Tracing the Echo of the Romantic Poet in Tolkien’s ‘Beowulf’
Lecture by Lea Grosen Jørgensen
Given for the Tolkien Society on July 6, 2024
Abstract: Both scholars and fans of J.R.R. Tolkien’s authorship generally agree that the medieval poem ‘Beowulf’ was essential for his studies in Old English literature and his creation of Middle-earth. Today, his famous essay “Beowulf: The Monsters and the Critics” (1936) is considered a milestone within ‘Beowulf’ studies. Yet not many scholars have examined whether Tolkien’s ‘Beowulf’ criticism carries over any of the Romanticism that fueled the initial reception of the poem at the turn of the 19th century.
This paper will explore this aspect of Tolkien by first presenting the key differences and similarities between his ‘Beowulf’ studies and those from the first full translations of the poem by G.J. Thorkelin (1815), N.F.S. Grundtvig (1820), and J.M. Kemble (1837). To enhance its focus, the paper will trace Tolkien’s possible Romanticism through a Danish lens as many of the first studies of ‘Beowulf’ were initiated by Danish antiquarians due to the poem’s Scandinavian subject matter. One of the biggest pioneers was the pastor, historian, and poet Grundtvig. His ‘Beowulf’ studies will be thoroughly compared to Tolkien’s in the paper’s analysis, as both authors partly respected and partly rejected certain aspects of Romanticism.
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Building on studies from Kemp Malone (1941), Andreas Haarder (1965, 1998), Tom Shippey (1998), S.A.J. Bradley (2004), and M.B. Busbee (2010), among others, the paper will argue that: 1) Grundtvig and Tolkien share an empathic self-identification with the unknown ‘Beowulf’-poet and; 2) that their identifications can be read as individual responses to the concept of the original and spontaneous genius within Romantic aestheticism. With this comparative perspective, the paper aims to discuss Tolkien’s ‘Beowulf’ scholarship in a Romantic, Anglo-Danish context.
Tracing the Echo of the Romantic Poet in Tolkien’s ‘Beowulf’
Lecture by Lea Grosen Jørgensen
Given for the Tolkien Society on July 6, 2024
Abstract: Both scholars and fans of J.R.R. Tolkien’s authorship generally agree that the medieval poem ‘Beowulf’ was essential for his studies in Old English literature and his creation of Middle-earth. Today, his famous essay “Beowulf: The Monsters and the Critics” (1936) is considered a milestone within ‘Beowulf’ studies. Yet not many scholars have examined whether Tolkien’s ‘Beowulf’ criticism carries over any of the Romanticism that fueled the initial reception of the poem at the turn of the 19th century.
This paper will explore this aspect of Tolkien by first presenting the key differences and similarities between his ‘Beowulf’ studies and those from the first full translations of the poem by G.J. Thorkelin (1815), N.F.S. Grundtvig (1820), and J.M. Kemble (1837). To enhance its focus, the paper will trace Tolkien’s possible Romanticism through a Danish lens as many of the first studies of ‘Beowulf’ were initiated by Danish antiquarians due to the poem’s Scandinavian subject matter. One of the biggest pioneers was the pastor, historian, and poet Grundtvig. His ‘Beowulf’ studies will be thoroughly compared to Tolkien’s in the paper’s analysis, as both authors partly respected and partly rejected certain aspects of Romanticism.
Building on studies from Kemp Malone (1941), Andreas Haarder (1965, 1998), Tom Shippey (1998), S.A.J. Bradley (2004), and M.B. Busbee (2010), among others, the paper will argue that: 1) Grundtvig and Tolkien share an empathic self-identification with the unknown ‘Beowulf’-poet and; 2) that their identifications can be read as individual responses to the concept of the original and spontaneous genius within Romantic aestheticism. With this comparative perspective, the paper aims to discuss Tolkien’s ‘Beowulf’ scholarship in a Romantic, Anglo-Danish context.
Lea Grosen Jørgensen is a member of Aarhus University. Click here to view her Academia.edu page.
See also the online course: Tolkien and his Medieval Sources
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