The Discarded Image: I. A Bookish Cosmology A. The medieval mind was one which represented a literate culture which had lost most of its books. Consequently, they had to make do with what few books they had. This meant that they were not quick to set their books at odds with one another. B. The …
Great Divorce
The Great Divorce: I. The Scenario A. A number of shades in Hell are standing in line, waiting for a bus, which will in turn take them up to the heavenly regions. They are met by various heavenly spirits, and the book regards the conversations between the potentially damned and the blessed. B. The conclusion …
The Silver Chair
The Silver Chair: I. The Scenario A. The Silver Chair is the sixth of seven stories popularly called the Narnia Chronicles. The stories generally have a lot more in them than is commonly assumed. B. In this story, two children from our world-Jill and Eustace-are taken into another world, and are given the task of …
Pale Madness
Wisdom forsaken and folly embraced, Folly conceives and bears idiot children, Stubborn in creed and in mulish confession, They cling to the death of their civilization. Staggering, falling and groping through dark, Her poets and sages and pundits declare Freedom as glory and freedom as nothing, Freedom as goodness, whatever that is. Wombs are a …
Descent
Descending out of heaven Into Minneapolis, I saw outside the plane A hard, bright autumn. Far below, a parking lot, Crammed with automobiles, Flared with momentary glory Like Hopkins’ shook foil.
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Reconciliation
Something glittered in the sandy bank. Gull circled noisily, but no one else was there. More than a breeze was off the bay, But the clouds were motionless, Unaware of the bite below. Scattered reeds bent back toward the cottages, The early sunlight was bitter still. Sand behind me, forgotten miles, The sand in front …
Overview of Tolkien’s Life
Lecture 1: Overview of Tolkien’s Life Introduction: Tolkien had a problem, along with Lewis, and as we should, with sentences that begin like this. But he also had a problem with people who tried to understand works of literature as simple extension of biography. At the same time, we cannot simply dismiss the outline of …
Tolkien and Lewis
Lecture 2: Tolkien and Lewis Introduction: Without a doubt, Lewis was Tolkien’s closest friend over the course of his lifetime. When they met, neither were strangers to the world of close emotional and intellectual friendships, but at the same time, they were particularly suited to one another. Because of this, we can learn a great …
Myth and Reality
Lecture 3: Myth and Reality  Introduction: Both Lewis and Tolkien have been greatly misunderstood because people have assumed that they know what the men were attempting to do. But if you put a work of fiction into the wrong category, a lot of confusion can result, and in this case, has. The Problem of Allegory: …
Northernness
Lecture 4: Northernness Northernness: C.S. Lewis described this as a longing or Sehnsucht (Surprised by Joy, p. 7) – as he develops it, it should be understood as a creaturely longing for eternity. Considered from another angle it is autumn as an idea (p. 16). A third term for it is northernness, and this may …