J.R.R. Tolkien famously lectured on and translated the Old English poem Beowulf.
Beowulf is an epic poem about a hero who fights the monster Grendel, Grendel’s mother, and, later in life, a dragon. Tolkien’s 1936 lecture “Beowulf: The Monsters and the Critics” helped change scholarly discussion by arguing that the poem should be valued as a work of art, not merely as historical evidence.
Tolkien also produced a prose translation of Beowulf, published posthumously in 2014 as Beowulf: A Translation and Commentary. His engagement with the poem influenced his understanding of heroic literature, monsters, treasure, courage, and loss.
The Wanderer, The Seafarer, and The Battle of Maldon are also important Old English texts associated with Tolkien’s scholarly interests. They are not, however, the poem most closely identified with his landmark lecture and translation.