Beowulf and the CriticsThe most important essay in the history of Beowulf scholarship, J.R.R. Tolkien's "Beowulf: the monsters and the critics" has been much studied and discussed. But scholars of both Beowulf and Tolkien have to this point been unaware that Tolkien's essay was a redaction of a much longer and more substantial work, Beowulf and the critics, which Tolkien wrote in the 1930s and probably delivered as a series of Oxford lectures. This critical edition of Beowulf and the critics presents both unpublished versions of Tolkien's lecture, each substantially different from the other and from the final, published essay. The edition included a description of the manuscript, complete textual and explanatory notes, and a detailed critical introduction that explains the place of Tolkien's Anglo-Saxon scholarship both in the history of Beowulf scholarship and in literary history. |
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Page 138
... Danes we have much of the devout shepherd patriarchs , servants of one God . We have in fact a Christian English conception of the noble pre - Christian , who nonetheless lapse , as could the Israelites , in times of stress or ...
... Danes we have much of the devout shepherd patriarchs , servants of one God . We have in fact a Christian English conception of the noble pre - Christian , who nonetheless lapse , as could the Israelites , in times of stress or ...
Page 156
... Danes , but it is an English poem about them . Tolkien is here pointing out the obvious : that even if Beowulf is about Danes and Geats , the poem is in fact written in English and thus in some essential way more closely connected to ...
... Danes , but it is an English poem about them . Tolkien is here pointing out the obvious : that even if Beowulf is about Danes and Geats , the poem is in fact written in English and thus in some essential way more closely connected to ...
Page 194
... Danes . It seems that the Heathobard attack is repelled by the combined might of Hrothgar and Hrothulf , but Heorot is burned . Ingeld is seen by Chambers and others as a tragic figure because he is caught between his duty to revenge ...
... Danes . It seems that the Heathobard attack is repelled by the combined might of Hrothgar and Hrothulf , but Heorot is burned . Ingeld is seen by Chambers and others as a tragic figure because he is caught between his duty to revenge ...
Contents
Seeds Soil and Northern | 1 |
Beowulf The Critics A | 31 |
Beowulf The Critics B | 79 |
Copyright | |
5 other sections not shown
Common terms and phrases
Ælfric allegory allusions ancient Anglo Anglo-Saxon battle Beowulf Cain century Chambers Christian Christopher Tolkien criticism Danes dark death deeds dragon Earle edition England English Literature epic fate Fight at Finnsburg Folio folk-tale Footnote Text Frisian Geats Germanic Godes gods gold Grendel Guthlac heathen hell Heorot hero Heroic Age historical document Hroðgar Hrothgar Hygelac Icelandic Ingeld inserted J. R. R. Tolkien Jusserand King Klaeber language later Latin leaf left margin extends legend literary London Lord main text manuscript medieval metod monsters mythology Northern Old English Old Norse original Oxford pagan passage Paulinus Paulinus of Nola pencil line poet poetic poetry praise quotation reference Saga Saxon says sceal scholars Scyldings Shippey square bracket story tale Teutonic theme things Thorkelin top margin tradition trans translation University Press verse verso Virgil Völuspá W. P. Ker Widsith words written wyrd þæt