At an unknown date, J.R.R. Tolkien wrote a letter to Bruce Mitchell.[1]
- Subject: Discussion of Beowulf.
- Publication: A short extract from the letter first appeared in Kevin Crossley-Holland's 1968 translation of Beowulf. Longer extracts were published in Bruce Mitchell's book On Old English: Selected Papers.
Extract
'I think we fail to grasp imaginatively the pagan "heroic" temper, the almost animal pride and ferocity of "nobles" and champions on the one hand; or on the other the immense relief and hope of Christian ethical teaching amidst a world with savage values.'
References
- ↑ "On Old English. 1988", TolkienBooks.net, accessed 21 January 2012