Another unfinished thought:
The Lord of the Rings isn’t just a blend of narrative styles, it’s a melding of narrative paradigms. The Elves are in a tragic story; events that involve them are characterized by beauty and sorrow. The Men are in a heroic story; their elements are weakness and strength. The Hobbits are in a comic story and their elements are fear and comfort.
Further: Merry and Pippin, having spent most of their story with Men, get an ending in the heroic paradigm: triumph, coronation, social order restored and renewed. Sam gets the hobbit ending: marriage and homecoming. And Frodo just walks straight off into an Elvish story.
Well said. Cheers.