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 This critical edition of Beowulf and the critics presents both unpublished versions of Tolkien's lecture, each substantially different from the other and from the final, published essay.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. |
From inside the book
Results 1-3 of 64
Page 16
... Northern culture could be recaptured . But only so much of the lost culture could be re - animated directly by philology . Much of what was important to Tolkien , like the connection between earth and identity , is mythical , and he ...
... Northern culture could be recaptured . But only so much of the lost culture could be re - animated directly by philology . Much of what was important to Tolkien , like the connection between earth and identity , is mythical , and he ...
Page 119
... Northern courage the theo- ry , one might call it , of courage , that is the great contribution of early Northern literature . This is not a military judgement - we are not here asserting that , if the Trojans had employed a Northern ...
... Northern courage the theo- ry , one might call it , of courage , that is the great contribution of early Northern literature . This is not a military judgement - we are not here asserting that , if the Trojans had employed a Northern ...
Page 120
... northern ' folk - tale , ' and are distant relatives of Grendel . The earlier age was not less learned than the days of Eadgar and Æthelred II , but more learned and certainly not less two - sided . The accidents of survival , which ...
... northern ' folk - tale , ' and are distant relatives of Grendel . The earlier age was not less learned than the days of Eadgar and Æthelred II , but more learned and certainly not less two - sided . The accidents of survival , which ...
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