The Essays of J.R.R. Tolkien: The Monsters and the Critics and Other Essays is a collection of academic essays by J.R.R. Tolkien, published by George Allen & Unwin in 1983, and again in 2006 by HarperCollins. With an introductory foreword by Christopher Tolkien, it presents seven essays that were originally lectures (save one), given by Tolkien between 1936 and 1959.
Contents[]
- "Beowulf: The Monsters and the Critics", given November 25, 1936
- "On Translating Beowulf", written before 1940
- "Sir Gawain and the Green Knight", given April 15, 1953
- "On Fairy-Stories", given March 8, 1939 (previously appearing in Tree and Leaf)
- "English and Welsh", given October 21, 1955
- "A Secret Vice", given in 1931
- Valedictory Address to the University of Oxford, given June 5, 1959
- "The seven 'essays' by J.R.R. Tolkien assembled in this new paperback edition were with one exception delivered as general lectures on particular occasions; and while they mostly arose out of Tolkien's work in medieval literature, they are accessible to all. Two of them are concerned with Beowulf, including the well-known lecture whose title is taken for this book, and one with Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, given in the University of Glasgow in 1953. Also included in this volume is the lecture English and Welsh; the Valedictory Address to the University of Oxford in 1959; and a paper on Invented Languages delivered in 1931, with exemplification from poems in the Elvish tongues. Most famous of all is On Fairy-Stories, a discussion of the nature of fairy-tales and fantasy, which gives insight into Tolkien's approach to the whole genre. The pieces in this collection cover a period of nearly thirty years, beginning six years before the publication of The Hobbit, with a unique 'academic' lecture on his invention (calling it A Secret Vice) and concluding with his farewell to professorship, five years after the publication of The Lord of the Rings."
- —From the publisher
See also[]
- Beowulf: A Translation and Commentary
- Beowulf and the Critics
- A Secret Vice: Tolkien on Invented Languages
Translations[]
| Foreign Language | Translated name |
| Afrikaans | Die monsters en kritici |
| Arabic | الوحوش والنقاد |
| Azerbaijani | Canavarlar və tənqidçilər |
| Basque | Munstroak eta kritikak |
| Belarusian Cyrillic | Пачвары і крытыкі |
| Bosnian | Čudovišta i kritičari |
| Bulgarian Cyrillic | Чудовищата и критиците |
| Catalan | Els monstres i els crítics |
| Cebuano | Ang mga Halimaw ug ang Kritiks |
| Chinese | 怪物和批评家 |
| Corsican | I mostri è i critichi |
| Croatian | Čudovišta i kritičari |
| Czech | Monstra a kritici |
| Danish | Monstrene og kritikerne |
| Esperanto | La monstroj kaj la kritikistoj |
| Estonian | Koletised ja kriitikud |
| Finnish | Hirviöitä ja kriitikkoja |
| French | Les Monstres et les Critiques |
| Galician | Os monstros e os Críticos |
| Georgian | ურჩხულები და კრიტიკოსები |
| German | Die Ungeheuer und ihre Kritiker |
| Greek | Τέρατα και επικριτές |
| Gujarati | રાક્ષસો અને વિવેચકો |
| Hindi | द राक्षस और आलोचक |
| Hungarian | Szörnyek és kritikusok |
| Icelandic | Skrímsli og gagnrýnendur |
| Italian | I mostri e i critici |
| Japanese | モンスターと批評家 |
| Kannada | ದಿ ಮಾನ್ಸ್ಟರ್ಸ್ ಮತ್ತು ವಿಮರ್ಶಕರು |
| Korean | 괴물과 비평가 |
| Latvian | Briesmoņi un kritiķi |
| Lithuanian | Monstrai ir kritikai |
| Macedonian Cyrillic | Чудовишта и критичари |
| Malaysian | Raksasa dan pengkritik |
| Marathi | द राक्षस आणि समालोचक |
| Nepalese | द दानवहरू र आलोचकहरू |
| Norwegian | Monstre og kritikere |
| Polish | Potwory i krytycy |
| Portuguese | Os monstros e os Críticos |
| Punjabi | ਦ ਰਾਖਸ਼ ਅਤੇ ਆਲੋਚਕ |
| Romanian | Monștri și critici |
| Russian | Чудовища и критики |
| Serbian | Чудовишта и критичари (Cyrillic) Čudovišta i kritičari (Latin) |
| Slovak | Monštrá a kritici |
| Slovenian | Pošasti in kritiki |
| Spanish | Los monstruos y los críticos |
| Telugu | రాక్షసులు మరియు విమర్శకులు |
| Turkish | Canavarlar ve eleştirmenler |