on Elves. My view is that he toyed with the idea, or originally used it for the Lost Tales but gradually shed all traits familiar to European folklorists, including pointed ears, by the time he published The Lord of the Rings.

-- posted by Michael_Martinez