Editing J. R. R. Tolkien (section)

==== "''Beowulf'': The Monsters and the Critics" ====
{{Main|Beowulf: The Monsters and the Critics}}

In addition to writing fiction, Tolkien was an author of academic literary criticism. His seminal 1936 lecture, later published as an article, revolutionized the treatment of the Anglo-Saxon epic ''[[Beowulf]]'' by literary critics. The essay remains highly influential in the study of Old English literature to this day.<ref name="Niles">{{cite book |last=Niles |first=John D. |title=A ''Beowulf'' Handbook |date=1998 |publisher=University of Nebraska Press |isbn=0-8032-6150-0 |editor-last=Bjork |editor-first=Robert E. |editor-link=John D. Niles |location=Lincoln, Nebraska |page=5 |chapter=''Beowulf'', Truth, and Meaning |quote=Bypassing earlier scholarship, critics of the past fifty years have generally traced the current era of ''Beowulf'' studies back to 1936 [and Tolkien's essay]. |author-link=John Niles (scholar) |editor-last2=Niles |editor-first2=John D.}}</ref> ''Beowulf'' is one of the [[Beowulf in Middle-earth|most significant influences upon Tolkien's later fiction]], with major details of both ''The Hobbit'' and ''The Lord of the Rings'' being adapted from the poem.<ref>{{harvnb|Shippey|2005|pp=66–74}}</ref>