Which 1936 Tolkien lecture became influential for modern readings of the poem Beowulf?

“Beowulf: The Monsters and the Critics” is the 1936 Tolkien lecture that became influential for modern readings of Beowulf. Tolkien delivered it as the Sir Israel Gollancz Memorial Lecture at the British Academy.

Earlier scholarship often treated Beowulf mainly as evidence about Germanic history, language, or archaeology. Tolkien argued that the poem should be judged as a work of art. He urged critics to take its monsters, especially Grendel and the dragon, seriously as central elements rather than dismissing them as secondary folklore.

The lecture helped redirect Beowulf criticism toward its structure, symbolism, and poetic imagination. It also shows why Tolkien’s academic work matters when studying his fiction: he understood mythic creatures as meaningful parts of serious literature. The lecture is sometimes confused with Tolkien’s later essay “On Fairy-Stories,” which discusses the nature and uses of fantasy rather than focusing specifically on Beowulf.