Reply to thread

Message: <blockquote data-quote="Salthanas" data-source="post: 1276953" data-attributes="member: 9689">He says that Sauron was vanquished but his spirit endured. However in that very self same chapter you've just highlighted Gandalf says that after a defeat the shadow always takes another shape and grows again. Tolkien uses the word eye to describe where either Morgoth or Sauron has their attention at any particular moment. In Morgoths ring he talks about Morgoths eye being something that Orcs could feel when he merely turned his thought to them.The Eye of Sauron is mentioned in the "Rings of Power" in the  Silmarillion before he loses the ring.I'm not saying its particularly clear from the book but the single fact is that if you read Tolkiens letters he makes it very clear that Sauron had a physical form. IIRC he does this in one of his more interesting letters when he discusses what the Nazgul would have tried to do if they had reached Mount Doom in time to stop the Ring falling into the fire. So although you can say its ambigious in the book to Tolkien's mind Sauron had a physical form which is why I think I can say with some safety that PJ's belief that Sauron is merely a flaming eye is wrong.</blockquote>