Page "The Hobbit" Paragraph 11

The Hobbit can be seen as a creative exposition of Tolkien's theoretical and academic work.

Themes found in early English literature, and specifically in the poem Beowulf, have a heavy presence in defining the ancient world Bilbo stepped into.

Tolkien, an accomplished Beowulf scholar, claims the poem to be among his " most valued sources " in writing The Hobbit.

Tolkien is credited with being the first critic to expound on Beowulf as a literary work with value beyond merely historical, and his 1936 lecture Beowulf: the Monsters and the Critics is still required reading for students of Anglo-Saxon.

The Beowulf poem contains several elements that Tolkien borrowed for The Hobbit, including a monstrous, intelligent dragon.

Certain descriptions in The Hobbit seem to have been lifted straight out of Beowulf with some minor rewording, such as when each dragon stretches out its neck to sniff for intruders.

Likewise, Tolkien's descriptions of the lair as accessed through a secret passage mirror those in Beowulf.

Tolkien refines parts of Beowulf plot that he appears to have found less than satisfactorily described, such as details about the cup-thief and the dragon's intellect and personality.