The Two Towers is the second volume of J. R. R. Tolkien's high fantasy novel The Lord of the Rings. The Lord of the Rings is an epic The Fellowship of the Ring is the first of three volumes of the epic novel The Lord of the Rings by the English author J The Return of the King is the third and final volume of J R R High fantasy, or epic fantasy, is a subgenre of Fantasy fiction that is set in invented or parallel worlds. The Lord of the Rings is an epic It is preceded by The Fellowship of the Ring and followed by The Return of the King. The Fellowship of the Ring is the first of three volumes of the epic novel The Lord of the Rings by the English author J The Return of the King is the third and final volume of J R R

Title

The Lord of the Rings is composed of 6 "books", aside from an introduction, a prologue and 6 appendices. The novel was originally published as 3 separate volumes due to post-World War II paper shortages and size and price considerations. The Two Towers covers Books III and IV.

Tolkien wrote, "The Two Towers gets as near as possible to finding a title to cover the widely divergent Books 3 & 4; and can be left ambiguous. "^[1] Tolkien may have hoped to publish the entire novel in one large volume combined with The Silmarillion. The Silmarillion is a collection of J R R Tolkien 's mythopoeic works edited and published posthumously by his son Christopher Tolkien in At this stage he planned to title the individual books. The discarded title for Book III was The Treason of Isengard. Book IV was titled The Journey of the Ringbearers or The Ring Goes East.

A note at the end of The Fellowship of the Ring and Tolkien's final illustration of the towers gives the pair as Minas Morgul and Orthanc. Minas Morgul (ˈminas ˈmɔrɡuɫ ( Sindarin: Tower of Black Magic) also known by its earlier name of Minas Ithil ( Sindarin: Tower of the For the assault on Isengard by the Ents see Destruction of Isengard. ^[2][3] However, in a letter to Rayner Unwin, Tolkien instead gives Orthanc and the Tower of Cirith Ungol, but felt such an identification was misleading due to the opposition between Barad-dûr and Minas Tirith. Rayner S Unwin (1926 &ndash November 23, 2000) was the son of publisher Sir Stanley Unwin of the publishing firm George Allen & Unwin. Cirith Ungol (ˈkiriθ ˈuŋgɔl is a location in J R R Tolkien 's fictional universe of Middle-earth in his fantasy work The Lord of the Rings. This article is about the city in the Third Age. For the First Age tower of the same name see Minas Tirith (First Age. ^[4] Loosely, any pair from the set of five towers in the story could fit the title: the tower of Cirith Ungol (Cirith Ungol being a pass), Orthanc, Minas Tirith, Barad-dûr and Minas Morgul.

However ambiguous the title may be in the book, director Peter Jackson's adaptation of The Two Towers designates the title as referring to the towers of Barad-dûr in Mordor and Orthanc in Isengard. Peter Robert Jackson, CNZM (born 31 October 1961 is a three-time Academy Award -winning New Zealand director producer and writer best known for directing For the album by black metal band Summoning, see Lugburz. Barad-dûr ( Sindarin "Dark Tower" sometimes given In J R R Tolkien 's Fictional universe of Middle-earth, Mordor (from Sindarin Black Land and Quenya Land of Shadow For the assault on Isengard by the Ents see Destruction of Isengard. For the assault on Isengard by the Ents see Destruction of Isengard. In dialogue written for the film, the wizard Saruman says:

"The World is changing. In the fiction of J R R Tolkien, the Wizards of Middle-earth are a group of five beings outwardly resembling Men but possessing much greater physical Concept and creation Saruman first appears in 1954's The Fellowship of the Ring, the first volume of the Fantasy novel The Lord of the Rings Who now has the strength to stand against the armies of Isengard and Mordor? To stand against the might of Sauron and Saruman . For the assault on Isengard by the Ents see Destruction of Isengard. In J R R Tolkien 's Fictional universe of Middle-earth, Mordor (from Sindarin Black Land and Quenya Land of Shadow Sauron (ˈsaʊrɒn Quenya: /sawrɔn/ literal meaning "Abhorred") is the title character and the principal Antagonist of the Fantasy Concept and creation Saruman first appears in 1954's The Fellowship of the Ring, the first volume of the Fantasy novel The Lord of the Rings . . and the union of the two towers? Together, my Lord Sauron . . . we shall rule this Middle-earth. Middle-earth refers to the fictional lands where most of the stories of author J "

In different teaser trailers for the film, voiceover narration by Gandalf and Galadriel directly states the towers as Barad-dûr and Orthanc. Concept and creation Humphrey Carpenter in his 1977 biography relates that Tolkien owned a Postcard entitled Der Berggeist ("the mountain Appearances Literature Stories of Galadriel's life prior to The Lord of the Rings are collected in the Unfinished Tales. ^[5]

Structure

Because The Two Towers is the central portion of a longer work, its structure differs from that of a conventional novel. It begins and ends abruptly, without introduction to the characters, explanations of major plot elements, or a strict conclusion. This is characteristic of the technical classification novel sequence, not a book series — though it and the other two volumes are not individual novels themselves. A novel sequence is a set or series of Novels which share common themes characters or settings but where each novel has its own title and free-standing storyline and can thus A book series is a sequence of Books with certain characteristics in common that are formally identified together as a group The first section follows the divergent paths of several important figures from The Fellowship of the Ring, but tells nothing of its central character, on whose fate so much depends, enabling the reader to share in the suspense and uncertainty of the characters. The narrative of the second part returns to Frodo's quest to destroy the evil that threatens the world.

Plot summary

Book III

As Aragorn searches for Frodo, he suddenly hears Boromir's horn. Aragorn II is a fictional character from J R R Tolkien 's Middle-earth Legendarium. Boromir is a supporting character in J R R Tolkien 's Legendarium. He finds Boromir mortally wounded by arrows, his assailants gone. Before Boromir dies he reveals that Merry and Pippin had been captured by Orcs in spite of his efforts to defend them, and that Frodo had disappeared after Boromir had tried to take the Ring from him. Meriadoc Brandybuck, usually referred to as Merry, is a Fictional character from J Biography Pippin was the only hobbit who had not yet reached his 'coming of age' when the Fellowship set out (being eight years younger than Merry while Frodo himself was 50 In J R R Tolkien 's Fantasy writings Orcs or Orks are a race of creatures who are used as soldiers and henchmen by both the greater and lesser villains In his last moments, he charges Aragorn to defend his city Minas Tirith from Sauron. This article is about the city in the Third Age. For the First Age tower of the same name see Minas Tirith (First Age. With Legolas and Gimli, who had been fighting Orcs themselves, Aragorn pays his last respects to the fallen hero and sends him down the Great River Anduin on a funeral boat. Appearances Literature Legolas was the son of Thranduil, King of the Woodland Realm of Northern Mirkwood, who appears as "the Elvenking" Character overview Gimli was a Dwarf of Durin's Folk who volunteered to accompany Frodo Baggins as a member of the Fellowship of the Ring The three then resolve to follow the Uruk-hai captors. In J R R Tolkien 's Fictional universe of Middle-earth, the Uruk-hai ( Black Speech: Orc folk) anglicized to Uruks, were However, after some hardship, the hobbits escape when the Uruk-hai are attacked by the horsemen of Rohan, called the Rohirrim or "Riders of Rohan". In J R R Tolkien 's legendarium, Hobbits are a diminutive race that inhabit the lands of Middle-earth. Rohan, is a fictional realm in J R R Tolkien 's Fantasy era of Middle-earth. In J R R Tolkien 's Middle-earth, the Rohirrim were a Horse people, settling in the land of Rohan, named after them

Merry and Pippin escape into nearby Fangorn Forest where they encounter the giant treelike Ents. Ents are a fictional race of humanoid Trees from J R R Tolkien 's fantasy world of Middle-earth. The Ents resembled actual trees, except they can see, talk, and move. These guardians of the forest generally kept to themselves, but after a long contemplation on wether or not the Hobbits were friends, or foes, their leader Treebeard persuades the Ent council to oppose the menace posed to the forest by the wizard Saruman as suggested by Merry and Pippin, as Treebeard realizes Saruman's minions have been cutting down large numbers of their trees to fuel the furnaces needed for Saruman's raising of his dark army. In J R R Tolkien 's legendarium, Hobbits are a diminutive race that inhabit the lands of Middle-earth. Literature Spirits were sent by Eru Ilúvatar to inhabit the trees which the Vala Yavana had created along with other plants or olvars In the fiction of J R R Tolkien, the Wizards of Middle-earth are a group of five beings outwardly resembling Men but possessing much greater physical Concept and creation Saruman first appears in 1954's The Fellowship of the Ring, the first volume of the Fantasy novel The Lord of the Rings

Aragorn, Gimli the Dwarf and Legolas the Elf come across the Riders of Rohan led by Éomer, nephew of King Théoden. In J R R Tolkien 's Legendarium, an Elf is an individual member of one of the races that inhabit the lands of Arda. Appearances Literature Éomer of the House of Eorl, was the son of Théodwyn and Éomund, a Chief Marshal of the Riddermark. Early life Théoden was the only son of King Thengel and Morwen of Lossarnach (a region of Gondor) The trio learns that the horsemen had attacked a band of Orcs the previous night, and that they had left no survivors. However, Aragorn is able to track a small set of prints that lead into Fangorn, where they meet a wizard in white robes who they at first take to be Saruman, but who turns out to be their friend Gandalf, whom they believed had perished in the mines of Moria. Concept and creation Humphrey Carpenter in his 1977 biography relates that Tolkien owned a Postcard entitled Der Berggeist ("the mountain In the fiction of J R R Tolkien, Moria was the name given by the Eldar to what had once been an enormous underground complex in north-western Middle-earth He tells them of his fall into the abyss, his battle to the death with the Balrog and his resurrection and enhanced power. This article deals with J R R Tolkien's Balrogs For other uses see Balrog (disambiguation. The four ride to Rohan's capital Edoras, where Gandalf rouses King Théoden from inaction against the threat Saruman poses. Adaptations For Peter Jackson's ''The Lord of the Rings'' film trilogy, produced by New Line Cinema, a fully realized set for Edoras was In the process, Saruman's agent — and King Théoden's advisor — in Edoras, Gríma Wormtongue, is expelled from the city. Gríma, called (the Wormtongue, is a fictional character in J Aragorn, Gimli and Legolas then travel with Théoden's troops to the defensive fortress, the Hornburg, in the valley of Helm's Deep, while Gandalf goes away to Isengard to talk to Treebeard. This article is about the German city in Lower Saxony For the municipality in Saxony-Anhalt see Hornburg Saxony-Anhalt. Aglarond Aglarond and Angrenost (later Isengard) were the two fortresses built by Gondor guarding the Fords of Isen. At the Hornburg, the heroes resist a full-scale onslaught of Orcs and Men sent by Saruman, and Gandalf arrives the next morning with the remains of the army of Westfold that Saruman's forces had previously routed. The orcs flee into a forest of Huorns, creatures similar to Ents, and none escape alive. The Huorns are a fictional race from J R R Tolkien 's Middle-earth. The heroes then head to Saruman's stronghold of Isengard.

There, they reunite with Merry and Pippin and find the fortress overrun by Ents, who had flooded it by breaking a nearby dam of a great river, and the central tower of Orthanc besieged, with Saruman and Gríma trapped inside. After giving Saruman a chance to repent, Gandalf casts him out of the Order of Wizards. In the fiction of J R R Tolkien, the Wizards of Middle-earth are a group of five beings outwardly resembling Men but possessing much greater physical Gríma throws something from a window at Gandalf and those with him. This object turns out to be one of the palantír (seeing-stones). A palantír is a magical artifact from J R R Tolkien 's Fantasy legendarium. Pippin, unable to resist the urge, looks into it and encounters the Eye of Sauron. Sauron (ˈsaʊrɒn Quenya: /sawrɔn/ literal meaning "Abhorred") is the title character and the principal Antagonist of the Fantasy Gandalf and Pippin then head for Minas Tirith in preparation for the upcoming war.

Book IV

Frodo and Sam discover and capture Gollum, who has been stalking them in their quest to reach Mount Doom and destroy the One Ring, for Gollum hopes to reclaim the Ring for himself. Character overview Originally known as Sméagol, this character was later named Gollum after his habit Sam loathes and distrusts him, but Frodo pities the poor creature. Gollum promises to lead the pair to a secret entrance to Mordor and for a time appears to be a true ally. A secret passage (or hidden passage or a secret tunnel) is a hidden route that is used to travel stealthily In J R R Tolkien 's Fictional universe of Middle-earth, Mordor (from Sindarin Black Land and Quenya Land of Shadow Upon reaching the Black Gate of Mordor, Gollum persuades the hobbits not to enter, where they would have been surely caught. Instead they head south into Gondor's province of Ithilien and are accosted by a group of Gondorian rangers led by Faramir, the brother of Boromir. Gondor is a fictional kingdom in J R R Tolkien 's writings described as the greatest realm of Men in the west of Middle-earth by the end of the In J R R Tolkien 's Middle-earth legendarium, Faramir is a Fictional character appearing in The Lord of the Rings. Faramir learns from Frodo of his brother's death and of the plan to destroy the Ring, and allows them to go on their way. Gollum leads them into the lair of Shelob, an enormous spider, who inflicts her poisonous bite on Frodo. Literature Shelob was an "evil thing in Spider form" living high in the Ephel Dúath mountains that border Mordor; the “last child of Sam resolves to finish the quest himself and takes the Ring. But when Orcs take Frodo's body, Sam follows them and learns that Frodo is not dead, but only unconscious, and now a prisoner. The book ends with the line, "Frodo was alive but taken by the enemy. "

Chapter Summaries

Book III

• I - The Departure of Boromir - Aragorn finds Boromir wounded by many arrows, who tells him that orcs took the Hobbits, and they were still alive. Boromir does not tell Aragorn which Hobbits were taken. Boromir dies, and his body is set down the stream on a 'funeral boat. ' Aragorn, Legolas and Gimli decide to follow the orcs.
• II - The Riders of Rohan - They follow the trail of the orcs and find several clues as to what happened with the hobbits, then meet a company of Rohirrim led by Éomer, who tell them that the orcs were destroyed and none were left alive. Appearances Literature Éomer of the House of Eorl, was the son of Théodwyn and Éomund, a Chief Marshal of the Riddermark.
• III - The Uruk-hai - This chapter begins further back in time, telling the story of Merry and Pippin being captured by the orcs. The orcs are constantly arguing, for they serve different masters. The orcs camp near Fangorn, and Grishnákh attempts to take the hobbits away with him. The hobbits escape as Grishnákh is killed by an arrow.
• IV - Treebeard - Merry and Pippin meet Treebeard the Ent. The hobbits meet another Ent, Quickbeam. The Ents decide at the Entmoot after three days, to attack Isengard.
• V - The White Rider - The chapter goes back to the story of Aragorn, Legolas and Gimli, who discover signs that the hobbits escaped the orcs into the forest. They meet an old man, who they at first presume to be Saruman, but who turns out to be Gandalf. Then they set off for Edoras.
• VI - The King of the Golden Hall - The four of them reach Edoras and talk with King Théoden, curing him of the depression induced in him by Wormtongue. Théoden gives Gandalf the horse.
• VII - Helm's Deep - Aragorn, Legolas and Gimli are at Helm's Deep with the Rohan army, defending the people of Rohan from attack by the army of Saruman.
• VIII - The Road to Isengard - They travel to Isengard, and see that it has been destroyed. At Isengard they find Merry and Pippin.
• IX - Flotsam and Jetsam - Merry and Pippin tell the story of how the Ents attacked Isengard, in amongst the ruins or 'flotsam and jetsam' of Saruman's fortress.
• X - The Voice of Saruman - Saruman has a very persuasive voice, which he almost uses to persuade Théoden and the others until Gandalf casts him from the order of wizards. Wormtongue throws a hard object out of the tower, which narrowly misses Gandalf, and turns out to be Saruman's palantír (the seeing stone through which he communicated with Sauron).
• XI - The Palantír - Pippin picks up the palantír and is seen by Sauron. Gandalf explains the origin of the palantír. Gandalf sets off for Gondor with Pippin riding on Shadowfax.

Book IV

• I - The Taming of Sméagol - Gollum joins Frodo and Sam, after Sam captures him.
• II - The Passage of the Marshes - They pass through the Dead Marshes
• III - The Black Gate is Closed - They reach the gate of Mordor, Gollum persuades them not to go in, and to head south. Literature Once the ancient battlefield of Dagorlad, the Dead Marshes lie north-west of the Morannon, the principal entrance to Mordor.
• IV - Of Herbs and Stewed Rabbit - They reach the pleasant country of Ithilien. Gondor is a fictional kingdom in J R R Tolkien 's writings described as the greatest realm of Men in the west of Middle-earth by the end of the Title refers to the rabbits Gollum catches that Sam cooks; the smoke from the fire causes them to be seen by men of Gondor led by Faramir, and they witness an attack on a Southron army, and an Oliphaunt. In J R R Tolkien's fictional lands of Middle-earth, a mûmak (plural mûmakil) is a pachyderm of the southern land of
• V - The Window on the West - Frodo and Sam are captured by Faramir's men and they are blindfolded on their way to Henneth Annûn. Frodo and Faramir discuss Boromir's death.
• VI - The Forbidden Pool - Faramir shows Frodo they have found Gollum at the Forbidden Pool. Frodo saves him from being shot by Faramir's men.
• VII - Journey to the Cross-roads - Frodo, Sam and Gollum leave Faramir. They travel to the crossroad of the road east between Osgiliath and Minas Morgul, and the north-south road from the Black Gate to the southlands, where they see the decapitated statue of a king. In the fiction of J R R Tolkien, Osgiliath is a city of Middle-earth, the old Capital city of Gondor. Minas Morgul (ˈminas ˈmɔrɡuɫ ( Sindarin: Tower of Black Magic) also known by its earlier name of Minas Ithil ( Sindarin: Tower of the
• VIII - The Stairs of Cirith Ungol - They climb the Stairs of Cirith Ungol and witness an army leaving Minas Morgul.
• IX - Shelob's Lair - encounter with Shelob the spider
• X - The Choices of Master Samwise - Frodo is taken by the orcs. Literature Shelob was an "evil thing in Spider form" living high in the Ephel Dúath mountains that border Mordor; the “last child of Sam listens to the orcs talking about him, which is how he finds out that he is still alive, having thought that Frodo had been killed by Shelob.

Adaptations

Some of the events of The Two Towers and Fellowship of Ring were depicted in a 1978 film of The Lord of the Rings by Ralph Bakshi. JRR Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings is a 1978 animated Fantasy film directed by Ralph Bakshi. Ralph Bakshi (born October 29 1938 is an American director of animated and occasionally live-action films

In 1999, The Lifeline Theatre in Chicago presented the world premiere of The Two Towers, adapted for the stage by James Sie and Karen Tarjan, directed by Ned Mochel.

In 2002 the film The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers, directed by Peter Jackson, was released. The Lord of the Rings The Two Towers is a 2002 Fantasy film directed by Peter Jackson based on the second volume of J Peter Robert Jackson, CNZM (born 31 October 1961 is a three-time Academy Award -winning New Zealand director producer and writer best known for directing Both The Two Towers and the succeeding film, The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King abandoned the parallel storytelling of the volume in favour of a more chronological presentation. This article is about the live-action movie which shares a title with a book, video game, and animated film. The first chapter from the volume actually appears at the end of Jackson's The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring. The Lord of the Rings The Fellowship of the Ring is a 2001 Fantasy film directed by Peter Jackson based on the similarly titled first Later events of The Two Towers involving Frodo and Sam were filmed for Jackson's The Return of the King. Other significant changes were made in the plot line, partially to give each of the characters a story arc in which they could develop and change. Although all three of Jackson's films differ from their source material, "The Two Towers" arguably contains the most major alterations. The Lord of the Rings The Two Towers is a 2002 Fantasy film directed by Peter Jackson based on the second volume of J There was initial concern over using the title "The Two Towers" due to the real-life association with the World Trade Center and the terrorist attacks the previous year. The World Trade Center in New York City, United States (sometimes informally the WTC or Twin Towers) was a complex of seven buildings in Lower Manhattan The WTC was also commonly called The Twin Towers and due to that similarity, the filmmakers were reportedly considering alternate titles. It was decided, eventually, to retain the original title.

Various games also adapt The Two Towers, including online role-playing games like The Two Towers Mud and graphically-oriented console games. The Two Towers mud is a free Fantasy Multiplayer text based Online Role-playing game set in Tolkien ’s universe at the

Footnotes