Mouth of Sauron

The Mouth of Sauron is a fictitious character from the Middle Earth Legendarium, by J. R. R. Tolkien. He made an appearance in The Lord of The Rings, Volume III: The Return of the King, in the chapter, “The Black Gate Opens”, as the delegate of Sauron. He served as the messenger of Sauron, the main antagonist of the Lord of The Rings. The Lieutenant of and commander of the Orcs, he is one of the Black Númenóreans, the High Men from Númenór and rivals of the Gondorians, who inhabited the Middle Earth during Sauron’s reign and worshipped him. [1]. He was said to be at par with the Dúnedain, the great people from the west, but this was before he had descended into darkness. The Mouth of Sauron is depicted as a lofty and greatly prestigious man, enrobed entirely in black attire and riding a black horse. The Mouth of Sauron set foot into the franchise to serve the Dark Tower at its ascent again, following the return of Sauron after Númenór was destroyed. He served Sauron for most of his life and learned sorcery under him, acquiring great power while engaging in direct communication with Sauron, thus knowing several of his plans.Being vicious and cleverer than the Orcs / Goblins (the soldiers of the Evil lords: Saruman, Sauron, and Morgoth), the Mouth gained great favors. The Mouth had served the Dark Lord for such a long time, that he even forgot his own name.

Appearing before the Black Gate, he attempted to negotiate and quibble with the Army of the West trying to persuade Aragorn and Gandalf to concede defeat, thus letting Sauron claim victory in the war for Middle Earth. The Mouth posed himself before Aragorn as the ambassador of Sauron. However, he dealt with them in a very impudent manner, trying to daunt Aragorn and his men with the Mithril Coat of Froddo Baggins and Sam’s Sword. He sought to make them believe that Froddo Baggins, the ring-bearer, has been seized. He tries to frighten them by saying that the captive Ring-bearer would be put under severe torture for several years. However, his proposal was still rejected by Gandalf, as a response to which, the Mouth unleashed the army of Baradur to attack upon Gandalf and his men. [2]

Concept & Origins

The haughtiness of The Mouth’s character before Aragorn and his men is suggested to be influenced by the Bible. There is a resemblance of The Mouth’s character with the comments of Saint Paul, in his writing the Second Epistle to the Corinthians[3], narrating the episode of public indignity by the Rivals. Similarities with The False Prophet, from the Book of Revelation are also observed, as the character adopts a harsh tome of communication as well as irreligiousness. A metaphoric portrayal of World War II can also be derived; Gandalf’s turndown for the Mouth’s proposal to surrender can be compared with Churchill’s stance. On the other hand, The Mouth’s proposal can be weighed against Vichy France under the occupation of the German. Early parchments suggest the Mouth’s name as Mordu, translating into The Black Night or the Black Darkness.

Adaptations

The Mouth made early appearances in the Radio programs by The Mind’s Eye (1979) and the BBC (1981) dubbed by John Rye and John Vickery. An extended role is provided to the Mouth in BBC’s version wherein he tormented the Gollum, as he tried to learn about his reason for coming there and what he sought. The Mouth of Sauron appeared in the Return of the King’s animated version (1980). His character in the animated film was dubbed by Don Messick, an American voice actor. The Mouth of Sauron also made an appearance in the extended film of the Lord of the Rings: Return of the King (2003), directed by Peter Jackson, where his character was played by Bruce Spence. It was first planned to cast Kate Winslet for the role, displaying a tempting character however it was later decided to portray the character as defaced and ailing. In the extended edition, the Mouth of Sauron wore a helmet that covered most of his face, revealing only the disproportionate mouth with rotting and blackened teeth and lips. This appearance, as suggested by the DVD commentary, was a consequence of the evil effects of repeating the messages of Sauron, causing warping effects on the body of the Mouth of Sauron. There is observed a difference between the Book’s version and the extended version: in the book’s narration, the Mouth of Sauron attempts to persuade Aragorn to surrender before Sauron by telling them that Froddo Baggins, the ring bearer was being held captivate in Mordor.

On the other hand, in the extended edition, The Mouth seeks to inculcate hopelessness by telling Aragorn that Froddo had died. Towards the Mouth’s retreat in the book, the Mouth tells Aragorn that his army had been outnumbered. His ultimate fate remains a mystery; he was probably beheaded by Aragorn with his sword, Anduril. The Mouth also makes an appearance in a number of Video Games, such as the “Black Gate level” in “the Return of the King”, where he is the “boss” dueling with Aragorn who puts him to death before the Host of Mordor approaches him. The Mouth of Sauron appears in “The Lord of the Rings: Aragorn’s Quest”, by the Warner Brothers, however, in this game, he is aided by the four orcs as the storyline nears the battle’s end. Another appearance is made by the Mouth in the “Middle Earth Role Play Game”. However, he is called “Urzahil” instead of the Mouth of Sauron. (the name “Urzahil”, is not a creation/ suggestion by Tolkein) He also appears in the video games: “The Lord of the Rings: The Third Age (GBA)"[4] and “Lego The Lord of the Rings: The Video Game"[5]".​