J.R.R. Tolkien studied and famously lectured about the Old English epic Beowulf in “Beowulf: The Monsters and the Critics.” He delivered the lecture at Oxford in 1936, and it became one of the most influential modern defenses of studying the poem as a work of literature.
Earlier scholarship often treated Beowulf mainly as evidence for history, language, or folklore. Tolkien argued that its monsters, especially Grendel and the dragon, were central to its artistic design rather than embarrassing distractions from a supposedly more valuable historical core.
The lecture helped change how Beowulf was taught and discussed. Tolkien’s academic work also shaped his fiction, though Beowulf should not be reduced to a simple source for Middle-earth. The poem’s themes of courage, mortality, treasure, and the passing of heroic societies resonated with Tolkien’s interests without making the two works identical.