Wizard, Demon, Cat; Reformer, Satanist, Bureaucrat: a Diachronic Analysis of Three Modes of Sauron in the Legendarium in Light of The Book of Lost Tales

This paper argues that Sauron is a metatextual shape-shifter. Through diachronic analysis it identifies and charts three distinct “modes” of Sauron coexisting in Tolkien’s Legendarium. While Sauron’s most robust First Age appearance (in the tale of Beren and Lúthien) remained relatively unchanged from his introduction in the 1920s until Tolkien’s death, Sauron’s role in the Legendarium expanded significantly across Tolkien’s lifetime as Sauron became the primary antagonist of two additional Ages of Middle-earth. Some of the evolutions that accompanied this expansion are not retroactively reflected in the tales already written, hence these “modes” of Sauron could be said to remain in tension. This paper posits explanations for this lack of synthesis and also argues that aspects of each of these modes can be traced back to abandoned characters who appear in “The Book of Lost Tales.”