Beowulf: The Monsters and the Critics of the hero by accepting Grendel and the dragon." In Tolkien's view, the poem is essentially about a "man at war with the hostile world, and his inevitable overthrow in Time". The underlying tragedy is man's brief mortal life. Grendel and the dragon are identified as enemies of a Christian God, unlike the monsters encountered by Odysseus on his travels. What had happened is that Northern courage, exultant, defiant in the face of inevitable defeat by "Chaos and Unreason" (Tolkien cites Ker's words), fuses with a Christian faith and outlook. The "Beowulf" poet uses both what he knew to be
Wayland the Smith Wayland the Smith In Germanic mythology, Wayland the Smith (; ; ; "Galans" ("Galant") in Old French; ; from "", lit. "battle-brave") is a legendary master blacksmith, described by Jessie Weston as "the weird and malicious craftsman, Weyland". In Old Norse sources, Völundr appears in "Völundarkviða", a poem in the "Poetic Edda", and in Þiðreks saga, and his legend is also depicted on Ardre image stone VIII. In Old English sources, he appears in "Deor", "Waldere" and in "Beowulf" and the legend is depicted on the Franks Casket. He is mentioned in the German poems about Theoderic the Great as