Gollum is a fictional character from J. R. R. Tolkien's legendarium. This is a list of the known realms of Arda in J R R Tolkien 's Legendarium. The Hobbit or There and Back Again is an award-winning fantasy The Fellowship of the Ring is the first of three volumes of the epic novel The Lord of the Rings by the English author J The Two Towers is the second volume of J R R Tolkien 's High fantasy novel The Lord of the Rings. The Return of the King is the third and final volume of J R R Tolkien's Legendarium (ISBN 0-313-30530-7 is a collection of scholarly essays edited by Verlyn Flieger and Carl F He was first introduced in the author's fantasy novel The Hobbit, and later became an important supporting character in its sequel, The Lord of the Rings. Fantasy is a Genre that uses magic and other Supernatural forms as a primary element of plot, theme, and/or setting The Hobbit or There and Back Again is an award-winning fantasy The Lord of the Rings is an epic

Character overview

Originally known as Sméagol, this character was later named Gollum after his habit of making "a horrible swallowing noise in his throat". ^[1] His life was extended far beyond its natural limits by the effects of possessing the One Ring. His one desire was to possess the Ring which had enslaved him. He pursued the ring for 76 years after having lost it to Bilbo Baggins. Bilbo Baggins is the protagonist of The Hobbit and also makes an appearance in The Lord of the Rings, two of the most well-known of

During his centuries under the Ring's influence, he developed a sort of split personality: "Sméagol" still vaguely remembered things like friendship and love, while "Gollum" was a slave to the Ring and would kill anyone who tried to take it. Dissociative Identity Disorder ( DID) as defined by the American Psychiatric Association 's Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM In The Two Towers, Samwise Gamgee named the good personality "Slinker" (for his fawning, eager-to-please demeanour), and the bad personality "Stinker" (for obvious reasons). The Two Towers is the second volume of J R R Tolkien 's High fantasy novel The Lord of the Rings. Samwise Gamgee, later known as Samwise Gardner and commonly known as Sam, is a Fictional character in J The two personalities often quarrelled when Gollum talked to himself (as Tolkien puts it in The Hobbit, "through never having anyone else to speak to") and had a love/hate relationship, mirroring Gollum's feelings for the Ring and for himself. A love-hate relationship is a personal relationship involving simultaneous or alternating Emotions of Love and enmity

Appearances

The Hobbit

Gollum is first introduced in The Hobbit, where the protagonist Bilbo Baggins stumbled upon Gollum's lair and found the Ring which Gollum had lost in the network of caves leading to the lake. Bilbo Baggins is the protagonist of The Hobbit and also makes an appearance in The Lord of the Rings, two of the most well-known of

Gollum had lived under the Misty Mountains for many years, living on a small island in the centre of a lake at the roots of a mountain. He survived on cave fish, which he caught from his small boat, and small goblins who strayed too far from the stronghold of the Great Goblin. In J R R Tolkien 's Fantasy writings Orcs or Orks are a race of creatures who are used as soldiers and henchmen by both the greater and lesser villains The following is a list of Orcs of Middle-earth, created by fantasy Over the years, his eyes adapted to the dark and became 'lamp-like', shining with a sickly pale light in the dark.

After the famous Riddle Game, he pretended to want to show Bilbo the way out as promised, but actually desired to kill and eat the Hobbit. A riddle is a Statement or Question having a double or veiled meaning put forth as a Puzzle to be solved When he went to get his "birthday present", he found it was gone. He suddenly realized the answer to Bilbo's last riddle — "What have I got in my pocket?" — and flew into a rage. Bilbo inadvertently discovered the Ring's power of invisibility as he fled, allowing him to follow Gollum undetected to a back entrance of the cave system. Bilbo at first thought to kill Gollum, but was overcome with pity, and so merely leapt over him. As Bilbo escaped, Gollum cried out, "Thief! Thief, Baggins! We hates it, we hates it, we hates it forever!"

In the first edition of The Hobbit, Gollum did not appear quite as wretched or murderous, and indeed showed Bilbo the way out after losing the riddle-game. Tolkien changed his characterization in the Second edition, to fit the concept of the ruling Ring which he had developed during the writing of The Lord of the Rings. Tolkien then explained that the version given in the first edition was a lie that Bilbo made up to tell the Dwarves and Gandalf.

The Lord of the Rings

The Fellowship of the Ring

The Fellowship of the Ring, the first volume of The Lord of the Rings, introduces the idea that Gollum had once been a member of the secluded branch of the early Stoorish Hobbits and had been named Sméagol. The Fellowship of the Ring is the first of three volumes of the epic novel The Lord of the Rings by the English author J The Lord of the Rings is an epic In J R R Tolkien 's Fictional universe of Middle-earth, the Stoors are one of the three races of Hobbits In their earliest recorded history In J R R Tolkien 's legendarium, Hobbits are a diminutive race that inhabit the lands of Middle-earth. The early years of Gollum's life with his extended family under a matriarch, his grandmother. A matriarch, clan-mother or 'chief' is an Autocratic female ruler of a human family Clan, or Kinship, or of an animal grouping ^[2] On Sméagol's birthday, he and his relative^[3] Déagol went fishing in the Gladden Fields north of Lothlórien. Biography Déagol was a Stoor Hobbit who lived in a small community bound by kinship ties - akin to a Clan. The Gladden Fields ( Sindarin Loeg Ningloron) is a fictional location in J In J R R Tolkien 's fiction Lothlórien is a Welsh -sounding name given to the fairest forest realm of the Elves remaining in Middle-earth There, Déagol found the Ring after being pulled into the water by a fish. Sméagol demanded it as a birthday present and strangled Déagol when the latter refused him. Sméagol accordingly used the Ring for thieving, spying and antagonizing his friends and relatives. He was soon given the name 'Gollum' and banished by his people, then under the influence of the Ring, retreated to a deep cavern in the Misty Mountains. In J R R Tolkien 's Fantasy world of Middle-earth, the Misty Mountains (also known by its Sindarin name of Hithaeglir ^[4] The Ring's malign influence twisted his body and mind, and prolonged his life well beyond its natural limits.

Gandalf explains that after the events in The Hobbit Gollum left the Mountains and pursued Bilbo a few years later, but the trail was cold. He made his way to the edge of Mordor, where he met the monstrous spider Shelob and became her spy, worshipping her and bringing her food. In J R R Tolkien 's Fictional universe of Middle-earth, Mordor (from Sindarin Black Land and Quenya Land of Shadow Spiders are Predatory Invertebrate Animals that have two body segments, eight legs no chewing mouth parts and no wings Literature Shelob was an "evil thing in Spider form" living high in the Ephel Dúath mountains that border Mordor; the “last child of He was eventually captured by Sauron's forces and tortured, but he revealed only the words 'Baggins' and 'Shire'. Sauron (ˈsaʊrɒn Quenya: /sawrɔn/ literal meaning "Abhorred") is the title character and the principal Antagonist of the Fantasy Torture, according to the United Nations Convention Against Torture, is "any act by which severe pain or suffering, whether physical or mental is intentionally His testimony alerted the Dark Lord of Mordor to the existence and significance of Hobbits in general and the Baggins family in particular. There are many elements that show up throughout the fantasy genre in different guises He was freed, but was soon caught by Gandalf and Aragorn, who interrogated him about the Ring and placed him in the care of the Wood Elves of Mirkwood. Aragorn II is a fictional character from J R R Tolkien 's Middle-earth Legendarium. Mirkwood is a name used for two distinct fictional forests in J He escaped custody and descended into Moria, possibly trying to get through the mountains to the Shire. In the fiction of J R R Tolkien, Moria was the name given by the Eldar to what had once been an enormous underground complex in north-western Middle-earth

Gollum began following the Fellowship of the Ring in Moria, and was spotted or heard by Frodo Baggins (nephew and heir of the hated Bilbo, as well as the Bearer of the Ring) and Gandalf on several occasions. The Fellowship of the Ring, or Company of the Ring, as described in the first volume of The Lord of the Rings, which bears the same name is Gollum continued trailing the Fellowship to the edge of Lórien. Lórien or Lorien can refer to In J R R Tolkien's legendarium Lothlórien, a forest realm in Middle-earth described in The Lord of Gollum began following them again as they left and followed them all the way to Rauros, then pursued Frodo and Sam across the Emyn Muil when they struck out on their own towards Mordor. In J R R Tolkien 's fictional Middle-earth, Anduin is the Sindarin name for the Great River of Wilderland, the longest River Minor places in Middle-earth#Place Name -->;Place name description1 Further description prefix with

The Two Towers

In The Two Towers, Gollum confronted them in Emyn Muil and nearly strangled Sam, but Frodo subdued him with his Elvish sword, Sting. The following list of weapons and armour of Middle-earth includes all weaponry and Armour directly taken from J Frodo tied an Elvish rope around Gollum's neck as a leash, but the mere touch of the rope pained him. Taking pity on the wretched creature, just as Bilbo once did, Frodo made Gollum swear to help them. Agreeing to the oath, Gollum swore by the "precious" itself, and Frodo released him. The unlikely company, guided by Gollum, made their way to the Black Gate, the main entrance to Mordor.

Frodo's kindness brought out the "Sméagol" personality, and he made at least some effort to keep his promise. Sam, however, despised Gollum upon sight, and often warned Frodo of the creature's deception and slipperiness.

When they reached the Black Gate and found it well-guarded, Gollum led them toward an alternate entrance into Mordor. Along the way, Frodo and Sam were seized by Faramir — Gollum slipped away uncaught (but not unseen) and followed them. In J R R Tolkien 's Middle-earth legendarium, Faramir is a Fictional character appearing in The Lord of the Rings. When Frodo allowed Faramir to briefly take Gollum prisoner, however, Gollum felt betrayed and his "bad" personality took control once again. Faramir found out that Gollum was taking them to Cirith Ungol, and warned Frodo and Sam of the evil of that place, as well as the treachery he sensed in Gollum. Cirith Ungol (ˈkiriθ ˈuŋgɔl is a location in J R R Tolkien 's fictional universe of Middle-earth in his fantasy work The Lord of the Rings.

Frodo, Sam, and Gollum left Faramir and began climbing the stairs to Cirith Ungol in the border-mountains of the Ephel Dúath. In J R R Tolkien 's fictional world of Middle-earth, the Ephel Dúath or Mountains of Shadow are a range of mountains that guard Mordor Gollum slipped away and visited the giant spider Shelob, planning to feed the Hobbits to her and then get the Ring for himself when she was done. When he returned, the Hobbits were asleep, and the sight of Frodo sleeping nearly moved Gollum to repent. However, Sam woke up and spoke harshly to him, and the opportunity for redemption was lost. Gollum followed through with his plan and led Frodo and Sam into Shelob's Lair. In J R R Tolkien 's legendarium Torech Ungol or Shelob 's Lair was the home of the giant spider Shelob There, Frodo was bitten by the spider, taken prisoner by Orcs, and hauled to the Tower of Cirith Ungol.

The Return of the King

In The Return of the King, Sam rescued Frodo and they made their way across Mordor. The Return of the King is the third and final volume of J R R The two finally arrived, against all odds, at the volcano Orodruin, or Mount Doom. Gollum secretly followed them all the way, seeking a chance to surprise them and take the Ring. When Frodo and Sam had almost reached their destination, the emaciated Gollum attacked them, but Frodo threw him down. Frodo then used the Ring to lay a curse on Gollum; that Gollum would be thrown into the fires of Mount Doom if he ever touched Frodo again. Sam faced Gollum on his own, letting Frodo continue up the mountain to finish their mission. Sam could not bring himself to kill him, out of pity and sheer disgust. He then turned his back on the beaten (but still wily) creature and followed Frodo.

Moments later, Frodo stood on the edge of the Crack of Doom, but was unwilling to destroy the Ring, claiming it for himself and putting it on. Gollum struck again, and struggled with the invisible Frodo. Finally, Gollum bit off Frodo's finger and seized the Ring. He gloated over his prize, dancing madly over the edge. However the Ring's curse was true and Gollum stepped too far and fell into the fires of Mount Doom, taking the Ring with him with a last cry of "Precious!" Thus, the Ring was destroyed and Sauron utterly defeated. As Samwise later cursed Gollum after his death, Frodo urged his friend to forgive him, as without him the whole quest would have been for naught.

Adaptations

Film

Gollum (Brother Theodore) in the The Hobbit (1977). Brother Theodore ( 11 November 1906 - 5 April 2001) was a German monologuist and comedian known for rambling stream

Gollum (Peter Woodthorpe) in The Lord of the Rings (1978). Peter Woodthorpe ( September 25, 1931 – August 12, 2004) was an English movie, Television and Voice actor JRR Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings is a 1978 animated Fantasy film directed by Ralph Bakshi.

Gollum/Sméagol (Andy Serkis) in the The Lord of the Rings film trilogy (2001-03). Andy Serkis (born 20 April, 1964) is an English Actor, director and Author. The Lord of the Rings film trilogy consists of three Live action Fantasy Epic films The Fellowship of the Ring ( 2001

In the Rankin/Bass animated versions of The Hobbit (1977) and The Return of the King (1980), Gollum is voiced by comedian "Brother" Theodore Gottlieb. Rankin/Bass Productions Inc (formerly Videocraft International Ltd The Hobbit or There and Back Again is an award-winning fantasy The Return of the King is the third and final volume of J R R Brother Theodore ( 11 November 1906 - 5 April 2001) was a German monologuist and comedian known for rambling stream

In Ralph Bakshi's animated film of The Lord of the Rings (1978) the voice of Gollum was supplied by Peter Woodthorpe. Ralph Bakshi (born October 29 1938 is an American director of animated and occasionally live-action films JRR Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings is a 1978 animated Fantasy film directed by Ralph Bakshi. Peter Woodthorpe ( September 25, 1931 – August 12, 2004) was an English movie, Television and Voice actor Here Gollum was animated through rotoscoping. Rotoscoping is an Animation technique in which Animators trace over live-action film movement frame by frame for use in Animated films Originally

In Peter Jackson's Lord of the Rings film trilogy, Gollum is a CGI character voiced by actor Andy Serkis. Peter Robert Jackson, CNZM (born 31 October 1961 is a three-time Academy Award -winning New Zealand director producer and writer best known for directing The Lord of the Rings film trilogy consists of three Live action Fantasy Epic films The Fellowship of the Ring ( 2001 Computer animation Computer-generated imagery (also known as CGI) is the application of the field of Computer graphics or more specifically 3D computer graphics Andy Serkis (born 20 April, 1964) is an English Actor, director and Author. Barely glimpsed in The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001), he becomes a central character in The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (2002) and The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003). The Lord of the Rings The Fellowship of the Ring is a 2001 Fantasy film directed by Peter Jackson based on the similarly titled first The Lord of the Rings The Two Towers is a 2002 Fantasy film directed by Peter Jackson based on the second volume of J This article is about the live-action movie which shares a title with a book, video game, and animated film. The CGI character was built around Serkis' facial features, voice and acting choices. Andy Serkis based his voice on sounds made by his cat. ^[5] Using a digital puppet created by Jason Schleifer and Bay Raitt at Weta Digital, animators created Gollum's performance using a mixture of motion capture data recorded from Serkis and the traditional animation process of keyframing. Bay Raitt is a digital modeler and animator Whilst working for Weta Digital in New Zealand, he was partially responsible for creating the CG model for Gollum Weta Digital' is a Digital Visual effects company based in Wellington New Zealand. Motion capture, motion tracking, or mocap are terms used to describe the process of recording movement and translating the movement onto a digital model A key frame in Animation and Filmmaking is a drawing which defines the starting and ending points of any smooth transition. The laborious process of digitally "painting out" Serkis' image and replacing it with the digital Gollum's required a large number of digital artists.

In The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, Serkis himself appears in a flashback scene as Sméagol before his degeneration into Gollum. In history film television and other media a flashback (also called analepsis) is an interjected scene that takes the narrative back in time from the current This scene was originally earmarked for The Two Towers (and in fact appears in the "Fellowship" book when Gandalf initially entrusts Frodo with the Ring), but was held back because it was felt audiences would relate better to the original Sméagol once they were more familiar with who he became. The decision to include this scene meant that Raitt and Jamie Beswarick had to redesign Gollum's face for the second and third movies so that it would more closely resemble Serkis'. The brief glimpses in The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring are of an earlier model of Gollum.

In Shrek the Third, Gollum appears as part of Prince Charming's villain army. Shrek the Third, released 6 years after the first ''Shrek'' and 3 years after the second ''Shrek'', is a 2007 Animated film, and the Prince Charming is a character in the Shrek franchise of films appearing in Shrek 2 as a supporting antagonist and in Shrek the Third

Gollum's split personality is emphasized in Jackson's films; screenwriters Fran Walsh and Philippa Boyens included scenes in The Two Towers and The Return of the King in which "Gollum" and "Sméagol" argue, with Serkis slightly altering his voice and body language to play the two as separate entities. Frances Walsh, MNZM, (born January 10, 1959) is a Grammy and Academy Award -winning Screenwriter, Film producer Philippa Boyens, MNZM, is an Academy Award winning New Zealand Screenwriter who co-wrote the Screenplay for Peter Jackson While Tolkien wrote similar scenes, the conflict between the two personalities is more intense in the films; "Sméagol" even "banishes" "Gollum" for a while after Frodo shows him kindness. The animators further delineated the two personalities through facial expressions and changing eyes — small, narrow pupils for "Gollum", and large, round ones for "Sméagol". The pupil is the hole that is located in the center of the iris of the eye and that controls the amount of light that enters the Eye.

A minor controversy arose when Serkis was not nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor. Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role is one of the Academy Awards of Merit presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts Serkis and Gollum appeared on the 2003 MTV Movie Awards, when Gollum won "Best Virtual Performance" and went on to deliver an obscenity-laden acceptance speech in character. The MTV Movie Awards is a film awards show presented annually on MTV ( Music Television) ^[6] This clip can be found as an easter egg in the The Two Towers DVD. A virtual Easter egg is an intentional Hidden message or feature in an object such as a movie, Book DVD (also known as " Digital Versatile Disc " or " Digital Video Disc " - see Etymology)is Wizard Magazine rated Jackson's Gollum as the 62nd greatest villain of all time, from among 100 villains from film, television, comics and video games. Wizard or Wizard The Magazine of Comics Entertainment and Pop Culture (originally titled Wizard The Guide to Comics and ^[7]

These film adaptations have varied in how they depicted Gollum visually. In Bakshi's film, Gollum is dark, bald and gangly. The Jackson films depicted Gollum similarly, though pale. In contrast, in the Rankin/Bass adaptations, he is a pale green, frog-like creature with huge, pupil-less eyes.

Stage

Gollum (Aretta Baumgartner) in the Cincinnati production of The Lord of the Rings (2002). This article is about the theatrical productions For other uses see The Lord of the Rings (disambiguation.

Main article: The Lord of the Rings (musical)

In Canada, Gollum was portrayed by Michael Therriault in the three-hour production of The Lord of the Rings, which opened in 2006 in Toronto. This article is about the theatrical productions For other uses see The Lord of the Rings (disambiguation. Country to "Dominion of Canada" or "Canadian Federation" or anything else please read the Talk Page Michael Therriault (born in Oakville Ontario) is a Canadian actor Toronto (təˈrɒntoʊ colloquially pronounced or) is the largest city in Canada and is the provincial capital of Ontario

In the United States, Gollum was portrayed by Aretta Baumgartner in the Cincinnati productions of The Fellowship of the Ring (2001), The Two Towers (2002), and The Return of the King (2003) for Clear Stage Cincinnati. Founded in 2003 Clear Stage Cincinnati is a professional theatre company in Cincinnati Ohio, United States, dedicated to developing and showcasing fresh new theatrical Baumgartner received a 2002 Cincinnati Entertainment Award for her portrayal of Gollum in The Two Towers. At Chicago's Lifeline Theatre, Gollum was played by Phil Timberlake in The Two Towers (1999) and Robert Kauzlaric in The Return of the King (2001). Chicago (ʃɪˈkɑːgoʊ is the largest City by population in the state of Illinois and the American Midwest of the United States. Lifeline Theatre was founded in Chicago Illinois, United States, in 1983 by four Northwestern University graduates

Radio

In BBC's 1981 radio serial, Peter Woodthorpe reprised his role as Gollum. In 1981 the UK radio station BBC Radio 4 broadcast a dramatisation of J

Comics

Gollum appears in a three-part comic book adaptation of The Hobbit, scripted by Chuck Dixon and Sean Deming and illustrated by David Wenzel. It was first published by Eclipse Comics in 1989. Eclipse Comics was an American Comic book Publisher, one of several influential independent publishers during the 1980s and early 1990s A reprint collected in one volume was released by Unwin Paperbacks in 1990 and by Del Rey Books in 2001. Del Rey Books is a branch of Ballantine Books, which is owned by Random House.

In other media

In Sierra Entertainment's The Lord of the Rings: War of the Ring, a real-time strategy game based solely on the book, Gollum is a playable hero unit for the Minions of Sauron. Sierra Entertainment Inc is a Worldwide American Video game developer and publisher founded in 1979 by Ken and Roberta The Lord of the Rings War of the Ring is a 2003 Real-time strategy game (RTS developed by Liquid Entertainment, the makers of the previous A real-time strategy ( RTS) Video game is a strategic game that is distinctly not turn-based. Legolas and a guard of archers track him through Mirkwood, fighting giant spiders along the way. Appearances Literature Legolas was the son of Thranduil, King of the Woodland Realm of Northern Mirkwood, who appears as "the Elvenking"

In The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring video game by Surreal Software, also based only on the book, Gollum appears in a cutscene when the Fellowship of the Ring is within Moria, and is shown half hidden behind debris muttering to himself. The Lord of the Rings The Fellowship of the Ring is the name of three different Video game adaptations of J Surreal Software is a Video game development studio in Seattle Washington, U He also appears during the final level at Amon Hen; when the user is playing as Aragorn, Gollum appears on a cliff edge muttering to himself and walks away, and then does the same on another cliff edge. Amon Hen ( Sindarin for 'Hill of the Eye' is the name of a fictional hill in J Then the player heads to a small island and a cutscene can be shown with a conversation between Aragorn and Gollum, in which Gollum throws a fish at him; it becomes his weapon for the final mission, as well as the most powerful weapon in the game.

He also appears in Electronic Arts' games based on the Jackson films. In the real-time strategy game The Lord of the Rings: The Battle for Middle-earth, Gollum is a playable hero unit for Mordor. The Lord of the Rings The Battle for Middle-earth (aka ' tLotRtBfME') is a Real-time strategy (RTS game for the PC developed by EALA In its sequel, The Lord of the Rings: The Battle for Middle-earth II, which is also based on the film series, he is not playable. The Lord of the Rings The Battle for Middle-earth II is a Real time strategy computer game published by Electronic Arts, based upon the fantasy Instead, he walks around the map cloaked, carrying the Ring. When killed, he drops the Ring for a player to claim. When the Ring is returned to the player's fortress, they may summon a special "Ring Hero" — Galadriel for good factions and Sauron for evil. Appearances Literature Stories of Galadriel's life prior to The Lord of the Rings are collected in the Unfinished Tales. He also appears in the action game based on The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, accompanying Frodo and the player as the game progresses, but at Mount Doom becomes the final boss, whom the player must throw into the lava below. In the Game Boy version of The Return of the King he is a playable bonus character.

Physical appearance

In the first edition of The Hobbit Tolkien made no reference to his size, leading several illustrators to portray him as being very large. ^[8] Tolkien realized the omission, and clarified in later editions that he was of average hobbit size and in "The Lord of the Rings", there is a reference to Sam being "little less in height" than him.

Tolkien describes Gollum as either dark, bone-white or sallow (pale yellow): at one point the Men of Ithilien mistake his silhouette (seen from a distance) for a tailless black squirrel. In a manuscript written to guide illustrators to the appearance of his characters, Tolkien explained this by saying that Gollum had pale skin, but wore dark clothes and was often seen in poor light. ^[9] The Hobbit states he has pockets, in which he keeps a tooth-sharpening-rock, goblin teeth, wet shells, and a scrap of bat wing. In J R R Tolkien 's Fantasy writings Orcs or Orks are a race of creatures who are used as soldiers and henchmen by both the greater and lesser villains Despite these details, he is generally depicted wearing a loincloth or naked in illustrations and adaptations.

He was also very thin and only had six teeth,^[10] Comparing him to Shelob, one of the Orcs describes him as "rather like a spider himself, or perhaps like a starved frog. "

Characteristics

Bearing the One Ring increased Gollum's senses, especially hearing and smell. Gollum's toughness is said to stem from his hobbit roots. Gollum hates sunlight, and avoids it if possible. He is emaciated and gaunt, but possesses a vicious, wiry strength; Aragorn states "his malice gives him a strength hardly to be imagined. " In The Two Towers, Gollum's grip is described as "soft, but horribly strong" as Gollum wrestles with Sam Gamgee. He is an expert swimmer after centuries of diving to catch fish. Gollum prefers to eat meat raw. He refuses to eat anything Elvish because it apparently burns him when he touches it. He is also not above cannibalism, threatening to kill and eat Bilbo in The Hobbit.

Name

Sméagol's "real" name in Westron (one of Tolkien's invented languages) is Trahald, of the meaning "burrowing, worming in" or "apt to creep into a hole". Westron, or the Common Speech, is an Artificial language developed by J In both Westron and Old English, Sméagol's name is related to Smaug's: Smaug's name in "true Dalish" was Trâgu, and the Trah- stem in Trahald and Trâgu is thus a cognate of the Germanic stem present in both Sméagol and Smaug (with a meaning of squeezing through a hole). Smaug is a fictional dragon character in The Hobbit by J R R Tolkien. Cognates in Linguistics are words that have a common origin They may occur within a language such as shirt and skirt as two English words descended from The Germanic languages are a group of related languages that constitute a branch of the Indo-European (IE Language family. Tolkien gave the Old English word smygel, "burrow" as a basis for the name; the word is also related to the Hobbit-language word smial, which also means "burrow".

The Annotated Hobbit suggests an Old Norse derivation for Gollum. Old Norse is the North Germanic language that was spoken by inhabitants of Scandinavia and inhabitants of their overseas settlements during the Viking Age Constance B. Hieatt notes that the word gull or goll can mean "gold, treasure, something precious" - and "ring". ^[11]

Pronunciation

In the 1981 BBC radio adaptation, Ralph Bakshi's 1978 animated film and in the Peter Jackson movies, Sméagol is pronounced /ˈsmiːgɒl/, although his recordings of The Lord of the Rings, Tolkien pronounced it either /ˈsmiːgɒl/ or /ˈsmiːægɒl/. Radio is the transmission of signals by Modulation of electromagnetic waves with frequencies below those of visible Light. Tolkien had a habit in his writing putting diacritics in varying places, as can also be seen in the name Eärendil, which also occurs spelled Ëarendil. A diacritic ( also called a diacritic or diacritical mark, point, or sign, is a small sign added to a letter to alter pronunciation This article deals with the Half-elven Eärendil For the Gondorian king see Eärendil of Gondor. "Sméagol" bears strong resemblance to Old English smēaġan, a verb meaning "to ponder". If this was Tolkien's intention, then the acute may have been meant to substitute for the macron. A macron, from Greek el μακρόv ( makrón) meaning "long" is a Diacritic ¯ placed over or under a Vowel which was originally In any case, when trying to pronounce Sméagol, it should be kept in mind that the pronunciation rules given in the Appendices for The Lord of the Rings are for the Elvish languages, and not for (Old) English representing Westron and related languages. Elvish languages are Constructed languages used typically by elves in a Fantasy setting Westron, or the Common Speech, is an Artificial language developed by J

References

External links

• Gollum at the Internet Movie Database
• Gollum at the Tolkien Gateway

• Gollum at the Thain's Book
• Gollum at the Encyclopedia of Arda