Myth, Allegory, and Gospel: An Interpretation of J.R.R. Tolkien, C.S. Lewis, G.K. Chesterton, Charles Williams

by Edmund Fuller, John Warwick Montgomery

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Genres: Nonfiction, Religion, Literature

159 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1974

Reviews

[Skrivena stranica · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ako dobro shvaćam, ovo su članci nastali u vrijeme kad su ovi autori stvarali i oni za mene nose posebnu težinu jer su u istom duhu vremena. Drugi je problem što su prvi pa često ne idu u preduboke analize i oklijevaju s davanjem nekih procjena.

[Kris · Rating 3 out of 5]

More discussion-based, and a little scattered. But of course, that's not surprising with an anthology. This originated as a series of lectures given 1969-1970 at DePaul University. With authors like Dr. Montgomery and Chad Walsh, it's exciting to hear from men who knew Lewis and Tolkien directly, writing only shortly after Lewis's death (1963) or before Tolkien's death (1973). There's nothing ground-breaking here, but these men clearly understand Lewis, Tolkien, and Williams well, and I pulled out some good quotes.

A note on typesetting:
Unrelated to the content of the book itself, I have to note down some peculiarities of this book's printing. There are no verso and recto pages (all page numbers are on the left side). Extra spaces lie between each paragraph (though I suppose that's not so uncommon in older books). Plus all titles that would normally be in italics are placed in boldface. Did the printing press they used in 1974 not have italic typeface?
In a few places I noticed typos ("Goesham" instead of "Gresham" or the missing s after "Williams's"). There are cool little tidbits like a photocopy of Lewis's letter to Montgomery at the back, but also a random essay by Montgomery in French, left untranslated.

Table of Contents

Introduction: The Apologists of Eucatastrophe
by John Warwick Montgomery

Chesterton, Madmen, and Madhouses
by Russel Kirk

Charles Williams' Novels and the Contemporary Mutation of Consciousness
by Chad Walsh

After the Moon Landings: A Further Report on the Christian Spaceman C. S. Lewis
by Edmund Fuller

The Chronicles of Narnia and the Adolescent Reader
by John Warwick Montgomery

Mythic and Christina Elements in Tolkien
by Clyde S. Kilby

Appendices
Unpublished Letter from C. S. Lewis to the Editor on His Narnian Article
Revue Critique. The Christian World of C. S. Lewis, par Clyde S. Kilby, by John Warwick Montgomery
The Contributors
Index

Older Lewis works in the context of this book:
A Well of Wonder: C. S. Lewis, J. R. R. Tolkien, and The Inklings
C. S. Lewis: apostle to the skeptics
Light on C. S. Lewis
The Christian World of C.S. Lewis,
Shadows of Imagination: The Fantasies of C.S. Lewis, J.R.R. Tolkien and Charles Williams
C. S. Lewis, Speaker And Teacher

Some favorite quotes from this book:

"The demythologizers have peeled away at the onion of objective Christian truth, claiming that if one can just get rid of the layers of miraculous symbolism created by a prescientific age, the 'self-authenticating,' existential heart of the Christian faith will be revealed in its purity to modern man. But secular man observes the process with little more than amusement, since as the 'layers' of Incarnation, Virgin Birth, and Resurrection are discarded, nothing whatever of the Christian basis seems to be left, and the secularist has every reason to wonder if 'existential self-authentication' is not the product of theological self0hypnosis -- Wish fulfillment writ large, in which one thinks he can have the cake of Christian hope while at the same time masticating it with the teeth of rationalistic biblical criticism."
("Introduction: The Apologists of Eucatastrophe" by Montgomery, pg 18-19.)

“…the messages and morals in his fictions… are more effectively communicated eve than in his admirable didactic books. I think that long after such an excellent book as Mere Christianity is forgotten… that the Silent Planet trilogy, The Screwtape Letters, The Great Divorce, and his many other fantastic fictions…. Will be read and will continue to expound classical, orthodox Christian doctrine to minds that would never approach it, or open themselves to it, or understand it, in more formally didactic terms.” (“After the Moon Landings: A Further Report on the Christian Spaceman C. S. Lewis” by Fuller, pg 90-91)

“The call of conscience toward perfect goodness is a mythic call lying beyond the best possible set of rules and regulations. Systematic philosophy and systematic theology are no more than statemental pointers, dry bran, beside the reality toward which they point.” (“Mythic and Christian Elements in Tolkien” by Clyde S. Kilby, pg 123)

“Myth is the dull name of a way of seeing, a way of knowing in depth, a way of experiencing – a way that in being disinterested contains the freedom of unending and vital interest…. Lewis points out that enchanted trees give all ordinary trees a measure of enchantment. Myth is vision.” (“Mythic and Christian Elements in Tolkien” by Clyde S. Kilby, pg 122)

[. · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Bilbo was meant to find the Ring. In which case you also were meant to have it."

~

A book which explores how mythopoeic and religious themes are treated by Tolkien, Lewis, Chesterton and Williams; Chesterton being the most open in his defense of orthodoxy while Tolkein being the least explicit in his use of a religious substructure.

"... the most moving point of the story for [Tolkien] is when Gollum repents and tries to caress Frodo and he is interfered with by Sam. The tragedy is that the good people so often upset the not-so-good people when they try to repent and it's a tragic moment."

What these four authors perhaps have in common is an intentional choice of time-tested subject matter, the burden of originality is lifted from their shoulders; they choose instead to pummel the depth of an existing heritage (or, as some would call it, a revealed knowledge), and finding within material more than plentiful enough to confront all our current human and societal concerns

"Lewis points out that enchanted trees give all ordinary trees a measure of enchantment. Myth is vision."

[Kim · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was gifted this book by a man in my Sunday School class after we were discussing our love for C.S. Lewis. I did not find this an easy read but was immediately drawn in and fascinated by the use of the terminology, “eucastrophe.” I loved the discussion, in the last chapter, of The Lord of the Rings, and learned about the writings of G.K. Chesterton, being fascinated enough to read one of his books.

[Ashley · Rating 5 out of 5]

Interesting, makes me like Lewis

[Bob Wolniak · Rating 3 out of 5]

Essays on Lewis' Space Trilogy and Narnia Chronicles, Tolkein's Lord of the Rings, Chesterton's madmen and Charles Williams--th.e author's of eucatastrophe

[Nathan Moelker · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thought provoking analysis of these four others (All of whom I love) and an explication of the Christianity central to their work.

[Lyf · Rating 4 out of 5]

a fantastic collection of recorded lectures on 4 of my favorite authors.