Mojo, The Bard, & Me

 

Say to the king thy knowledge of the broil

As thou didst leave it.

 

-Malcolm

Macbeth                         Act I, Scene i, Line 18

 

This is Malcolm, the son of Duncan the king, talking to a bloodied sergeant and telling him to report on the battle he just left. The sergeant will go on to tell how brilliantly and bravely Macbeth has fought.

It’s very typical in Will’s plays to have someone on stage describe the battle that took, or is taking, place. It’s a lot easier than trying to stage a battle on a small sixteenth century stage. On the other hand, when you see modern, cinematic productions there’s a good chance that you’re going to actually see Macbeth unseam Macdonwald from the nave to th’ chops. That is to say, slice him open from the navel to the jaw. Oh, Hollywood movie makers would have a great time with that.

Here's one of the earlier covers of the US edition of The Return of the King. Think of all the battle scenes that Peter Jackson staged. On the other hand, Tolkien wasn't writing drama; so he didn't have to have his battle scenes told by one character to another. Tolkien just told us himself. A different deal altogether.