Which 1936 lecture by J.R.R. Tolkien later became a major essay on Beowulf and literature?

J.R.R. Tolkien’s 1936 lecture was titled Beowulf: The Monsters and the Critics.

Tolkien delivered the lecture as the Sir Israel Gollancz Memorial Lecture at the British Academy on 25 November 1936. It was later published in 1937 and became one of the most influential modern essays on Beowulf. Tolkien argued that the poem should be valued as a coherent work of art rather than treated mainly as a source of historical information.

The lecture defended the importance of Beowulf’s monsters, especially Grendel, Grendel’s mother, and the dragon. Tolkien maintained that these figures were central to the poem’s structure and themes, not embarrassing distractions from its supposedly more serious historical material.

The essay helped change academic discussion of the poem. Tolkien’s interpretation also demonstrates how his scholarly interests and imaginative writing were connected: his attention to monsters, myth, and language informed both his criticism and his fiction.