The Monsters and the Critics and Other Essays
Tolkien's essays and lectures, edited by Christopher Tolkien (1983)
On Fairy-stories Beowulf: The Monsters and the Critics
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The volume collects seven lectures and essays: the 1936 British Academy lecture on Beowulf that changed how the poem is read, the 1939 Andrew Lang lecture On Fairy-stories with its ideas of sub-creation and eucatastrophe, the Gawain lecture, English and Welsh, A Secret Vice on invented languages, and the Valedictory Address. It is the place where Tolkien explains his craft in his own words; this encyclopedia treats it at K2 because the collection appeared after his death, although most of the pieces were published in his lifetime.
Sources
- The Letters of J. R. R. Tolkien — Letter 89
Cite this page
Legendarium (2026): „The Monsters and the Critics and Other Essays“. Last updated September 3, 2026. https://www.legendarium.page/works/monsters-and-critics/
APA
Legendarium. (2026). The Monsters and the Critics and Other Essays. Last updated September 3, 2026. https://www.legendarium.page/works/monsters-and-critics/
MLA
„The Monsters and the Critics and Other Essays“. Legendarium, 2026, https://www.legendarium.page/works/monsters-and-critics/. Last updated September 3, 2026.
BibTeX
@misc{legendarium-monsters-and-critics-en,
title = {The Monsters and the Critics and Other Essays},
author = {{Legendarium}},
year = {2026},
howpublished = {\url{https://www.legendarium.page/works/monsters-and-critics/}},
note = {Last updated September 3, 2026}
}