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 This critical edition of Beowulf and the critics presents both unpublished versions of Tolkien's lecture, each substantially different from the other and from the final, published essay.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 60
... dark ' . It may seem a meaningless distinction , but this should really be the other way about . The dark is foil to the light or rather the light is encircled by the dark , but not because the Old English poet did not value the light ...
... dark ' . It may seem a meaningless distinction , but this should really be the other way about . The dark is foil to the light or rather the light is encircled by the dark , but not because the Old English poet did not value the light ...
Page 149
... Dark Ages attempted to provide a complete picture of the range of medieval European literature . Ker set Beowulf in a context of " Northern " poetry , comparing and contrasting the poem to Icelandic , Old High German , and other " epic ...
... Dark Ages attempted to provide a complete picture of the range of medieval European literature . Ker set Beowulf in a context of " Northern " poetry , comparing and contrasting the poem to Icelandic , Old High German , and other " epic ...
Page 202
... dark holes their wealth piled , graven silver and carven gold : over Elvenhome the shadow rolled . There was an old dwarf in a dark cave , to silver and gold his fingers clave ; with hammer and tongs and anvil - stone he worked his ...
... dark holes their wealth piled , graven silver and carven gold : over Elvenhome the shadow rolled . There was an old dwarf in a dark cave , to silver and gold his fingers clave ; with hammer and tongs and anvil - stone he worked his ...
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