Which Tolkien essay, first published in 1936, reshaped modern criticism of the Old English poem Beowulf?

“Beowulf: The Monsters and the Critics” is Tolkien’s essay first published in 1936 that reshaped criticism of Beowulf.

Tolkien originally delivered the work as a lecture at Oxford in 1936. He argued that critics should take the poem’s monsters, especially Grendel and the dragon, seriously as central parts of its artistic design. Earlier scholarship had often treated Beowulf mainly as a historical document or a source of information about Germanic society.

The essay redirected attention toward the poem as a unified work of literature. Tolkien’s argument helped establish a more literary approach to Beowulf studies and remains one of the most influential pieces of modern Old English criticism.

The title is sometimes confused with Tolkien’s later essay “On Fairy-Stories,” which discusses fantasy, folklore, and literary theory. Tolkien’s Beowulf essay is specifically associated with the poem’s structure, themes, and monsters.