Beowulf: The Monsters and the Critics, J.R.R. Tolkien's 1936 lecture published in the Proceedings of the British Academy, is the essay credited with turning Beowulf scholarship toward treating the poem as literature rather than only as a historical or linguistic quarry. Its strength is that it is a landmark, still widely cited scholarly work by a major philologist. Its limit is that it is now nearly ninety years old, and later Anglo-Saxon scholarship has developed well beyond its specific readings.
Facts
Assessment
Reliability Tier1
J.R.R. Tolkien's Beowulf: The Monsters and the Critics, Proceedings of the British Academy, 1936, the top tier reflecting a landmark, still widely cited scholarly lecture by a major philologist that turned Beowulf scholarship toward treating the poem as literature. Its limit is that it is now nearly ninety years old, and later Anglo-Saxon scholarship has developed well beyond its specific readings. NotesJ. R. R. Tolkien's influential scholarly lecture on Beowulf as literature, Proceedings of the British Academy, 1936.
Citation
AuthorJ. R. R. Tolkien
PublisherProceedings of the British Academy
Publication Year1936
Source Typelecture
Cross-Tradition Connections
Associated With
This source names Anglo-Saxons directly: "Beowulf: The Monsters and the Critics, J.R.R."
This source names Saxons directly: "Beowulf: The Monsters and the Critics, J.R.R."
Claims Backed By This Source (12 claims)
This source backs 12 claims across the atlas. As facts: 9 well-attested. As cited relationships: 2 holds. Plus 1 entities citing it as a general reference with no single fact or relationship attached.
Disposition By Topic
- Sources, 9 claims: 7 well-attested, 2 holds.
- Other Writings, 2 claims: 1 well-attested, 1 general references.
- Articles, 1 claims: 1 well-attested.
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