“Mythopoeia” was inspired by the 19 September 1931 conversation in which Tolkien and Dyson convinced Lewis that the Christian story is a myth that “really happened.” Tolkien uses this poem to describe many of the specific themes they discussed that evening. He uses many of the exact same phrases as well. This conversation changed the course of Lewis’s life. It also clarified and solidified Tolkien’s concept of sub-creation, his conviction that human creativity is a reflection of the Divine. This poem contains his most eloquent expression of this concept:
