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Which are the Two Towers?

What is the combonation of "The Two Towers"

  • Barad Dur and Minas Tirith

    Votes: 6 12.2%

  • Barad Dur and Orthanc

    Votes: 17 34.7%

  • Orthanc and Minas Tirith

    Votes: 4 8.2%

  • Orthanc and Minas Morgul

    Votes: 19 38.8%

  • Other

    Votes: 3 6.1%
  • Total voters
    49
I can't find the thread, if I do I will post the link.

I think that logically it is Orthanc and the Tower of Cirith Ungol that are referred to, since these are the two towers in the book where all the action takes place. But of course (Poupon) it could be Orthanc and Barad-dur, etc.
 
Tolkien never liked the title and had a hard time himself deciding which two towers were referred to. In his letters (letter 140 to his publisher, August 17, 1953) he says it "can be left ambiguous - it might refer to Isengard and Barad-dur, or to Minas Tirith and B[arad-dur]; or Isengard and Cirith Ungol." But in a later letter to his publisher (letter 143, Jan. 22, 1954) he says: "I am not at all happy about the title 'the Two Towers'. It must if there is any real reference in it to Vol II refer to Orthanc and the Tower of Cirith Ungol. But since there is so much made of the basic opposition of the Dark Tower and Minas Tirith, that seems very misleading."
 
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I noticed there was a poll already about this, but I wanted to ask a question that has bothered me quite some time: Just which towers are the Tow Towers? I thought they were Orthanc and Minas Tirith, but I also read that it wasn't completely clear which they were. I suppose they also might be Orthanc and the one in which Frodo is captured by the Orcs (is that Minas Morgul?), because they are the two towers that are actually in the book.
But the TTT trailer starts with: 'There is an alliance now between the Two Towers, Orthanc and Barad-Dur!' I suppose they put that in to make it clear to everyone else who was wondering what the two towers were, but I'm still not sure if they're right about this. Does anyone now if Tolkien himself has ever cleared this up?
 
At the end of FoTR (the book), it says: "Here ends the first part of the War of the Ring. The second part is called the Two Towers, since the events recounted in it are dominated by Orthanc, the citidel of Saruman, and the fortress of Minas Morgul that guards the secret entrance to Mordor."

Now it could well be that this quote was generated by the publisher and not Tolkien (that it my belief). This was debated on a thread a while back and, if memory serves, someone quoted Tolkien in Letters as saying it should have referred to Orthanc and Cirith Ungol (I may be wrong on this and will glady accept a correction - my recall ain't what it used to be).

I originally thought Cirith Ungol would have been correct but, after thinking about it, maybe Minas Morgul makes more sense. Certainly many more chapters were directly affected by the Witch King's citadel if you include the Faramir episodes.

As for the movie, I guess PJ is trying to simplify things.
 
Ok, scroll around til you find Rangerdave's thread polling about the Two Towers. The letter I referred to is there....and so is your answer
 
I had posted it on RangerDave's poll thread, but here it is again.

Tolkien never liked the title and had a hard time himself deciding which two towers were referred to. In his letters (letter 140 to his publisher, August 17, 1953) he says it "can be left ambiguous - it might refer to Isengard and Barad-dur, or to Minas Tirith and B[arad-dur]; or Isengard and Cirith Ungol." But in a later letter to his publisher (letter 143, Jan. 22, 1954) he says: "I am not at all happy about the title 'the Two Towers'. It must if there is any real reference in it to Vol II refer to Orthanc and the Tower of Cirith Ungol. But since there is so much made of the basic opposition of the Dark Tower and Minas Tirith, that seems very misleading."

So the answer is Orthanc and Cirith Ungol ..... maybe.
 
I always thought it was referring to either Barud-Dur and Isengard or Barud-Dur and Minas Tirith...thanks for the note though, Greenwood. It clears a lot of things up for me.
 
It was also pointed out that Tolkien did not approve of the 3-volume publication format. He wanted a six-volume format; he had individual titles for each of the six "books".

So it's hardly fair to ask what two towers were intended, since he didn't even want "The Two Towers" to be published in its present form at all.

That's why I say the two towers are Orthanc, Minas Tirith, Minas Morgul, Cirith Ungol, and Barad-dur...
 
Perhaps someone could actually find some more evidence somewhere to really tell us what the Two Towers were?
 
Originally posted by Ulairi
Perhaps someone could actually find some more evidence somewhere to really tell us what the Two Towers were?
Click to expand...

I don't see how you are going to come up with any evidence more definitive that Tolkien's own view in his letters.
 
Perhaps not. I was hopeful that there may be another 'letter' concerning the subject or if JRRT commented it anywhere else in his writings but I suppose not.
 
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