Smaug
Smaug is a male literary character who features in The Hobbit.
Contents |
Biography
Smaug was a male fire drake who lived during the Third Age and was said to be the greatest of dragons during his day. He was several centuries old where he heard rumours of a great wealth within the Dwarven-kingdom of Erebor. In TA 2770, Smaug came from the mountains in the north, attracted by the vast wealth amassed by the Dwarven kingdom of Erebor, which included gold, gemstones, silver, pearls, the many-faceted crystals of emerald, sapphire and diamond, and the famed Arkenstone. In one savage attack, he laid waste to both Erebor and the neighboring town of Dale, killing any Dwarves or Men who dared try to stop him. King Thrór and Thráin used the secret door to escape, but the dragon continued ravaging the surrounding countryside long after.
For two centuries, Smaug ruled the Lonely Mountain uncontested. He spent his days within the mountain lying atop his great treasure hoard, which he guarded jealously. The surrounding domain became a scarred wasteland known to the Dwarves and men as the "Desolation of Smaug." Yet in the year TA 2941, a company of fourteen adventurers consisting of twelve Dwarves, the hobbit Bilbo Baggins, and led by the heir of the Lonely Mountain, Thorin II Oakenshield, entered Smaug's mountain lair by a secret door in a daring attempt to reclaim the ancient treasure from the dragon. Bilbo, the company's appointed "burglar," was sent into the treasure chamber alone in an attempt to stealthily gather information and steal what he can without waking Smaug. Once inside, Bilbo was surprised to find that Smaug was much larger than he had expected and covered in impenetrable armor, save for his underbelly. Aware of this vulnerability, Smaug deliberately had spent years sprawled on the wealth of his hoard, allowing diamonds and hard gemstones to be embedded into his belly, armoring his only weakness. However, while examining the dragon, Bilbo noticed a single bare patch on the monster's left breast, nearest his heart. With this invaluable information, he escaped the dragon's lair and returned to the Dwarves, sharing his discovery of Smaug's weakness with them, unaware that he was overheard by a thrush, who carried the secret to Bard the Bowman in nearby Lake-town.
Returning to the treasure chamber, Bilbo attempted to steal a single cup, but its theft was immediately noticed by Smaug, who had woken from his slumber. Amused by the Hobbit, Smaug conversed with Bilbo, attempting to deduce his origins and purpose in the mountain. He quickly surmised that Bilbo was aiding Thorin and the rest of the Dwarf company in an attempt to steal back the Arkenstone and reclaim the Mountain. Smaug flew into a rage, erupting from the mountain in a fiery wrath and loosening his flame upon the land. He turned his fury on Lake-town upon the Long Lake and set about razing it. Amidst the havoc, Bard the Bowman, heir to the throne of Dale, did his best to rally the townsmen to repel the dragon's assault, but their arrows did little against the dragon's armor. Then, Bard, having been informed by a thrush of Smaug's secret weakness, fired a Black Arrow into the vulnerable spot of the dragon's belly. Roaring in fury and pain, Smaug fell from the sky and plummeted into the flaming ruins of Lake-town. His death marked the end of the great dragons in Middle-earth.
Overview
Personality and attributes
In appearance, Smaug was described as a red-golden dragon, with bat-like wings and a huge tail. His jaws and nostrils were always emitting smoke, but the fires inside him burned low when he was at rest. His red-golden scales were tough enough to deflect most blades, but these only covered his upper hide. Knowing that his soft underbelly was his weakness, he had spent many years sleeping on his hoard, causing a crust of gold and jewels to stick to his belly. However, unbeknownst to him, his armor was still imperfect; there remained a spot on his left breast "as bare as a snail out of its shell."
Smaug is shown to be, cunning, violent, cruel, arrogant, and greedy, possessing an unquenchable desire for gold. His most distinguishing characteristic aside from his greed is his arrogance, as Smaug proudly boasts of his superiority and impregnability to Bilbo during their encounter. However, this proves to be his downfall, as he unwittingly reveals the weak spot in his chest to Bilbo when showing the Hobbit how he had willfully coated his underbelly in treasure to protect it. Though he was a clever beast, his second weakness seems to be his rage in itself. While destroying Lake-Town, he swooped down straight through an arrow-storm, "reckless in his rage, taking no heed to turn his scaly sides towards his foes, seeking only to set their town ablaze." In his fury and revelry, Smaug neglected to guard himself, exposing his belly and giving Bard the chance he needed to slay him.
Smaug seems primarily motivated by personal greed rather than a desire to do evil, and does not seem to serve any allegiance other than his own. While he does ruthlessly destroy Dale and lays waste to the Dwarves of the Lonely Mountain during his attack on the Lonely Mountain, once he has assumed dominion of the region he seems content to allow the rest of Middle-earth to go about its business, so long as he or his treasure remains undisturbed; although this could be because he feels that the people living in the region have nothing he wants. Highly intelligent, Smaug appears to possess a rather sardonic sense of humor, darkly mocking Bilbo while they converse within the Lonely Mountain's treasure chamber. Smaug seems to despise the Dwarves, considering them to be weak and pathetic creatures far beneath him, making unfavorable comments about Thrór and showing no remorse over his slaughter of their kind and claiming of their kingdom. While conversing with Bilbo, Smaug is also able to quickly surmise the reason for Bilbo's presence in Erebor, and also correctly deduces that the Dwarves received aid from the men of Esgaroth in reaching the mountain.
Powers and abilities
Being a fully-grown dragon, Smaug was both massive and powerful, possessing physical strength capable of crushing stone with ease, as seen by his attack on the Lonely Mountain. He was able to fly thanks to his large wings, and had the ability to breathe streams of searing hot flame and vapour from his mouth and nostrils.
Like many dragons of Middle-earth, Smaug's monstrous appearance also belied keen senses and a dangerously sharp mind. He had an encyclopaedic knowledge of his treasure hoard, immediately registering the theft of a single cup after Bilbo made his first visit to his lair. When the hobbit returned a second time, Smaug was already expecting him by feigning sleep, and immediately declared that he could sense the thief even if he could not see him. Although Bilbo was clever enough not to fall for Smaug's attempts to trick him into revealing his exact position, the dragon used the resulting conversation to plant doubts in Bilbo's mind, correctly guessing that the 'burglar' had allied himself with the Dwarves and the men of Lake-town and asking if Bilbo had ever considered the logistical difficulties of getting his share of Smaug's treasure back to his home. Despite his size, Smaug is shown to be agile and quick, able to leap over objects with ease, and he can dive at very high speeds with little effort.
Notes
- Smaug was created by J. R. R. Tolkien and featured in the setting of the Middle-earth universe.
In other media
Films
- In The Hobbit, Smaug appeared in the 1977 animated film where he was voiced by actor Richard Boone.
- In The Hobbit, Smaug appeared in the live-action film series where he was voiced by actor Benedict Cumberbatch.
Appearances
- The Hobbit:
External Links
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