“The real objection to a merely hedonistic theory of literature, or of the arts in general, is that ‘pleasure’ is a very high, and therefore very empty, abstraction. It denotes too many things and connotes too little. If you tell me that something is a pleasure, I do not know whether it is more like …
Good Will on the First Page
“There is no work in which holes can’t be picked; no work that can succeed without a preliminary act of good will on the part of the reader” (C.S. Lewis, An Experiment in Criticism, p. 116).
Love for Aslan
One of the great things about the Narnia stories is their very personal nature. That is, all through the books, the person of Aslan ties everything together. Not only is he the object of the loyalty and love of all true Narnians, it is a personal dislike of him that characterizes those who are bad. …
Aesthetic Vulnerability
“We must risk being taken in, if we are to get anything. The best safeguard against bad literature is a full experience of good; just as a real and affectionate acquaintance with honest people gives a better protection against rogues than a habitual distrust of everyone” (C.S. Lewis, An Experiment in Criticism, p. 94).
Art Is Not A Tupperware Container for Truth
“It is this omnipresent flavour of feel that makes bad inventions so mawkish and suffocating, and good ones so tonic. The good ones allow us temporarily to share a sort of passionate sanity. And we may also—which is less important—expect to find in them many psychological truths and profound, at least profoundly felt, reflections. But …
Not the Best Idea, Really
“Modern evangelicals in our culture have gotten money, power, and influence, and it has been like giving whiskey to a two-year-old” (Mother Kirk, p. 21).
Trying to Get Marriage Right
In case you were interested, the new book on marriage is now in.
Narnian Grace
One of the important lessons we learn in Narnia is not just that Aslan is like Christ (and that we are like the people in Narnia who serve and worship him). We also learn the nature of the relationship between Aslan and his servants. The best way to describe this relationship is that of grace. …
Literary “Realism” Mistaken for an Argument
“Authors, restrained by our laws against obscenity—rather silly laws, it may be—from using half a dozen monosyllables, felt as if they were martyrs of science, like Galileo. To the objection ‘This is obscene’ or “This is depraved’, or even to the more critically relevant objection ‘This is uninteresting’, the reply ‘This occurs in real life’ …
And Many Probably Should
We all know that it is not fitting for any length of time to go by in these parts without somebody bringing out old charges against me. Try to think of these charges as an order of refried beans in a cheap dive of a Mexican restaurant, meaning that the refrying actually took place about …