Theoden also had given up hope until Gandalf shook him out of it And the defenders at Minas Tirith, Saruman, even the elves - the whole lot of them in middle e

Theoden also had given up hope until Gandalf shook him out of it And the defenders at Minas Tirith, Saruman, even the elves - the whole lot of them in middle earth have given up hope. Despair is one of the key themes running through all of Tolkiens work. Denethor was far from alone