Gríma Wormtongue

He is presumptive, behaving as if he already rules Rohan, and exemplifies lechery, as correctly guessed by Gandalf; he hopes to become rich, and to take Éowyn as the woman he desires.

His schemes are foiled when Gandalf the White and his companions arrived at Edoras, and convinces the king that he is not as weak as his adviser had made him seem.

Upon Théoden's restoration, "many things which men had missed" are found locked in Gríma's trunk, including the king's sword, Herugrim.

When Saruman is overthrown by a hobbit rebellion and ordered to leave, Frodo Baggins implores Gríma not to follow him, and even offers him food, shelter, and forgiveness.

In Unfinished Tales, Tolkien writes that Gríma is captured by the Nazgûl in the fields of the Rohirrim, while on his way to Isengard to inform Saruman of Gandalf's arrival at Edoras.

He quotes from one of Tolkien's letters to this effect: "the encouragement of good morals in this real world, by the ancient device of exemplifying them in unfamiliar embodiments, that may tend to 'bring them home.'"

Clark writes that Dwarves exemplify greed, Men pride, Elves envy, Ents sloth, Hobbits gluttony, Orcs anger, and Wormtongue lechery.

[7] In Ralph Bakshi's 1978 animated film adaptation of The Lord of the Rings, Wormtongue was voiced by Michael Deacon.

[9] In Peter Jackson's Lord of the Rings films, Wormtongue was played by Brad Dourif, described in The Guardian as an "unnerving presence"[10] and in The Independent as a "snivelling sidekick urging his master on to acts of increasing depravity".