Beowulf and the Critics

Medieval and Renaissance Texts and Studies #248

by J.R.R. Tolkien, Michael D.C. Drout (Editor)

Tolkien's famous essay was originally a Gollancz Lecture at the British Academy.

Genres: Nonfiction, Classics, Literary Criticism, History, Medieval, Literature, Poetry

461 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1936

About the author

John Ronald Reuel Tolkien: writer, artist, scholar, linguist. Known to millions around the world as the author of The Lord of the Rings, Tolkien spent most of his life teaching at the University of Oxford where he was a distinguished academic in the fields of Old and Middle English and Old Norse. His creativity, confined to his spare time, found its outlet in fantasy works, stories for children, poetry, illustration and invented languages and alphabets.

Tolkien’s most popular works, The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings are set in Middle-earth, an imagined world with strangely familiar settings inhabited by ancient and extraordinary peoples. Through this secondary world Tolkien writes perceptively of universal human concerns – love and loss, courage and betrayal, humility and pride – giving his books a wide and enduring appeal.

Tolkien was an accomplished amateur artist who painted for pleasure and relaxation. He excelled at landscapes and often drew inspiration from his own stories. He illustrated many scenes from The Silmarillion, The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings, sometimes drawing or painting as he was writing in order to visualize the imagined scene more clearly.

Tolkien was a professor at the Universities of Leeds and Oxford for almost forty years, teaching Old and Middle English, as well as Old Norse and Gothic. His illuminating lectures on works such as the Old English epic poem, Beowulf, illustrate his deep knowledge of ancient languages and at the same time provide new insights into peoples and legends from a remote past.

Tolkien was born in Bloemfontein, South Africa, in 1892 to English parents. He came to England aged three and was brought up in and around Birmingham. He graduated from the University of Oxford in 1915 and saw active service in France during the First World War before being invalided home. After the war he pursued an academic career teaching Old and Middle English. Alongside his professional work, he invented his own languages and began to create what he called a mythology for England; it was this ‘legendarium’ that he would work on throughout his life. But his literary work did not start and end with Middle-earth, he also wrote poetry, children’s stories and fairy tales for adults. He died in 1973 and is buried in Oxford where he spent most of his adult life.

Reviews

[Nicky · Rating 3 out of 5]

Tolkien's original essay, Beowulf: The Monsters and the Critics, was amazing -- if only for its impact on the study of Beowulf. I'm hard-pressed to think of any other essay that changed the world of literary studies so completely. This essay basically sent scholarship in its current direction, rescuing it from the pitfalls of scholarship Tolkien saw in his contemporaries: the tendency to lament the way critics wanted the poem to be something it was not, or to assume that it was what they wanted, and to dismiss the monsters as trivial, or to fail to fully consider the implications of the pagan and Christian references in the poem. Anyone attempting to write about this poem, or wanting to read the academic work surrounding it, should probably begin here. Although Tolkien may have been wrong about some of his conclusions -- perhaps, for example, the dating of the poem -- his influence on the field is remarkable.

This edition, though, I would only recommend to people eager to go in depth into Tolkien's argument. It includes two drafts of the original essay, making it possible to see the development of Tolkien's essay over time. Even I, alas, am not that interested, despite my dual interest in Tolkien and Beowulf. Still, it could be very useful for close analysis.

[Tom · Rating 5 out of 5]

Not to be confused with The Monsters and the Critics and Other Essays, this book supplies Old English scholars and fans and scholars of Tolkien with two versions of the writings that lie behind that briefer and more focused work. It makes a wonderful companion to Beowulf: A Translation and Commentary, together with Sellic Spell.

[Flash Sheridan · Rating 5 out of 5]

This edition is a magnificent work of scholarship on Professor Drout’s part; his explanatory notes are worth checking even if you catch Professor Tolkien's references, since he provides copious detail and full contexts for the quotations. Scholars back then showed commendable nobility, and could write, even some of those Tolkien was refuting: “…only they are on the right side, though it is not the side that wins. The winning side is Chaos and Unreason; but the gods, who are defeated, think that defeat no refutation.” (W.P. Ker) And Klaeber (one of Tolkien’s main targets), quoting a review of the published essay by another of Tolkien’s targets, R.W. Chambers: “ the finest appreciation which has yet been written of our finest Old English poem ”

As for Professor Tolkien’s essay, the second draft is well worth reading even if you've read the final, published version. The B draft here presented is greatly inferior to the final version, which shows how hard Tolkien worked to achieve his apparently effortless style; but it’s far longer, and covers far more material. One tip: use at least three bookmarks, to keep you place for the text, the explanatory notes for version B, and the explanatory notes for the A version, to which the B notes often refer.

[Shep · Rating 3 out of 5]

This academic work by J.R.R. Tolkien, presented in two lecture drafts, is difficult to read. I once tried to read it alongside a Beowulf text and never made it through the book. This past semester, while working on an academic paper about Beowulf, I gave it another go.

Tolkien's insight into the text is fascinating, and I thoroughly enjoy his text-based analysis which stands in sharp contrast to the more speculative critical analysis of his contemporaries. Tolkien desires to, for the most part, put aside all speculation as to the intent of the author and how much the story has been altered / changed, and instead interpret the story on its own terms, studying the dual pagan / Christian symbolism. This book is not easily accessible for the average reader, but it opened Beowulf to me in new ways and I learned a lot from it.

[Ana Nájera · Rating 4 out of 5]

Eliminando la parte de las +200 páginas de explicación de la traducción; es un cuento corto de una historia al estilo Tolkien, que siempre traen cosas muy geniales.

[Laura · Rating 4 out of 5]

An annotation of Tolkien’s lectures on Beowulf I read a few years ago. I jotted down a few passages that pleased me. They seemed to shed some light on why it seems to make cinemagraphic sense to have the “good” powers be Greco-Roman and the “bad” or “neutral” powers have more of a Germanic/Nordic/British cast. Though that may be changing. Hark:


“Of the fair gods of Greece we also hear rumour of wars with giants and great powers not Olympian. Yet this distinction is not clearly conceived. The gods are not in any case an ever-present danger: the war is rather in a chaotic past. Though the seed of the gods may be heroes, it is also other creatures hostile to mean and monstrous. The monsters maybe akin to the gods, and the gods are not partners of lesser men in their war against them. The gods neither need men’s help, nor are concerned in their struggles. Men may worship or propitiate one or the other, gods or monsters, but he is not an ally of either. The interest of the gods in this or that man as part of their whims or private schemes, not as part of a great strategy that includes the whole of mankind, if only as the infantry of battle. The wages of heaven are deeds. This perhaps makes the gods more godlike – more lofty, more dread, more inscrutable. They are timeless and do not know or fear death. Such beliefs may hold promise of a profounder thought, so that the Greeks could make philosophy, but the Germanic North created specially the hero. Though the word we use in English is Greek . . . . the notion we have of it is rather Germanic than Greek.

In Norse at any rate the gods are enmeshed within time; they are doomed to the agony of death – though (probably by a late addition) a rebirth glimmers faintly far ahead for some of them. Their battle is with the monsters and with the darkness. They fight along with men and gather heroes for the final battle. Already before euhemerism saved them by embalming them they dwindled in learned antiquarian fancy to their mighty ancestors of northern kings, they are in their very being but the enlarged shadows of great men and warriors cast upon the walls of the world. When Baldr is slain and goes to Hel, he cannot escape thence any more than mortal man. Loki is among the gods, it is true, and evil and lying and clever spirit, of whom many monsters come. But this is true of men, in whom both Grendel and the Dragon in their hatred, cruelty, malice and greed find part. But the gods of Asgard do not recognize kinship with Fenris the wolf anymore than men do with the Dragon.” (127-28)


He also had an extensive quote from another book that really got me in the gut. Viz:

“What is distinctively Northern in the myth of the Twilight of the Gods is the strength of its theory of life. It is this intensity of courage that distinguishes the Northern mythology (and Icelandic literature generally) from all others. The last word of the Northmen before their entry into the larger world of Southern culture; their last independent guess at the secret of the Universe, is the Twilight of the Gods. As far as it goes, and as a working theory, it is absolutely impregnable. It is the assertion of the individual freedom against all the terrors and temptations of the world. It is absolute resistance, perfect because without hope. The Northern gods have an exultant extravagance in their warfare which makes them more like Titans than Olympians; only they are on the right side, though it is not the side that wins. The winning side is Chaos and Unreason; but the gods, who are defeated, think that defeat no refutation.”


Id. quoting W. P. KER, THE DARK AGES 57-58 (1904).

I know I missed a lot of this book. But what I understood I found fascinating.

[Lisa · Rating 3 out of 5]

In Summary: Read Beowulf & The Critics (B) and Explanatory Notes (A).

I found the edition I read (edited by Michael Drout)a little unusual, and it seems as if it's more set up for someone who wants to study Tolkien's essay, rather than someone who wants to read it in order to study Beowulf. It is split into four main sections: Beowulf & The Critics (A), Beowulf & The Critics (B), Explanatory Notes (A), and Explanatory Notes (B).

Beowulf & The Critics (A) and (B) are the same essay, but written a few years apart. (B) is the later essay and Tolkien develops on some of his ideas a little further. I would recommend skipping (A) and just reading (B), unless you are actually interested in studying the changes in Tolkien's theories.

Explanatory Notes (A) and (B) are Drout's additions. He has gone through and listed the references Tolkien makes and added descriptive notes for unfamiliar readers. Because the essays are almost identical, most of the references are in section (A), while section (B) is filled with references like "see above, note 100."

Drout finishes off with Textual notes, that showing the exact way Tolkien wrote some of his information (again, not really relevant to the study of Beowulf, but interesting to those studying Tolkien's analysis.)

[Jeremy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I didn't read this book, but the essay 'Beowulf: The Monsters and the Critics' that came published in the Norton Critical edition of Heaney's translation. Couldn't find a single printing of this essay but it's so great that I wanted to list it separately.

As a life-long Tolkien fan and re-reader of his works, finally reading Beowulf was a revelation. It sheds light on so many aspects of Tolkien's world.

But this essay does the same. In it Tolkien describes the pre-Christian 'doom' that hangs over Beowulf, as well as the religion and culture that generated it. This theme is very strong in Tolkien's own fiction and the despair it produces is perhaps the key quality of those who finally give-in to evil (Saruman, Denethor, et al).

You can also note certain commonalities between Tolkien's response to the critical handling of Beowulf and traditional Christian responses to 'higher' criticism of the Bible. Many of the points Tolkien makes are applicable in the latter debate.

Plus, the writing is really remarkable. The final sentence alone makes reading the whole essay worthwhile.

[Kate · Rating 5 out of 5]

Editor Michael Drout observes that this book will appeal both to Tolkien fans and to Anglo-Saxonists, and he offers his edition primarily to the readers who identify with both interest groups. As a member of that obscure demographic, I must say that Drout's contribution to the fields of Beowulf studies and Tolkein studies is enormous. By publishing two annotated versions of Tolkien's text, it is possible to see the development of The Professor's argument and to see the degree to which this seminal work has seeped into the very fabric of twentieth-century Beowulf criticism. Many of Tolkien's ideas seemed like common sense to me, and that may be due to their frequent repetition or refutation by subsequent scholars. For those who know Tolkien primarily as a maker of worlds, it is delightful beyond words to see him turn his laser-sharp intellect on the inferior scholarship of his contemporaries.

[Marloz Lozano · Rating 4 out of 5]

Beowulf es un poema épico anglosajón anónimo, que se considera un clásico de la literatura medieval. Decidí leerlo, o mejor dicho, tuve que leerlo porque va a venir en uno de mis exámenes de literatura. Y qué bueno que lo hice porque me gustó.

En lo personal, no disfruto mucho leyendo historias ambientadas en la edad media, son contadas las que me llegan a gustar. Anteriormente había tenido oportunidad de leer Beowulf, y a pesar de ser algo largo y sus innumerables personajes, es una historia interesante y muy buena.
En este libro, el autor no habla de varios aspectos y momentos de la historia siempre desde un punto de vista crítico. Haciendo al lector reflexionar y tomar en cuenta sus palabras.

Una lectura algo pesada cuando se lee por obligación, pero me ha gustado mucho.

[David Jones · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the monograph that established Tolkien's reputation as an academic in the field of literature. While everyone else was trying (and failing) to interpret Beowulf as a disguised history of events at the time it was written, Tolkien recognized it for what Beowulf is: the first piece of imaginative (aka fiction) literature written in what was English back then.

Good reading if you're inclined towards literary theory and academic study of literature. I think it also illuminates some of Tolkien's thinking that when into writing substantial fantasy at a time when fantasy was perhaps not regarded as serious literature.

[Kristy]

This isnt the exact edition we read, but we recently read Beowulf. I normally read to the girls while we eat, but this was one I just could not read at the table! Pretty gory, pools of blood, guts, veins, it was pretty gruesome in parts. surprisingly, lots of moral teaching moments occured. I'd never heard of this book before and it was fun to read something so different.

[Darrell · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an academic text that focuses on Tolkien's lecture about Beowulf. This book along with "Monsters and Critics" is credited with being one of the best and possible the first in describing the way to perform critical analysis on literature. It is a little hard to follow but if you are interested in Beowulf and critical review than this is well worth the time required.

[Llamaraptor]

This paper helps explain Beowulf as a work of art, and how some of the more puzzling bits, including those that other critics had labeled confused or inept, actually skillfully help create the intended atmosphere of the poem. As a casual reader who'd just read Beowulf for the first time, I found it tough going at times, and he assumes his readers are fluent in both Old English and Norse.

[Patti · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read Beowulf in Old English in a Norton Anthology text book. I've read it three times. It is our first example of the old Germanic hero in literature. I would recommend it to anyone. Of course, you don't have to read it in Old English like I did.

[Melissa · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an important critical essay and a watershed moment in the study of Anglo-Saxon literature that deserves to be read and taken into consideration by anyone interested in early medieval literature.

[Tara Williamson · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was shocked to find this in my study of Beowulf. Completely intriguing.

[Jessica]

I had to read this 3 times for 3 different classes in college. I hated it every time!

[Jocelyn · Rating 3 out of 5]

good not great

[Sharman Wilson · Rating 3 out of 5]

I didn't read this version. We read Beowolf my junior year of High School in English literature.

[Kimberly · Rating 5 out of 5]

I did have to think about some symbolism and what the author was implying for certain aspects of the conflict however after understanding the literary language, this book was very enjoyable.

[Lauma Lapa · Rating 5 out of 5]

An excellent read for both the followers of the Professor, and those who would like to gain a deeper insight into the problems of Old English poetics.