For those who're new to the works of Tolkien, a description of the Elves in general may be appropriate. They are as tall as Men, and often taller. Of all living creatures in Middle-earth, they are the ones described as the most beautiful and gifted. The Elves are immortal, but can be slain in battle, and can also loose the will to live. When they die, they go to the Halls of Mandos. There they wait, for one day to return. Mandos is one of fourteen "sub-gods" called the Valar. These are important when looking at the history of the Elves, as you'll hear more of later.
In the beginning of days the Elves dwelt in Middle-earth. But the Valar, who lived on the Isle of Valinor, beyond the Great Sea, asked the Firstborn, as the Elves are known as, to settle with them on the Isle. Many did so, but quite a few also stayed in Middle-earth. These were allowed to come to Valinor, where there were no evil, in their own time. You'll find many references to this later, as it's one of the most important aspects of the history of the Elves in Middle-earth. During the Second Age, Men envied the Elves their immortality, and tried to find Valinor. The Valar therefor hid the Isle and made it invisible, so that none other than the Elves could find it. The path across the sea they had to sail, was called the Straight Road. The song quoted above tells how Legolas, one of the most important Elves of The Lord of the Rings, long for the west.
Soon after the coming of the Elves, Melkor, the first Enemy, imprisoned some of them in his fortress Utumno. From these prisoners he bred the Orcs, who became the bitterest enemies of the Elves.
The Orcs are the direct opposites of the Firstborn, being ugly, evil, traitorous and cowards. None of the Orcs (at least I think so) are ever described in a positive way in Tolkien's books, actually very few are named, and even fewer described as great warriors. An exception is Azog, a mighty and cruel Orc, who spread fear among the dwarves.
Another thing of importance, is that even if some Elves have done wicked deeds, very few are downright evil. They may be overwhelmed by lust for great treasures, as you'll see later, and this often led to sorrow.
Tolkien, being a Catholic, was a deeply religious man. It would be natural to think that this would be traceable in his writing as well, but this is not the case. Tolkien was definitely not a fan of allegories, his aim was first and foremost to tell an exciting story, but there are a few exceptions in his works. In the biography J.R.R. Tolkien Architect of Middle-earth by Daniel Grotta-Kurska, we learn that he considered the Elves' waybread, lembas, as the Eucharist. Furthermore when a fellow Catholic suggested that the most important female Elf, the Lady Galadriel, was the Virgin Mary, he neither confirmed nor denied this. And clearly, Middle-earth's God, Ilúvatar, bears a strong resemblance to the one Tolkien belived in.
bravenet.com