Which 1936 Tolkien essay is a landmark study of the Old English poem Beowulf?

Beowulf: The Monsters and the Critics is J.R.R. Tolkien’s landmark 1936 essay on the Old English poem Beowulf.

Tolkien delivered the lecture at Oxford in 1936, arguing that critics should treat Beowulf as a work of poetry rather than merely as historical evidence. He emphasized the importance of its monsters, especially Grendel and the dragon, and defended the poem’s imaginative structure.

The essay strongly influenced modern Beowulf scholarship and is often discussed alongside Tolkien’s fiction because its themes echo his interests in courage, mortality, and heroic tradition. It is easy to confuse this title with On Fairy-Stories, Tolkien’s 1939 lecture about fantasy, but they are separate works addressing different literary subjects.