Smaug
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| Smaug | |
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| Tolkien's legendarium character | |
| Aliases | Trâgu (original Dalish)[citation needed], The Golden, The Magnificent, Dragon of Erebor |
| Race | Dragon |
| Book(s) | The Hobbit The Return of the King Unfinished Tales |
| Dragons of Middle-earth |
|---|
| Ancalagon |
| Glaurung |
| Scatha |
| Smaug |
Smaug is a fictional character in the novel The Hobbit by J. R. R. Tolkien. He is a dragon, and the main antagonist within the story.
Contents |
[edit] Literature
[edit] Appearances
[edit] The Hobbit
Smaug was intimately familiar with every last item within his hoard, and instantly noticed the theft of a relatively inconsequential cup by Bilbo Baggins. According to Tolkien, his rage was the kind which "is only seen when rich folk that have more than they can enjoy lose something they have long had but never before used or wanted." This theft of a cup, Smaug's knowledge of every item in the hoard, and the dragon's ensuing rampage all echo the story of Beowulf, on which Tolkien was a noted expert and which he described as one of his "most valued sources" for The Hobbit.[1] Among the items in Smaug's possession were the Arkenstone, and a number of mithril mail shirts, one of which was given as a gift to Bilbo by Thorin Oakenshield, the company's leader. In The Lord of the Rings, set years later, the shirt saved Bilbo's relative Frodo from injury several times.
As with most dragons, Smaug's scaly hide is nigh invulnerable, yet his softer underside is more vulnerable to attack. However, centuries spent sleeping atop his gold hoard has caused gold and gemstones to become embedded in his flesh, creating essentially an impenetrable armour. However, when Bilbo met him in his lair, he discovered a small bare patch on Smaug's left breast. When Bilbo told his Dwarf companions about Smaug's weakness, he was overheard by the thrush that roosted by the mountain's secret door. The thrush in turn told Bard the Bowman of Esgaroth. When Smaug attacked the town, Bard shot his Black Arrow into Smaug's left breast, the armour's weak spot, killing him.
After Smaug's death, Thorin and Company claimed the treasure as theirs by birthright. This created a conflict with Bard and the Elven king Thranduil of Mirkwood, who each wanted a portion of the gold as reimbursement for all the damage Smaug had caused their kingdoms over the years. Thorin refused to share the treasure as long as they stood in arms before his gate, and declared war on both of them. Conflict was avoided by the arrival of the Goblin and Warg army who wanted the treasure out of greed, and the Dwarves decided to ally with the Elves and Men to fight this greater evil in what became known as the Battle of Five Armies, during which Thorin was mortally wounded.
[edit] Characteristics
One of the last great dragons of Middle-earth, Smaug rose to prominence by laying waste to the town of Dale and capturing the Lonely Mountain (Erebor) with all of its treasure. These events occurred some 150 years before the events of The Hobbit, and Smaug was already centuries old at the time. The book recounts the tale of a party of dwarves (consisting of a few of the original residents of the Lonely Mountain and their descendants) and the titular hobbit to recapture the mountain and kill the dragon. In the book, he is sometimes called Smaug the Golden or Smaug the Magnificent.
[edit] Concept and Creation
Tolkien created numerous pencil sketches and two pieces of more detailed artwork portraying Smaug. The latter were a detailed ink and watercolour labelled Conversation with Smaug[2] and a rough coloured pencil and ink sketch entitled Death of Smaug.[3] While neither of these appeared in the original printing of The Hobbit due to cost constraints both have been included in subsequent editions and Conversation with Smaug has been used extensively. Death of Smaug was used for the cover of an early UK paperback edition of The Hobbit.
Many of Smaug's attributes and behaviour in The Hobbit derive directly from the unnamed "old night-scather" in Beowulf: great age; winged, fiery, and reptilian form; a stolen barrow within which he lies on his hoard; disturbance by a theft; and violent airborne revenge on the lands all about. From 1925 to 1945, Tolkien was a Professor of Anglo-Saxon at Oxford University, and an important critic of Beowulf — on which he gave a lecture at the British Academy in 1936.[4]
[edit] Portrayal in adaptations
In the 1977 animated version of The Hobbit, Smaug was voiced by Richard Boone. In general, Smaug's design is consistent with Tolkien's description save his face. Rather than the traditional reptilian look associated with dragons, Smaug's face in the animated version has distinctly mammalian wolf-like features like fur and canine teeth. His hypnotic gaze is absent, although his acute eyesight is portrayed by showing highbeam-like lights shining forth from his eyes whenever he is searching for something.
In the 2003 video game release, Smaug was voiced by James Horan.
Smaug will appear in Peter Jackson's The Hobbit, and on 16 June 2011, it was announced that he will be voiced and interpreted with performance capture by Benedict Cumberbatch.[5]
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- Tolkien, J. R. R. (1937), Douglas A. Anderson, ed., The Annotated Hobbit, Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 2002, ISBN 0-618-13470-0
- ^ Carpenter, Humphrey, ed. (1981), The Letters of J. R. R. Tolkien, Boston: Houghton Mifflin, Letter #25, ISBN 0-395-31555-7
- ^ Hammond, Wayne; Scull, Christina (1995), J. R. R. Tolkien: Artist and Illustrator, Boston: Houghton Mifflin, Image #133, ISBN 0-395-74816-X
- ^ Hammond, Wayne; Scull, Christina (1995), J. R. R. Tolkien: Artist and Illustrator, Boston: Houghton Mifflin, Image #137, ISBN 0-395-74816-X
- ^ J. R. R. Tolkien, Beowulf: The Monsters and the Critics and Other Essays (ed. Christopher Tolkien, London: George Allen & Unwin, 1983).
- ^ Fleming, Mike (16 June 2011). "Benedict Cumberbatch To Voice Smaug in 'The Hobbit'". Deadline New York. http://www.deadline.com/2011/06/benedict-cumberbatch-to-voice-smaug-in-the-hobbit/. Retrieved 19 June 2011.
[edit] External links
- Smaug at the Tolkien Gateway
- Image of Smaug by J.R.R. Tolkien at the Tolkien Gateway
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