A Sense of History: 1936

How do you make sense of the future? In 1936, Tolkien delivered his pivotal address "Beowulf: The Monsters and the Critics," and there would have been much thinking—and worrying—about the future.

In this month's column for A Sense of History, Simon J. Cook goes back to 1936, when Tolkien delivered "Monsters" (and was in the midst of significant work on the "Silmarillion" materials), to consider how he used imagination to plumb the past for clues to the courage that would allow him to face the future. From our vantage point in 1936, we see World War II looming large on the horizon—and also know that this war will end victoriously, on the side of right, although at great cost.

But from Tolkien's vantage point within 1936, there were stirrings of war but no certainty of victory. Simon makes the case that "Monsters and the Critics" describes looking to the past to answer the question of not how to win the coming fight but: How does a person bear up when the metaphorical dragon comes?

You can read Simon's article "1936" here.

Posted on 11 August 2023 (updated 8 September 2023) by SWG Moderators