Page "Beowulf" Paragraph 6

Jane Chance ( Professor of English, Rice University ) in her 1980 article " The Structural Unity of Beowulf: The Problem of Grendel's Mother " argued that there are two standard interpretations of the poem: one view which suggests a two-part structure ( i. e., the poem is divided between Beowulf's battles with Grendel and with the dragon ) and the other, a three-part structure ( this interpretation argues that Beowulf's battle with Grendel's mother is structurally separate from his battle with Grendel ).

Chance stated that, " this view of the structure as two-part has generally prevailed since its inception in J. R. R.

Tolkien's Beowulf: The Monsters and the Critics in Proceedings of the British Academy 22 ( 1936 ).

" In contrast, she argued that the three-part structure has become " increasingly popular.