Which 1936 lecture by J.R.R. Tolkien argued that Beowulf should be read as literature?

Beowulf: The Monsters and the Critics is J.R.R. Tolkien’s 1936 lecture arguing that Beowulf should be valued as a work of literature.

Before Tolkien’s lecture, some scholars treated the poem mainly as evidence for Germanic history, language, or folklore. Tolkien challenged that approach, insisting that its monsters, especially Grendel and the dragon, were central to the poem’s artistic structure rather than embarrassing distractions.

The lecture became one of the most influential works of Beowulf criticism. Tolkien’s argument also helps explain why monsters, heroic courage, and mortality matter so strongly in his own fiction. The title is sometimes shortened to “The Monsters and the Critics,” but the full published title begins with “Beowulf.” It was first delivered as a lecture at Oxford in 1936 and published in 1937.