J.R.R. Tolkien initially studied Classics at Oxford before changing direction toward English language and literature.
He entered Exeter College, Oxford, in 1911 and began with the classical curriculum. His interests soon shifted toward philology and the historical study of languages, particularly Germanic languages and Old English. He changed his degree course to English Language and Literature and graduated with first-class honours in 1915.
This academic background shaped his fiction. Tolkien’s invented languages, legends and names were built with the habits of a historical linguist, while his scholarship examined texts such as Beowulf. The course change is sometimes simplified as Tolkien abandoning literature for languages, but his Oxford work ultimately joined both fields.