As one of the ancient races of Middle-earth, the Ents are almost a forgotten legend inThe Lord of the Rings.They are first seen whenthe Hobbits Merry and Pippintry to escape from the Orc Grishnákh by climbing up the trunk of what they think is a tree, but which turns out to be Treebeard instead, “the oldest living thing that still walks beneath the Sun upon this Middle-earth”. It is believed that the Ents were born from J. R. R. Tolkien’s frustration with “the shabby use made in Shakespeare of the coming of Great Birnam wood to high Dunsinane hill” – he wanted to create a setting where “the trees might really march to war”.
This is exactly what he achieves: the Ents’ conquest ofthe Dark Lord Sauronis not only instrumental to the plot, but also a victory over the environmental disruption in Tolkien’s utopian world. The question is, what became of these sentient beings?
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Who Are the Ents?
Little is known aboutthe history of the Ents. According to the “Music of the Ainur”, when Yavanna (“the lover of all things that grow in the earth”) learned of the Dwarves, she feared that the trees would be left unprotected: “Many a tree shall feel the bite of their iron without pity”. She went to Manwë (“the lord of the realm of Arda”) and requested him to safeguard them — which is how the Ents, the ‘Shepherds of the Trees’ came about.
The appearance of the Ents (their height, size, coloring) varies according to the specific trees they protect. As Treebeard boasts to Merry and Pippin, the Ents are also extremely powerful — in fact, much stronger than Trolls, who had been supposedly created by Morgoth to imitate them. They can crush rocks and stones (especially when they are “roused”), as if they are “bread-crust”. They have secured the forests from all threats — most notably when they attacked the Dwarves during the Battle of Sarn Athrad at the end of the First Age. They also become much more intelligent over time, especially whenthe Elves teach them how to speak, “curing the Ents of their dumbness”. They are quite patient and cautious when making decisions or taking action.
The males of the early Ents were devoted to Oromë, the Lord of Forests, and the Entwives to Yavanna. However, the Entwives began to distance themselves as they liked to plant and wanted to be in control, whereas their male counterparts preferred tending to large forests and not taking any initiative themselves. They moved away to the area that later became known as the Brown Lands across the Great River Anduin, where the Ents would still visit them occasionally. However, during the Second Age, many dense forests werecut down by the Númenóreansor wiped out during the War of the Elves and Sauron. It is believed that the Entwives’ gardens were also destroyed in this time period, after which they disappeared altogether. The Ents would “chant their beautiful names” and look for them in vain.
InThe Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, Treebeard appeals to the Hobbits to let him know if they “hear any news” about the Entwives “in your land”. InThe Letters of J.R.R. Tolkien, the author wrote at one point that “the Entwives have disappeared for good, being destroyed with their gardens in the War of the Last Alliance… some may have fled east, or even have become enslaved…” With time, the number of Ents declined greatly and, by the end of the Third Age,the Forest of Fangornis the only place left where they reside.
What Happened to the Ents After the War?
InThe Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers, the Ents initially refuse to take part inMerry and Pippin’s missionas it is “not our war”. Instead,Treebeard agrees to guide themtowards the south. When he reaches the edge of the forest, he sees the damage inflicted by Saruman and the Orcs on the trees. Triggered, he calls for the other Ents who convene another Entmoot. It lasts for three days, at the end of which they finally make the “hasty” decision of destroying Isengard in retaliation. They manage to demolish the dams and flood the place. They also help win the Battle of Helm’s Deep by ambushing an army of Orcs who are sent to take over Rohan.
After the end of the war,the new King Aragornpromises the Ents that they can thrive again and resume their search for the Entwives. He also gifts them land in the Misty Mountains, which becomes known as the Watchwood and the Treegarth of Orthanc.
However, Treebeard believes that, while forests may grow and spread, the Ents would not; they are likely to remain in the Forest of Fangorn until they decrease in number or become more tree-like: “Sheep get like shepherds, and shepherds get like sheep… But it is quicker and closer, with trees and Ents.”
In Galadriel’s farewell to Treebeard, she says she would not see him “in Middle-earth, nor until the lands that lie under the wave are lifted again. Then in the willow-meads of Nan-tathren, we may meet in the spring.” This suggests that the Ents may revive again when the lands of Beleriand will be recovered from the sea.
What Do the Ents Represent in LOTR?
Tolkien lived during the era of industrialization, which was marked by an increasing number of wastelands due to the ambitions of imperialist parties. The theme of the environment’s “wanton destruction” is prevalent in the story ofThe Lord of the Rings. Once, at the Council of Elrond, Elrond laments that “time was once when a squirrel could carry a nut from tree to tree from Rivendell to the Great Sea”. The damage to the English countryside in the 20th century is reflected in Tolkien’s depiction of the deserted and polluted lands of Isengard and Mordor.
Just how he was inadvertently caught in the midst of a changing world, the Ents are also left to suffer when the others go to war. According to Treebeard, the Forest of Fangorn was “just the East End” of a much more extensive forest: “Some of the trees they(the Orcs) cut down and leave to rot… but most are hewn up and carried off to feed the fires of Orthanc. There is always a smoke rising from Isengard these days.” He also comments on how “nobody cares for the woods as I care for them”.
The Ents’ victory against Saruman, the “accursed tree-slayer”, as well as their profound relationship with the natural worldare meant to be an inspirationfor overcoming the devastating effects of industrial invasion. However, Treebeard’s ominous remarks when the Ents are granted vast lands in exchange for their help during the war seem to indicate that the idyllic life of before, with the well-nurtured and unspoiled landscapes, can never return.
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