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Light
Darkness symbolizes evil, obscurity, fear, and helplessness in The Silmarillion. Melkor repeatedly destroys the light created by the Valar and brings darkness to the world, using shadow as a shield to hide beneath and as a weapon to confuse and frighten enemy armies. By spreading fear of the unknown dark among elves and men, Melkor and Sauron are able to seduce some of the people of Middle-earth into following them and depending on their teachings and protection. Melkor’s physical form casts a large shadow, and he is referred to metaphorically in terms of shadow and darkness; his influence in Middle-earth is a shadow and the threat of his rule is the night.
Darkness is both a lack of the creativity and clarity of light and occasionally “a thing with being of its own,” like Ungoliant’s Darkness. Melkor attacks Valinor and uses Ungoliant, a spider-like creature, to destroy the Two Trees that provide it with light, plunging it into darkness. Ungoliant has the power to consume light and spin it into webs of darkness, but, when she consumes the sacred light of the Two Trees, she creates an actively malicious Darkness with the power to enter the minds of her enemies and incapacitate their wills.
When not used by Melkor and Sauron, darkness and shadow can represent a more benign obscurity, meant to guard and conceal, as it does in the cloaks of Lúthien and Tuor. In certain instances, such as the twilight under which the elves are born and the nighttime—both tempered by Varda’s stars which provide beauty and visibility—darkness can be restful, healing, and restorative. Still, because of the threat of Melkor’s monsters and the fear of uncertainty he spread among elves and men, the night is often perceived as a time of fear and danger.
Darkness Quotes in The Silmarillion
The The Silmarillion quotes below all refer to the symbol of Darkness . 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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Chapter 9
Quotes
Then perforce Morgoth surrendered to her the gems that he bore with him, one by one and grudgingly; and she devoured them, and their beauty perished from the world. Huger and darker yet grew Ungoliant, but her lust was unsated. ‘With one hand thou givest,’ she said; ‘with the left only. Open thy right hand.’
In his right hand Morgoth held close the Silmarils, and though they were locked in a crystal casket, they had begun to burn him, and his hand was clenched in pain; but he would not open it. ‘Nay!’ he said. ‘Thou has had thy due. For with my power that I put into thee thy work was accomplished. I need thee no more. These things thou shalt not have, nor see. I name them unto myself for ever.’
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Their Oath shall drive them, and yet betray them, and ever snatch away the very treasures that they have sworn to pursue. To evil end shall all things turn that they begin well; and by treason of kin unto kin, and the fear of treason, shall this come to pass. The Dispossessed shall they be for ever.
Ye have spilled the blood of your kindred unrighteously and have stained the land of Aman. For blood ye shall render blood, and beyond Aman ye shall dwell in Death’s shadow. For though Eru appointed you to die not in Eä, and no sickness may assail you, yet slain ye may be, and slain he shall be: by weapon and by torment and by grief; and your houseless spirits shall come then to Mandos.
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Chapter 13
Quotes
Then Fingon the valiant, son of Fingolfin, resolved to heal the feud that divided the Noldor […] Long before, in the bliss of Valinor, before Melkor was unchained, or lies came between them, Fingon had been close in friendship with Maedhros; and though he knew not yet that Maedhros had not forgotten him at the burning of the ships, the thought of their ancient friendship stung his heart. Therefore he dared a deed which is justly renowned among the feats of the princes of the Noldor: alone, and without the counsel of any, he set forth in search of Maedhros; and aided by the very darkness that Morgoth had made he came unseen into the fastness of his foes.
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Chapter 19
Quotes
Then Morgoth looking upon her beauty conceived in his thought an evil lust, and a design more dark than any that had yet come into his heart since he fled from Valinor. Thus he was beguiled by his own malice, for he watched her, leaving her free for a while, and taking secret pleasure in his thought. Then suddenly she eluded his sight, and out of the shadows began a song of such surpassing loveliness, and of such blinding power, that he listened perforce; and a blindness came upon him, as his eyes roamed to and fro, seeking her.
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Chapter 24
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Yet the lies that Melkor […] sowed in the hearts of Elves and Men are a seed that does not die and cannot be destroyed; and ever and anon it sprouts anew, and will bear dark fruit even unto the latest days.
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Here ends the SILMARILLION. If it has passed from the high and the beautiful to darkness and ruin, that was of old the fate of Arda Marred; and if any change shall come and the Marring be amended, Manwë and Varda may know; but they have not revealed it, and it is not declared in the dooms of Mandos.
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Get the entire The Silmarillion LitChart as a printable PDF.
Darkness Symbol Timeline in The Silmarillion
The timeline below shows where the symbol Darkness appears in The Silmarillion. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Valaquenta
...all things” and continues corrupting the works of the Valar and seeking power. He wields darkness to create evil in Arda, and many of the Maiar are corrupted by his lies...
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Chapter 1. Of the Beginning of Days
During the Valar’s war with Melkor, Tulkas’s descent to Arda drives Melkor to the outer darkness of the world. A period of peace follows, and the Valar finish the construction of...
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Chapter 3. Of the Coming of the Elves and the Captivity of Melkor
During that time, only Oromë and Yavanna come to Middle-earth, where evil and “dark creatures” walk. Yavanna puts some of the natural world to sleep so it won’t age...
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...Melkor, but Manwë reminds the Valar that the elves are fated to wake up in darkness, under only the light of the stars. Varda, who already created stars, leaves the council...
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...or lingering in Middle-earth. They, along with the Avari, are called the Elves of the Darkness.
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Chapter 8. Of the Darkening of Valinor
...the north but can’t find him since he secretly traveled south of Valinor to the “dark region” called Avathar where Ungoliant lives. Taking the shape of a monstrous spider, she has...
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Back in his old form of a dark lord, Melkor seeks Ungoliant out and bribes her to help him take revenge on the...
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...when the light of the Trees mingles, Melkor and Ungoliant arrive in Valinor as a dark cloud. Melkor stabs each Tree with his spear, and Ungoliant drains them dry of their...
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Varda is the first to notice the shadow, and the music of the festival ceases. Manwë, who can see through the dark, notices...
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Chapter 9. Of the Flight of the Noldor
Ungoliant wraps Morgoth in darkness, and he cries out. The Balrogs hiding in Angband hear him and come to his...
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Chapter 11. Of the Sun and Moon and the Hiding of Valinor
...Ungoliant—that light exists only in the Silmarils. Morgoth hates the lights and sends spirits of shadow to attack Tilion, but Tilion defeats them. Morgoth fears to attack Arien and hides from...
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...guards in the gap where the city of Tirion is. They position islands full of “shadows and bewilderment” in front of Valinor to divert ships and hide from Middle-earth. None of...
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Chapter 12. Of Men
...keep to themselves and don’t appear to guide them, but they meet and befriend the Dark elves.
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Chapter 13. Of the Return of the Noldor
...against Morgoth by seeking out Maedhros, who was once his close friend. Camouflaged by the shadows Morgoth created, he climbs the mountains above Angband looking for a way into the fortress....
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Chapter 15. Of the Noldor in Beleriand
...that one day he’ll swear an oath and need to be free to “go into darkness” to fulfill it, and that his realm won’t last to be inherited by his son.
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Chapter 16. Of Maeglin
...again. She wanders into Nan Elmoth (the forest where Melian and Thingol met) where a Dark elf, Eöl, lives.
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Chapter 17. Of the Coming of Men into the West
Bëor won’t tell Finrod much about where they came from, only that they’ve left a darkness behind them and seek light in Beleriand. The elves don’t know for certain, but it’s...
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Chapter 18. Of the Ruin of Beleriand and the Fall of Fingolfin
...He challenges Morgoth, who emerges in black armor, looming over Fingolfin. Fingolfin gleams under his shadow “like a star” with his silver armor and glittering sword.
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Chapter 19. Of Beren and Lúthien
...Lúthien uses her magic to grow her hair and weaves it into a cloak of shadow and a rope to climb down.
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...in his crown suddenly blaze and weigh down his head. Lúthien throws her cloak of shadow over Morgoth’s eyes, putting him to sleep, and he falls from his throne, his crown...
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...joins the group that sets out to hunt him. As they depart, Lúthien feels a “dark shadow” fall over her.
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Chapter 23. Of Tuor and the Fall of Gondolin
...In a storm, Ulmo urges Tuor to find Gondolin and gives him a cloak to shadow him from his enemies. In the morning, Tuor meets Voronwë, an elf of Gondolin sent...
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Chapter 24. Of the Voyage of Eärendil and the War of Wrath
...mornings or evenings as he sails back to Valinor to visit Elwing, who dislikes the dark and cold but learns flight from the birds. When the people of Middle-earth first see...
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...give them the Silmarils, they’ll never fulfill their oath and will be lost to Everlasting Darkness.
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...men can never be destroyed and constantly breed evil. The world’s fall from beauty into darkness is the fate foretold in the Music of the Ainur, and if it will ever...
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Akallabêth
...isn’t a worse fate than the fate of the elves, just different, and only the shadow of Morgoth makes men fear the uncertainty of death. The Valar warn them that it’s...
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Sauron teaches the Númenoreans to worship Morgoth as the Lord of Darkness and convinces them that Ilúvatar is only an invention of the Valar meant to control...
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...grown from the fruit of the White Tree. The climate of Númenor has changed, growing dark and stormy. Sometimes Manwë’s giant eagles approach from the west, carrying lightning that strikes Melkor’s...
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