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 This critical edition of Beowulf and the critics presents both unpublished versions of Tolkien's lecture, each substantially different from the other and from the final, published essay.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 319
... inserted with arrow at " Abp " . ] Abp of Richfield and made the whole poem into a kind of early political Utopia . ( 787-803 ? ) ... at the expense of the fools who have rushed in trespassed in the confidence of their ignorance on ...
... inserted with arrow at " Abp " . ] Abp of Richfield and made the whole poem into a kind of early political Utopia . ( 787-803 ? ) ... at the expense of the fools who have rushed in trespassed in the confidence of their ignorance on ...
Page 412
... inserted in later pen . ] ( of which he is not speaking ) , such as Northumbrian apostasies in the seventh eentury , that the poet was is thinking Footnote Text [ the footnote is inserted between " in lines 175ff " and " and these ...
... inserted in later pen . ] ( of which he is not speaking ) , such as Northumbrian apostasies in the seventh eentury , that the poet was is thinking Footnote Text [ the footnote is inserted between " in lines 175ff " and " and these ...
Page 413
... inserted into the text be- tween " than the foreground " and " The criticism of Ker . " The inserted text be- gins with " To the same ... " and ends with " of a new thing " . ] The ' discrepancies ' are no greater than those to be found ...
... inserted into the text be- tween " than the foreground " and " The criticism of Ker . " The inserted text be- gins with " To the same ... " and ends with " of a new thing " . ] The ' discrepancies ' are no greater than those to be found ...
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