Beowulf: The Monsters and the Critics

Beowulf: The Monsters and the Critics is an important lecture by J.R.R. Tolkien on the subject of Beowulf criticism, given by Tolkien as the Sir Israel Gollancz Memorial Lecture to the British Academy in November 1936. It was derived from an earlier work, Beowulf and the Critics, and was published later in 1983 in The Monsters and the Critics.
This paper is widely regarded as a formative work in early 20th century Beowulf studies; considered by some to be responsible for the poem Beowulf's prominence today. Tolkien speaks against critics who disfavor the fantastical elements of the poem (Grendel, Grendel's mother, the dragon, etc.) in favor of using Beowulf solely as a source for Anglo-Saxon history. Tolkien argues that rather than being merely extraneous, these elements are key to the narrative and should be the focus of study.
The "rhetorical evolution" of this lecture was analyzed by Michael D. C. Drout in an essay in The Lord of the Rings 1954-2004: Scholarship in Honor of Richard E. Blackwelder (2006).
== See also ==
* A Secret Vice
==Translations==
Foreign Language 	Translated name
Afrikaans 	Beowulf: Die Monsters en die kritici
Albanian 	Beowulf: Përbindësha dhe kritikët
Amharic 	በኦዉልፍ: ጭራቆች እና ተቺዎች
Arabic 	بيولف: الوحوش والنقاد
Armenian 	Բեովուլֆ: Տեսիլքներ եւ քննադատներ
Azerbaijani 	Beovulf: Canavarlar və tənqidçilər
Basque 	Beowulf: Munstroak eta kritikoak
Belarusian Cyrillic	Беавульф: Монстры і крытыкі
Bengali 	বেউলফ: দানব এবং সমালোচকদের
Bosnian 	Beowulf: Čudovišta i kritičari
Bulgarian Cyrillic 	Беоулф: Чудовищата и критиците
Catalan 	Beowulf: Els Monstres i els crítics
Chinese 	貝奧武夫: 怪物和评论家
Croatian 	Beowulf: Čudovišta i kritičari
Czech 	Beowulf: Monstra a kritici
Danish 	Beovulf: Monstrene og Kritikerne
Dutch 	Beowulf: De Monstertje en critici
Estonian 	Beowulf: Koletised ja kriitikud
Finnish 	Beowulf: Hirviöt ja kriitikot
French 	Beowulf: Les Monstres et les Critiques
Galician 	Beowulf: Os Monstros e os críticos
Georgian 	ბეოვულფი: ურჩხულები და კრიტიკოსები
German 	Beowulf: Die Ungeheuer und ihre Kritiker
Greek 	Μπέογουλφ: Τα Τέρατα και οι Κριτικοί
Gujarati 	બેઓવુલ્ફ: રાક્ષસો અને વિવેચકો
Haitian Creole 	Beowulf: Terifye yo ak tout moun kap kritike
Hebrew 	ביאוולף: מפלצות ומבקרים
Hindi 	बियोवुल्फ़: राक्षस और आलोचक
Hungarian 	Beowulf: A szörnyek és a kritikusok
Icelandic 	Bjólfskviða: Skrímsli og gagnrýnendur
Indonesian 	Beowulf: Monsters dan kritikus
Irish Gaelic 	Béowulf: An Arrachtaigh agus na Criticeoirí
Italian 	Beowulf: I Mostri e i critici
Japanese 	ベーオウルフ: モンスターと批評家
Kannada 	ಬಿಯೋವುಲ್ಫ್: ರಾಕ್ಷಸರ ಮತ್ತು ವಿಮರ್ಶಕರು
Kazakh 	Құбыжықтар мен сыншылар (Cyrillic) Qubıjıqtar men sınşılar (Latin)
Korean 	베오울프: 괴물과 비평가들
Kyrgyz Cyrillic 	Бэовулф: Жаныбарларын жана сынчылар
Latin 	Beowulfus: Monstra et criticis
Latvian 	Beovulfs: Monstriem un kritiķi
Lithuanian 	Beovulfas: Monstrai ir kritikai
Macedonian Cyrillic	Беовулф: Чудовиштата и критичарите
Malaysian 	Beowulf: Raksasa tersebut dan pengkritik-pengkritik
Maltese 	Beowulf: Il-Mostri u l-kritiċi
Marathi 	बियोवुल्फ़: राक्षस आणि समीक्षक
Nepalese 	बेओवुल्फ़: राक्षसहरू र आलोचकहरू
Norwegian 	Beowulf: Monstre og kritikerne
Persian 	بیوولف: هیولا و منتقدان
Polish 	Beowulf: Potwory i krytycy
Portuguese 	Beowulf: Os Monstros e os críticos
Punjabi 	ਬੀਉਲਫਾਲ: ਦਿ ਮੋਨੇਸਟਰ ਐਂਡ ਦਿ ਕ੍ਰਿਟੀਕਸ
Romanian 	Beowulf: Monstrii și criticii
Russian 	Беовульф: Монстры и критики
Serbian 	Беовулф: Чудовишта и критичари (Cyrillic) Čudovišta i kritičari (Latin)
Scottish Gaelic 	Beowulf: Na h-Uilebheistean agus na Luchd-càineadh
Sinhalese 	බෙයොල්ෆ්: යක්ෂයෝ සහ විවේචකයන්
Slovak 	Beowulf: Monštrá a kritici
Slovenian 	Beowulf: Pošasti in kritiki
Spanish 	Beowulf: Los Monstruos y los críticos
Swedish 	Beowulf: Monstren och kritikerna
Tamil 	பெஒ௰உல்பு: அரக்கர்களும், விமரிசகர்கள் ?
Telugu 	బేవుల్ఫ్: మాన్స్టర్స్ మరియు విమర్శకులు
Thai 	เบวูล์ฟ สัตว์ประหลาดและนักวิจารณ์
Turkish 	Beowulf: Canavarlar ve eleştirmenler
Ukrainian Cyrillic 	Беовульф: Монстри і критики
Vietnamese 	Beowulf: Quái vật và các nhà phê bình
Welsh 	Beowulf: Y Bwystfilod a'r Beirniaid
Urdu 	بیولفول: راکشسوں اور ناقدین
Uzbek 	Беовулф: Ҳайвонлар ва танқидчилар (Cyrillic) Beovulf: Hayvonlar va tanqidchilar (Latin)
Yiddish 	בעאָווולף: די מאָנסטערס און די קריטיקס
Category:Texts by J.R.R. Tolkien
Category:Real world topics