Ent Appreciation

Ents are sentient, tree-like beings who roam and protect the forests of Middle Earth— and they deserve appreciation! 

1.) Cool Backstory 

Ents were created to be “Shepards of the Trees”  by Illuvatar at the request of the Vala Yavanna. Concerned that plants would have no protection from harm, she wished for there to be “trees [who] might speak on behalf of all things that have roots, and punish those who wrong them!” (The Silmarillion, “Of Aulë and Yavanna”). Rather humorously, Yavanna is most definitely referring to the Dwarves her husband Aulë illegally created when she says “Those who wrong them!”. It’s quite funny to consider that she was trying to get back at him, while also protecting her dear flora. It becomes even more humorous when she triumphantly arrives at Aulë’s forge to tell him how her Ents are going to fight his Dwarves and he doesn’t even care. 

2.) Powerful allies 

In Middle Earth, the Ents were awakened by Elves who wanted to teach trees to speak. This results in a lasting friendship between Ents and Elves, which is not forgotten even after long ages. Ents may not like getting involved in conflict (they prefer to chill in the woods), but when they do, they are powerful allies. Ents played a crucial role in helping Beren and the Elvish forces against the Dwarves in the Battle of Sarn Athrad after the Sack of Doriath. During the War of the Ring, they sure taught Saruman and his Uruk-Hai lesson at Isengard. 

Last but not least… 

3.) The TREES!!!!!! (In a broader literary sense)

Middle Earth would be so boring without the plants… like…I’m just saying. If there were no forests like Fangorn, Lothlorien, or Ithilien, The Lord of the Rings wouldn’t be half as romanticized in style, beautiful in setting, or even as emotionally impactful. For instance, if Lothlorien shared the same barren, toxic landscape as Mordor, there would be little reason for the readers to feel relief when the fellowship arrives, or sad that many of its people would soon leave forever. 

Not only are the natural settings themselves impactful to the story, but so is their juxtaposition to areas lacking in flora. The Shire is in constant comparison to Mordor, serving as a reminder to Frodo and Sam of why they must move forward. This comparison forms small scale parallel, where the lusciously green Shire represents good, and the decimated Mordor represents evil. Put within the context of Frodo and Sam’s perspectives, where the Shire is the only thing they’ve ever known and how, in their minds, its what they’re fighting to protect, this comparison becomes especially impactful. On a different note, let’s not forget how one of the first things Legolas says upon entering Minas Tirith is that Aragorn needs some plants. Without the symbolic and literal presence nature, the emotional impact of the story would be altered beyond recognition, shifting from a tale of preserving what is good, almost to one of lamenting what does not exist. Besides, the books would be way shorter without the foliage descriptions :)

Though the same literary importance isn’t directly assigned to the Ents themselves, it is their lives’ purpose to protect the natural environment, and by extension what it represents. That makes Ents pretty awesome!

Bonus for all the literature fans:

Ents are partially intended as a reference to Shakespeare’s Macbeth, when a prophecy foretells that Macbeth will be overthrown when Birnam Wood comes to Dunsinane. In Macbeth, men carry branches from Birnam to avoid detection while on a march to Dunsinane. Tolkien was disappointed by this, so in his books he wrote a literal army of trees.