Which Tolkien essay contains the famous 1936 lecture “The Monsters and the Critics”?

The famous 1936 lecture is titled “Beowulf: The Monsters and the Critics.”

Tolkien delivered the lecture at Oxford in 1936, and it was published in 1937. He argued that Beowulf should be understood primarily as a work of poetry rather than merely as a historical source or a collection of folklore. His approach helped redirect scholarly attention toward the poem’s artistic structure and themes.

The lecture is especially known for defending the importance of Beowulf’s monsters, including Grendel and the dragon. Tolkien argued that removing those elements would destroy the poem’s central design rather than improve it as history.

Tolkien’s other critical writings address fairy stories, language, and literary tradition. “On Fairy-Stories” is also highly influential, but it is a separate essay and not the title of the 1936 Beowulf lecture.