. Alas, not me: Gollum

Gollum





Gollum before The Taming of Sméagol (I) -- a discussion of the role and portrayal of Gollum in The Lord of the Rings before he actually appears onstage as a character.  The first in a series, this post focuses on what is said about Gollum in A Long-Expected Party.

Gollum before The Taming of Sméagol (II) -- a discussion of the role and portrayal of Gollum in The Lord of the Rings before he actually appears onstage as a character.  The second in a series, this post focuses on what is said about Gollum in The Shadow of the Past.

Gollum before The Taming of Sméagol (III) -- A discussion of the mentions of Gollum in Many Meetings (2.i.232) and  The Council of Elrond (2.ii.249-256), the third of a series of five.

Gollum before The Taming of Sméagol (IV) -- A discussion of the mentions of Gollum in A Journey in the Dark, LothlórienThe Great River, and The Uruk-Hai, the fourth in a series of five.

Gollum before The Taming of Sméagol (V) -- The last in the series, this post examines the portrayal of Gollum in the first and second editions of The Hobbit and the Prologue to The Lord of the Rings.


The Naming of Sméagol -- A study of the uses of the name 'Sméagol.'

Two Observations on Gollum's First Appearance at 4.i.612-13 --The narrator shifts between it and he in describing Gollum here, and Gollum's wall crawling might be inspired by Dracula's.

That Vile Creature -- An Observation Revisited -- a discussion of the relationship between Frodo's attempt to deny Gollum's humanity at FR 1.ii.59 and the discussion found in Two Observations on Gollum's First Appearance at 4.i.612-13.

Gollum's Blighted Repentance and What Bilbo Saw -- a discussion of the scene on the stairs of Cirith Ungol where Gollum nearly repents, a scene which no one could have witnessed.

Again That Vile Creature, With A Special Guest Appearance by Grendel -- a discussion of the use of the word 'creature' in The Lord of the Rings and its special application to Gollum, plus a link between this word, the word gæst at Beowulf  line 102, and 'ghost.'

Gollum Could Have Been Even More Appalling -- HoMe VI.264 -- Tolkien at first began to make Gollum even more evil in The Lord of the Rings than we see him to be in the published version, but the development of the idea that Gollum might be cured led him to rewrite again.

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