| This article refers to Tolkien's essay on Beowulf. For other namesakes, see Beowulf (disambiguation). |
Beowulf: The Monsters and the Critics is an important lecture by J.R.R. Tolkien on the subject of Beowulf criticism, given by Tolkien as the Sir Israel Gollancz Memorial Lecture to the British Academy in November 1936. It was derived from an earlier work, Beowulf and the Critics, and was published later in 1983 in The Monsters and the Critics.
This paper is widely regarded as a formative work in early 20th century Beowulf studies; considered by some to be responsible for the poem Beowulf's prominence today. Tolkien speaks against critics who disfavor the fantastical elements of the poem (Grendel, Grendel's mother, the dragon, etc.) in favor of using Beowulf solely as a source for Anglo-Saxon history. Tolkien argues that rather than being merely extraneous, these elements are key to the narrative and should be the focus of study.
The "rhetorical evolution" of this lecture was analyzed by Michael D. C. Drout in an essay in The Lord of the Rings 1954-2004: Scholarship in Honor of Richard E. Blackwelder (2006).
See also[]
Translations[]
| Foreign Language | Translated name |
| Afrikaans | Beowulf: Die Monsters en die kritici |
| Albanian | Beowulf: Përbindësha dhe kritikët |
| Amharic | በኦዉልፍ: ጭራቆች እና ተቺዎች |
| Arabic | بيولف: الوحوش والنقاد |
| Armenian | Բեովուլֆ: Տեսիլքներ եւ քննադատներ |
| Azerbaijani | Beovulf: Canavarlar və tənqidçilər |
| Basque | Beowulf: Munstroak eta kritikoak |
| Belarusian Cyrillic | Беавульф: Монстры і крытыкі |
| Bengali | বেউলফ: দানব এবং সমালোচকদের |
| Bosnian | Beowulf: Čudovišta i kritičari |
| Bulgarian Cyrillic | Беоулф: Чудовищата и критиците |
| Catalan | Beowulf: Els Monstres i els crítics |
| Chinese | 貝奧武夫: 怪物和评论家 |
| Croatian | Beowulf: Čudovišta i kritičari |
| Czech | Beowulf: Monstra a kritici |
| Danish | Beovulf: Monstrene og Kritikerne |
| Dutch | Beowulf: De Monstertje en critici |
| Estonian | Beowulf: Koletised ja kriitikud |
| Finnish | Beowulf: Hirviöt ja kriitikot |
| French | Beowulf: Les Monstres et les Critiques |
| Galician | Beowulf: Os Monstros e os críticos |
| Georgian | ბეოვულფი: ურჩხულები და კრიტიკოსები |
| German | Beowulf: Die Ungeheuer und ihre Kritiker |
| Greek | Μπέογουλφ: Τα Τέρατα και οι Κριτικοί |
| Gujarati | બેઓવુલ્ફ: રાક્ષસો અને વિવેચકો |
| Haitian Creole | Beowulf: Terifye yo ak tout moun kap kritike |
| Hebrew | ביאוולף: מפלצות ומבקרים |
| Hindi | बियोवुल्फ़: राक्षस और आलोचक |
| Hungarian | Beowulf: A szörnyek és a kritikusok |
| Icelandic | Bjólfskviða: Skrímsli og gagnrýnendur |
| Indonesian | Beowulf: Monsters dan kritikus |
| Irish Gaelic | Béowulf: An Arrachtaigh agus na Criticeoirí |
| Italian | Beowulf: I Mostri e i critici |
| Japanese | ベーオウルフ: モンスターと批評家 |
| Kannada | ಬಿಯೋವುಲ್ಫ್: ರಾಕ್ಷಸರ ಮತ್ತು ವಿಮರ್ಶಕರು |
| Kazakh | Құбыжықтар мен сыншылар (Cyrillic) Qubıjıqtar men sınşılar (Latin) |
| Korean | 베오울프: 괴물과 비평가들 |
| Kyrgyz Cyrillic | Бэовулф: Жаныбарларын жана сынчылар |
| Latin | Beowulfus: Monstra et criticis |
| Latvian | Beovulfs: Monstriem un kritiķi |
| Lithuanian | Beovulfas: Monstrai ir kritikai |
| Macedonian Cyrillic | Беовулф: Чудовиштата и критичарите |
| Malaysian | Beowulf: Raksasa tersebut dan pengkritik-pengkritik |
| Maltese | Beowulf: Il-Mostri u l-kritiċi |
| Marathi | बियोवुल्फ़: राक्षस आणि समीक्षक |
| Nepalese | बेओवुल्फ़: राक्षसहरू र आलोचकहरू |
| Norwegian | Beowulf: Monstre og kritikerne |
| Persian | بیوولف: هیولا و منتقدان |
| Polish | Beowulf: Potwory i krytycy |
| Portuguese | Beowulf: Os Monstros e os críticos |
| Punjabi | ਬੀਉਲਫਾਲ: ਦਿ ਮੋਨੇਸਟਰ ਐਂਡ ਦਿ ਕ੍ਰਿਟੀਕਸ |
| Romanian | Beowulf: Monstrii și criticii |
| Russian | Беовульф: Монстры и критики |
| Serbian | Беовулф: Чудовишта и критичари (Cyrillic) Čudovišta i kritičari (Latin) |
| Scottish Gaelic | Beowulf: Na h-Uilebheistean agus na Luchd-càineadh |
| Sinhalese | බෙයොල්ෆ්: යක්ෂයෝ සහ විවේචකයන් |
| Slovak | Beowulf: Monštrá a kritici |
| Slovenian | Beowulf: Pošasti in kritiki |
| Spanish | Beowulf: Los Monstruos y los críticos |
| Swedish | Beowulf: Monstren och kritikerna |
| Tamil | பெஒ௰உல்பு: அரக்கர்களும், விமரிசகர்கள் ? |
| Telugu | బేవుల్ఫ్: మాన్స్టర్స్ మరియు విమర్శకులు |
| Thai | เบวูล์ฟ สัตว์ประหลาดและนักวิจารณ์ |
| Turkish | Beowulf: Canavarlar ve eleştirmenler |
| Ukrainian Cyrillic | Беовульф: Монстри і критики |
| Vietnamese | Beowulf: Quái vật và các nhà phê bình |
| Welsh | Beowulf: Y Bwystfilod a'r Beirniaid |
| Urdu | بیولفول: راکشسوں اور ناقدین |
| Uzbek | Беовулф: Ҳайвонлар ва танқидчилар (Cyrillic) Beovulf: Hayvonlar va tanqidchilar (Latin) |
| Yiddish | בעאָווולף: די מאָנסטערס און די קריטיקס |