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 This critical edition of Beowulf and the critics presents both unpublished versions of Tolkien's lecture, each substantially different from the other and from the final, published essay.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 53
... dragons " ! This is à la The Book of St. Albans - then why not say " a pride of lions , a draught of butlers , a kindle of young cats , and a raffle of knaves " as that book does ? They would have been as much in point . One dragon is ...
... dragons " ! This is à la The Book of St. Albans - then why not say " a pride of lions , a draught of butlers , a kindle of young cats , and a raffle of knaves " as that book does ? They would have been as much in point . One dragon is ...
Page 55
... dragons ( and each different ) . Beowulf's dragon , if you wish to criticize still , is not to be criticized for being a dragon , but rather for not being dragon enough , plain pure dragon . Already nonetheless he approaches ...
... dragons ( and each different ) . Beowulf's dragon , if you wish to criticize still , is not to be criticized for being a dragon , but rather for not being dragon enough , plain pure dragon . Already nonetheless he approaches ...
Page 110
... dragon . I doubt very much whether an- cient taste was quite what Chambers would have us believe . These ancient min ... dragon , of the dragon , the prince of legendary worms . Although there is plainly a considerable difference between ...
... dragon . I doubt very much whether an- cient taste was quite what Chambers would have us believe . These ancient min ... dragon , of the dragon , the prince of legendary worms . Although there is plainly a considerable difference between ...
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