Editing J. R. R. Tolkien (section)

==== ''Beowulf'' ====
{{further|Beowulf: A Translation and Commentary|On Translating Beowulf}}

In the 1920s, Tolkien undertook a translation of ''[[Beowulf]]'', which he finished in 1926, but did not publish. It was later edited by his son Christopher and published in 2014.<ref>{{cite magazine |last=Acocella |first=Joan |date=2 June 2014 |title=Slaying Monsters: Tolkien's 'Beowulf' |url=https://www.newyorker.com/arts/critics/books/2014/06/02/140602crbo_books_acocella?currentPage=all |url-status=live |magazine=[[The New Yorker]] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140530222018/http://www.newyorker.com/arts/critics/books/2014/06/02/140602crbo_books_acocella?currentPage=all |archive-date=30 May 2014}}</ref>

Ten years after finishing his translation, Tolkien gave a highly acclaimed lecture on the work, "[[Beowulf: The Monsters and the Critics|''Beowulf'': The Monsters and the Critics]]", which had a lasting influence on ''Beowulf'' research.<ref>{{harvnb|Carpenter|1977|p=143}}</ref> Lewis E. Nicholson said that the article is "widely recognized as a turning point in Beowulfian criticism", noting that Tolkien established the primacy of the poetic nature of the work as opposed to its purely linguistic elements.<ref>{{cite web |last=Ramey |first=Bill |date=30 March 1998 |title=The Unity of Beowulf: Tolkien and the Critics |url=http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/billramey/beowulf.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060421094854/http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/billramey/beowulf.htm |archive-date=21 April 2006 |website=Wisdom's Children}}</ref> At the time, the consensus of scholarship deprecated ''Beowulf'' for dealing with childish battles with monsters rather than realistic tribal warfare; Tolkien argued that the author of ''Beowulf'' was addressing human destiny in general, not as limited by particular tribal politics, and therefore the monsters were essential to the poem.<ref>Tolkien: ''[[Finn and Hengest]]''. Chiefly, p.4 in the Introduction by [[Alan Bliss]].</ref> Where ''Beowulf'' does deal with specific tribal struggles, as at [[Finnsburg]], Tolkien argued firmly against reading in fantastic elements.<ref>Tolkien: ''[[Finn and Hengest]]'', the discussion of ''Eotena'', ''passim''.</ref> In the essay, Tolkien revealed how highly he regarded ''Beowulf'': "''Beowulf'' is among my most valued sources"; [[Beowulf and Middle-earth|this influence may be seen]] throughout his [[Middle-earth]] [[Tolkien's legendarium|legendarium]].<ref>{{cite web |last=Kennedy |first=Michael |year=2001 |title=Tolkien and Beowulf&nbsp;– Warriors of Middle-earth |url=http://www.triode.net.au/~dragon/tilkal/issue1/beowulf.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060509110607/http://www.triode.net.au/~dragon/tilkal/issue1/beowulf.html |archive-date=9 May 2006 |website=Amon Hen}}</ref>

According to [[Humphrey Carpenter]], Tolkien began his series of lectures on ''Beowulf'' in a most striking way, entering the room silently, fixing the audience with a look, and suddenly declaiming in Old English the opening lines of the poem, starting "with a great cry of ''[[wikt:hwæt|Hwæt]]!''" It was a dramatic impersonation of an Anglo-Saxon bard in a mead hall, and it made the students realize that ''Beowulf'' was not just a set text but "a powerful piece of dramatic poetry".<ref name="Biog p133">{{harvnb|Carpenter|1977|p=133}}</ref> Decades later, [[W. H. Auden]] wrote to his former professor, thanking him for the "unforgettable experience" of hearing him recite ''Beowulf'', and stating: "The voice was the voice of [[Gandalf]]".<ref name="Biog p133" />