what happened to the tolkien Elves?

[Straha]

Right, I'm reading the Hobbit, and the part where the Dwarves head into Rivendell (s.p.? Elrond's land though) and the elves act like complete jackanapes and run around singing songs, etc. Yet in LOTRs the elves are these old, serene, dignified things. So what the hell happened?

[Iceberg]

Right, I'm reading the Hobbit, and the part where the Dwarves head into Rivendell (s.p.? Elrond's land though) and the elves act like complete jackanapes and run around singing songs, etc. Yet in LOTRs the elves are these old, serene, dignified things. So what the hell happened?

Sarcastic answer: The elves started taking downers to deal with their manic disorder.

Real answer: The Hobbit was not, originally, connected to The Silmarillion. It was written as a children's book, as were the first few chapters of The Lord of the Rings (basically, up until the hobbits reach Bree). When he reached Bree, Tolkien realized that The Lord of the Rings was more than a sequel to The Hobbit but it was the culmination of the millennia-long war between good and evil that had started in the early pages of the Silmarillion. So he had to redact certain elements - like the behavior of the elves - to better fit their status with respect to the Silm.

Does this help?

[Smiling Bandit]

The answer is that Elves are both. They do have fun, and if you see the first pages of LotR, you can find some elves that are merrily passing into the West. But they have a heart of steel, too.

[Ravenwing]

it depend on the type of elf i think. the wood elves or those not in high office dont need to be so depressed, they live in the world of the woods, not the world of middle earth politics.

[Stormbringer]

Right, I'm reading the Hobbit, and the part where the Dwarves head into Rivendell (s.p.? Elrond's land though) and the elves act like complete jackanapes and run around singing songs, etc. Yet in LOTRs the elves are these old, serene, dignified things. So what the hell happened?

The Ring was found and Sauron's about to shove his size twelve steel toed boots up thier poncy elven asses. That's enough to put a damper on things, I'd say.

As for their appereance in the Hobbit, that simple has a lot to do with the simple fact that it was good times for the elves. They had a lot to be happy about. And when they are they do tend to sing and be merry like that.

Heck, even in the bad times they sing like it's a freaking musical.

[Ravenwing]

The Ring was found and Sauron's about to shove his size twelve steel toed boots up thier poncy elven asses. That's enough to put a damper on things, I'd say.

As for their appereance in the Hobbit, that simple has a lot to do with the simple fact that it was good times for the elves. They had a lot to be happy about. And when they are they do tend to sing and be merry like that.

Heck, even in the bad times they sing like it's a freaking musical.

well i was stuck in hospital for a week once and i was humming my way through it. after a few thousand years id be singing the life story of the fly on the windowsill!

[Ravenwing]

sorry that i stuffed that quote option up, im sleepy as well as tipsy, ill try harder when i nap and sober up

[Ghost Rider]

Don't spam.

[Isolder74]

The Ring happened. The Ring is pure evil and it affects all those around it. Its hard to party if you know Sauron is watching and could atack at any moment. Ringwraiths on the outskirts of town Orcs becoming much more plentiful. Also many of the elves had already left Middle Earth by the time of the Lord of the Rings.

So someone is crashing their party and most of the partiers have left.

[Jason von Evil]

They ran out of drugs. Seriously, Ein raided them and wham.