Many pieces in literature can be considered quite controversial, thus giving way to literary criticisms among scholars regarding the texts and authors. Shown especially in “Beowulf: The Monsters and the Critics” written by J. R. R. Tolkien, the author asserts that the epic poem, Beowulf, is one of the most renowned works of Old English literature since it possess much more powerful ideas, themes, and imagination than can be seen on its mere surface. Other scholarly beliefs criticize the poem’s choice of overshadowing its historical context, its weakness of organization, and the poem’s incapability of satisfying its audience’s expectations of the epic. However, Tolkien continues to support the fact that Beowulf contains numerous aesthetic appeals
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Tolkien warns his audience to dismiss the notion that the poem was intended to be told in sequential order since it was “not meant to advance, steadily or unsteadily” (Tolkien). As part of Beowulf’s stylistic approach, the poet infuses the narrative with various literary devices including digressions, foreshadowing, contrasts, and parallelism not to interrupt the storyline, but instead, to provide readers with further insight on the underlying themes, symbols, and character development. Shown in many instances in the novel, the writer utilizes a spiral structure to carry readers through the text. The poem jumps back and forth between certain events in the past and the present, using transitional phrases such as “meanwhile” for connection (915). Digressions such as the tale of Sigemund the Dragon Slayer, King Heremod, and the story of Hildebruh and Finn were also inserted as a standard of comparison and contrast for Beowulf or to foreshadow the theme of betrayal and vengeance. Not only is the poem not in chronological order, but it is also structured into two sections, balancing an “opposition of ends and beginnings” (Tolkien). Both written in different directions, the first section was to follow Beowulf’s rise to fame as he made himself “immortal by your glorious actions” followed by his reign and death in the later half (953-954). …show more content…
R. R. Tolkien proposed in his article, “Beowulf: The Monsters and the Critics,” since scholars view Beowulf as “a quarry of fact and fancy far more assiduously than it has been studied as a work of art” (Tolkien). Instead of being just a historical document painting a picture of the Anglo-Saxon past, Tolkien argues that the poem has greater themes beyond the superficial plot of dragons and monsters and its expansion of ancient traditions continue to give Beowulf a powerful effect in Anglo-Saxon poetry. One of Tolkien’s most remarkable justifications, however, was his elaboration of the structure of the essay. Though not in sequential order, the poems ability to revisit events and its division into two sections thus changes literary analysis of Old English poetry that is still praised upon
Tolkien warns his audience to dismiss the notion that the poem was intended to be told in sequential order since it was “not meant to advance, steadily or unsteadily” (Tolkien). As part of Beowulf’s stylistic approach, the poet infuses the narrative with various literary devices including digressions, foreshadowing, contrasts, and parallelism not to interrupt the storyline, but instead, to provide readers with further insight on the underlying themes, symbols, and character development. Shown in many instances in the novel, the writer utilizes a spiral structure to carry readers through the text. The poem jumps back and forth between certain events in the past and the present, using transitional phrases such as “meanwhile” for connection (915). Digressions such as the tale of Sigemund the Dragon Slayer, King Heremod, and the story of Hildebruh and Finn were also inserted as a standard of comparison and contrast for Beowulf or to foreshadow the theme of betrayal and vengeance. Not only is the poem not in chronological order, but it is also structured into two sections, balancing an “opposition of ends and beginnings” (Tolkien). Both written in different directions, the first section was to follow Beowulf’s rise to fame as he made himself “immortal by your glorious actions” followed by his reign and death in the later half (953-954). …show more content…
R. R. Tolkien proposed in his article, “Beowulf: The Monsters and the Critics,” since scholars view Beowulf as “a quarry of fact and fancy far more assiduously than it has been studied as a work of art” (Tolkien). Instead of being just a historical document painting a picture of the Anglo-Saxon past, Tolkien argues that the poem has greater themes beyond the superficial plot of dragons and monsters and its expansion of ancient traditions continue to give Beowulf a powerful effect in Anglo-Saxon poetry. One of Tolkien’s most remarkable justifications, however, was his elaboration of the structure of the essay. Though not in sequential order, the poems ability to revisit events and its division into two sections thus changes literary analysis of Old English poetry that is still praised upon