Review of J.R.R TOLKIEN’ Article: Beowulf: The Monsters and the critics
http://www.thedailycontributor.com/review-of-jrr-tolkiens-article-beowulf-the-monsters-and-the-critics.html
J.R.R. Tolkien’s article, “Beowulf: The monsters and the critics,” was a major turning point in Beowulf criticism. Tolkien argues that Beowulf is an excellent piece of well constructed poetry, which overshadows many moot points made by other critical authors. A major problem in the world of Beowulf has been the poor criticism of it, Tolkien argues. One aspect of the poor criticism of Beowulf that Tolkien disagrees with is the theories about the monsters. The monsters, Grendel and the Dragon, which are central to the poem, are major elements that make Beowulf so “interesting as poetry,” Tolkien argues. Even further, the episode which Beowulf fights the dragon is a culmination of both the character of Beowulf and Beowulf as a whole. All the elements for a great poem are within the walls of Beowulf making it “rich in many departments.”
Until Tolkien’s article on Beowulf, there have been many critical works on such a matter that have led readers into the wrong direction. The poorest aspect of Beowulf has been the criticism on it. “Why then have the great critics thought otherwise,” Tolkien questions. Many have said that Beowulf’s weakness lies in “placing the unimportant things at the centre and the important on the outer edges.” Tolkien finds this claim “profoundly untrue of the poem, but strikingly true of the literature about it.” A major component of Tolkien’s essay is studying Beowulf as a work of art; as no other critic has done. Critics in the past have taken Beowulf and dissected, and examined the poem as a historical document. “Beowulf, is in fact so interesting as poetry, in places poetry so powerful, that this quite overshadows the historical content, and is largely independent even of the most important facts that research has discovered,” Tolkien says. The author of Beowulf has used a “historical sense” to the poem misleading some critics who are pursuing historical content rather than the artistic value of the poem, Tolkien says. “Beowulf is not an actual picture of historic Denmark or Greatland or Sweden about A.D. 500. But it is on a general view a self-consistent picture, a construction bearing clearly the marks of design and thought,” Tolkien says. Among other criticisms of the poem we hear that “the story is commonplace and the plan feeble.” These criticisms coincide with the early critics who claim that the serious aspects in Beowulf lie on the outer edges of the poem. The poetic talent of Beowulf’s author has “all been squandered on an unprofitable theme;” critics say. The high tone and sense of dignity are two motifs within Beowulf that Tolkien points out refuting the latter arguments. There are many literary critics who have not seen Beowulf for what it actually is; a work of art. W.P. Ker is noted saying that Beowulf “has nothing else to do,” after he kills Grendel and his mother; other than to gallivant back to his own Gautland to await his final adventure. In addition, Ker explains to his readership that the fault of Beowulf is that there “is nothing much in the story.” The gross dissection and over analyses of doubtful points has diminished the poem over the ages. Tolkien has taken an initiative towards a new outlook on the poem. Tolkien’s views of this matter seem highly more probable and simply make more sense. The greatest of Tolkien’s arguments involves the monsters and the central role they play to the poem. Beowulf isn’t just a poem where the hero is simply, “occupied killing monsters.”
The role of monsters in Beowulf is critical and Tolkien makes sure his readership understands this important fact. Grendel, his mother, and the dragon are pivotal contextual elements of Beowulf that help the reader understand the heroic level in which Beowulf occupies. Tolkien is very critical of those who claim the monsters in Beowulf are a “mistake.” “I would suggest then,” Tolkien says, “that the monsters are not an inexplicable blunder of taste; they are essential, fundamentally allied to the underlying ideas of the poem, which give it its lofty tone and high seriousness.” The timely arrival of each monster, and their placement in the poem, is key for Beowulf’s character development. “If the dragon is the right end for Beowulf, and I agree with the author that it is, then Grendel is an eminently suitable beginning.” The Cain-descended-heathen, Grendel with, “God’s brand was on him,” (p.27 Ln.711) arrives at the perfect time in the story because the readership is still learning just how strong and heroic Beowulf actually is. None of King Hrothgar’s men can defend their own mead-hall and it takes Beowulf’s hand-to-hand combat skills to fight off Grendel. Beowulf eventually rips Grendel’s arm off as the man-beast then retreats to his liar to die. Beowulf’s encounter with Grendel is very essential; now the reader understands what kind of hero they’re dealing with in Beowulf after he dismantles the monster who intended to slaughter all the men in the Mead-hall. “He meant to wrench / the life from each body that lay in the place / before night was done. It was not to be; / he was no longer to feast on the flesh of mankind / after that night.” (p.28 Ln.732) More importantly, the encounter with Grendel also alludes to the heroic code and value systems of the time. This understanding of Beowulf is further illustrated before he sets out to defeat Grendel’s mother. Beowulf addresses the mead-hall of Hrothgar’s men:
“Bear your grief, wise one! It is better for a man to avenge his friend than to refresh his sorrow. As we must all expect to leave our life on earth, we must ear some renown, if we can, before death; daring is the thing for a fighting man to be remembered by.” (p.51, Ln.1383)
When we are through with Grendel and his mother there is a lull in Beowulf’s life as he takes the thrown and rules peacefully. The arrival of the dragon in the later part of the poem signifies the beginning of the end for Beowulf, Tolkien says. “By now we are supposed to have grasped the plan. Disaster is foreboded. Defeat is the theme. Triumph over the foes of man’s precarious fortress is over, and we approach slowly and reluctant the inevitable victory of death.” This passage summarizes the strong beliefs of the author’s original readership that all things come to an end, no matter how great. The dragon is the culmination of the warrior and ethics codes Beowulf has been applying his whole life. “…Beowulf, already there it had these two primary features: the dragon, and the slaying of him as the chief deed of the greatest of heroes.” Beowulf dies fighting the dragon and brings the treasure to his people as his last wish. He bequeaths his armor to Wiglaf and brings a temporary salvation to his people.
Through Tolkien’s article, “Beowulf: The monsters and the critics,” we get a further more accurate understanding of Beowulf. Tolkien also refutes other arguments that have been influential to Beowulf over the years; for example, “placing the unimportant things at the centre and the important on the outer edges.” Tolkien presents his readership with thoughtful information concerning the central role the monsters play to Beowulf and to the poem overall. Tolkien’s article allows for a better understanding of Beowulf.
Work Cited
1) Beowulf: A verse translation. London, England: Penguin Books Ltd, 2001.
2) J.R.R. Tolkien. Beowulf: The monsters and the critics. The British Academy, 1936
