Tolkien's Criticisms

Qualifications of Tolkien

Tolkien’s qualifications as a critic for the writing of the Middle Ages include his extensive education in philology and mastery of many languages: “Tolkien’s central field of study was, naturally, Old and Middle English, roughly speaking the forms of English which date from 700 AD to 1000 (Old) and 1000 to 1500 (Middle)…Closely linked to these languages, however, was Old Norse” (Shippey, J. R. R. xii).  In addition his position as professor of Anglo-Saxon at Oxford, a lifelong fascination with and study of ancient mythology fueled an intellect ideally suited for the work.  His studies in philology convinced Tolkien that “In philology, literary and linguistic study are indissoluble” (Shippey, J. R. R. xii).  Long years of teaching and studying led Tolkien to believe “that languages could be intrinsically attractive or intrinsically repulsive” (Shippey, J. R. R. xiv).  The sound of a language or word greatly affects the meaning of a literary work.  Years of reading the ancient languages out loud tuned Tolkien’s ear to decipher meaning from inflection: “The point, or a point, is made by the sound alone – just as allusions to the old legends of previous ages say something without the legends necessarily being told” (Shippey, J. R. R. xiv).  Tolkien once stated  “that the only ‘truth’ is to be found in literature” (Carpenter 115).  This illustrates that along with his education and experience, he held a profound love of the written word and ancient texts and a belief in their relevance to life.

Motivation for Criticism of Beowulf

Tolkien’s motivation for his extensive criticism of Beowulf stems from his love for the text and from his firm belief that the poem deserved better treatment than it received from past critics, and he believed himself more qualified than they to understand the work.  He objected to the critics calling Beowulf  “an historical document” and the fact that only “as an historical document [has it] mainly been examined and dissected” (Fry 9).  Tolkien believed the critics did a poor job on Beowulf; their criticism was not “directed to the understanding of a poem as a poem.  It has been said of Beowulf itself that its weakness lies in placing the unimportant things at the centre and the important on the outer edges” (Fry 8).  But Tolkien thought them incapable of grasping the big picture presented by the text and too focused only on the historical aspects of the work.

According to Tolkien: “Such judgment on Beowulf is false.  So far from being a poem so poor that only its accidental historical interest can still recommend it, Beowulf is in fact so interesting as poetry, in places poetry so powerful, that this quite overshadows the historical content…one of the peculiar poetic virtues of Beowulf that has contributed to its own critical misfortune” is “the illusion of historical truth and perspective…[this] is largely a product of art.  The author has used an instinctive historical sense…but he used it with a poetical and not an historical object” (Fry 10,11).  Past critics erred in their evaluation of Beowulf partly because they insisted upon reading it in a translated form.

“If one looks at Tolkien’s remarks about the Beowulf critics, one can see that the thing he found worst about them was their monoglottery: they seemed able to read only one language…they were quite incapable of reading ancient texts, ancient English texts, with anything like the degree of detailed verbal insight that was required” (Shippey 3,4).

In Tolkien’s mind full understanding of a literary work came only from full comprehension of that work in its original language.  Tolkien’s gifts in ancient languages met that requirement.

Tolkien's Allegory About The Critics Reactions to Beowulf

A man inherited a field in which was an accumulation of old stone, part of an older hall.  Of the old stone some had already been used in building the house in which he actually lived, not far from the old house of his fathers.  Of the rest he took some and built a tower.  But his friends coming perceived at once (without troubling to climb the steps) that these stones had formerly belonged to a more ancient building.  So they pushed the tower over, with no little labour, in order to look for hidden carvings and inscriptions, or to discover whence the man’s distant forefathers had obtained their building material…They all said: “This tower is most interesting.” But they also said (after pushing it over): “What a muddle it is in!”  And even the man’s own descendants, who might have been expected to consider what he had been about, were heard to murmur:  “He is such an odd fellow!”…But from the top of that tower the man had been able to look out upon the sea. (Fry 11)

Tolkien on Sir Gawain and the Green Knight

J.R.R. Tolkien recognized the responsibility the artist held to create worlds in which characters could interact.  He also recognized that poets of the Middle Ages were conscious of this too.  Tolkien brought this new train of thought to the literary world of the twentieth century.  Before Tolkien, most scholars looked at Anglo-Saxon poetry as historical document, not literary text (Rubey 579).

In the story of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight we get to experience the expertise of the poets of the Middle Ages and their ability to slip us into another world.  In his article "Meeting Morgan le Fay: J.R.R. Tolkien's Theory of Subcreation and the Secondary World of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight", C.M. Adderley tells us that the author of Sir Gawain is "responsible for fashioning worlds in which...stories can take place".  The poet does this by not only allowing us to experience a new geographical world but also by effectively taking us into the moral, spiritual, and religious relations of Sir Gawain (Adderley 49).  The poet created a world for us inside our own world.

These other worlds are what Tolkien described as "Secondary Belief", an act of creation one consciously takes up.  Adderley  states that Tolkien believes "if an author is subcreating the secondary world effectively, belief will occur and no act of suspension is needed" (Adderley 49).  This stood in contrast to the school of thought introduced by Samuel Taylor Coleridge; he believed the poet placed the reader in a "willing suspension of disbelief".  Tolkien argued no suspension was necessary when the poet had mastered his skill.  The author "makes a Secondary World which your mind can enter.  Inside it, what he relates is 'true': it accords with the laws of that world.  You therefore believe it, while you are inside" (49).  The poet did this in Sir Gawain and this is why Tolkien argued it qualifies as a literary text.

Beowulf Text  Guide To Electronic Beowulf  Bad Beowulf  Beowulf Readings 

Sir Gawain and the Green Knight

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