28 Did Elves have pointed ears? (Tolkien)
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This article is from the Tolkien Newsgroups FAQ, by Steuard Jensen sbjensen@midway.uchicago.edu with numerous contributions by others.
28 Did Elves have pointed ears? (Tolkien)
[This supplements question V.C.1 of the Tolkien FAQ.]
[Conrad Dunkerson has written a more detailed discussion of this
question, on the web at: http://tolkien.slimy.com/essays/Ears.html.]
There is no known text in which Tolkien makes a final, unambiguous
statement about the shape of Elvish ears. Those who argue in favor of
pointed ears generally cite a remark which seems to support that
position found in the "Etymologies" (part of _The Lost Road_). That
document was written in the period immediately before the composition
of LotR and revised sporadically while LotR was being written, so it is
unclear to what extent it should be treated as a canonical source.
Those who argue against pointed ears focus on Tolkien's statements that
Elves and humans were sufficiently similar that they could be mistaken
for each other. There is no consensus on this issue.
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