Beowulf: The Monsters and the Critics

The name Beowulf refers to more than one character, item or concept. For a list of other meanings, see Beowulf (disambiguation).

Beowulf: The Monsters and the Critics is the title of a lecture delivered by J.R.R. Tolkien in 1936, and later appeared as an essay in various publications. Michael D.C. Drout has described it as "possibl[y] ... the single most influential essay in the history of literary studies in the twentieth century".^[1]

The lecture

The lecture "Beowulf: The Monsters and the Critics" was the Sir Israel Gollancz Memorial Lecture for 1936. Tolkien delivered it to the British Academy on 25 November 1936 and again two weeks later to the Manchester Mediaeval Society.

Publication history

Beowulf: The Monsters and the Critics has been published as and in several different publications in the past.

First edition (1937)

In 1937, the first edition of Beowulf: The Monsters and the Critics was issued in the Proceedings of the British Academy (vol. 22, 1936, pr. 1937, pp. [245]-295).^[2] It was also published separatey by Humphrey Milford (London) for the British Academy ([1 July]. 56 pp. 500 copies printed. ISBN: N/A). Altogether six impressions (2.-5. impressions 1958-1971 by the Oxford University Press; 6th impression 1977, by the British Academy) were printed.^[3]

Booklet (1969)

Around 1969, booklets of Beowulf: The Monsters and the Critics (undated and unknown publisher and place of publication), appeared.^[4]

The Monsters and the Critics, and Other Essays (1983)

In 1983, the essay was included in the collection The Monsters and the Critics, and Other Essays, edited by Christopher Tolkien.

Beowulf and the Critics (2002)

In 2002, two draft versions of the essay, much longer, were published in Beowulf and the Critics, edited by Michael D.C. Drout. The book was revised in 2011.