Before turning to The Lord of the Rings, Alan and Shawn gain some needed insight with a look at Tolkien’s influential essay “Beowulf: The Monsters and the Critics.” Tolkien’s response to the prevailing theories of his day about the Old English poem ushered in a new era in Beowulf scholarship; and like “On Fairy-Stories,” its concepts help us better understand the Middle-earth legendarium. As the battle rages between humanity and the forces of darkness, some beloved children’s characters enter the fray… and we remember a key lesson from Galaxy Quest.
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Listener (and medieval researcher) Luke S. shared some links to online texts of Beowulf:
- http://www.heorot.dk/beowulf-rede-text.html — A free online translation, with the original Old English text.
- https://texttechnologies.stanford.edu/publications/beowulf-all — An exciting new composite translation of Beowulf that’s open access and includes a diversity of voices and opinions!
For iOS users interested in Old English, there are also some free apps that we highly recommend from the University of Glasgow:
- Essentials of Old English (https://apple.co/2Qcyui3) — Grammar reference and exercises for basic and advanced students of Old English
- Readings in Early English (https://apple.co/2wUejgK) — Excerpts from Old and Middle English texts, including a section from Beowul
Recommended Reading:
Tolkien, J. R. R. The Monsters and the Critics and Other Essays (HarperCollins, paperback)
Tolkien, J. R. R. (translator) Beowulf: A Translation and Commentary (Mariner Books, paperback)
Anyone looking for a deeper dive into Tolkien’s Beowulf would enjoy Tom Shippey’s talks for Signum University on YouTube. He has three. One on the essay you just covered. The next on Finn and Hengest. And the last on Tolkien’s translation published just a few years ago. Another good read, aside from your suggested readings is Beowulf and the Critics edited by Michael Drout. Get the 2nd edition, the typesetting is much easier on the eyes. It is a bit pricey, so if that is an issue, get it from your local library. They can use Inter Library Loan (ILL) to get it for you.
A suggestion for a episode on another essay. A Secret Vice covers the language aspect. Tolkien often said the stories were made to provide background for the languages. This could shed some light on that part of the creative process. A few years back an expanded version of the essay was published.
Happy anniversary to whoever just had one. I was driving while listening and didn’t quite catch who was speaking.
Thanks very much! We devoted an episode to the new edition of A Secret Vice not too long after it was released, and had a chance to interview Dimitra Fimi and Andrew Higgins about the essay and their work on it. It was our first interview, so not quite as polished as some of our more recent ones, but please give it a listen! https://theprancingponypodcast.com/2016/09/18/020-tolkiens-secret-vice-an-interview-with-dimitra-fimi-and-andrew-higgins/
[…] skipped Episode 91, an interview with Tom Shippey, which opens Season Three, and dove right into Episode 92, which discussed Tolkien’s translation of Beowulf. I followed that up immediately with […]