Class on CS Lewis and JRR Tolkien

[dreamflower]

I've been working on an outline for a class on Christian themes in the works of JRRT and CSL. I will be teaching it at my church for 5 weeks starting in September, and it will mostly be to people who have only a passing acquaintance with their work--possibly never having read LotR or the Narnia books, but only having seen the movies. I am hoping that my little class may spark some interest in both writers by some of the people who attend it.

I have decided to emphasize their fictional work, using their non-fictional work only as a reference to illuminate their fiction. So far my outline is a bit top-heavy on the Tolkien part. I'd like to also include some ideas from some of Lewis' other fiction. But I am trying to think of how to fit these themes into Till We Have Faces and The Screwtape Letters. I am including some things from the Narnia books and the Space Trilogy and The Great Divorce

I have a number of books about both Tolkien and Lewis, as well as access to some from a good library, and will be preparing a bibliography. I'd welcome suggestions for resource books--if you suggest something I'm already considering that's not a problem, as it will indicate to me that I'm on the right track, but I'd love to find some other books as well, while I have time to track them down. (I do have biographies of both men, as well as access to an excellent book about their friendship with one another.) The class starts Sept. 10.

Each major heading indicates that week's topic.

Christian Themes in the Worlds of J.R.R. Tolkien and C.S. Lewis

Introduction

I. J.R.R. Tolkien

A. Birth and Childhood

B. School

C. Marriage

D. War

E. Scholastic Career

F. Literary Career

II. C.S. Lewis

A. Birth and Childhood

B. School

C. War

D. Scholastic Career

E. Literary Career

F. Marriage

III. Their friendship

A. Meeting

B. CSL’s conversion

C. The Inklings

D. Influence on one another

E. Later years

1. Supposed estrangement

2. Last thoughts

Creation

I. The importance of creation and “sub-creation”

A. The Silmarillion

B. On Fairy Stories and Leaf by Niggle

C.

II. Song and music as a common denominator

A. Arda

B. Narnia

III. “Angelic” powers in Arda and in CSL’s “Space Trilogy”

A. Eru and the Valar

B. Aslan and the lamp-post

Love

I. Love in Tolkien’s worlds

A. Friendship and family

B. Romantic devotion

C. Fealty and allegiance

D. Love thy neighbor--Leaf by Niggle

II. Love in Lewis’ worlds

A. Brotherly (and sisterly) in Narnia

B. Courtly love as an allegory for heavenly love in Perelandra

C. Romantic devotion as an allegory for the Church as the Bride of Christ in That Hideous Strength

D. Allegiance and love and Aslan

Providence

I. The role of Providence in Tolkien's worlds

A. “Chance if chance you call it”

B. Beren and Luthí en

C. Bilbo

D. Frodo and Gollum

E. Eagles

II. The role of Providence in Lewis’ worlds

A. Narnia and the Wardrobe

B. Ransom and his travels

C.

Grace

I. Grace, Mercy and Pity in Lord of the Rings

II. Grace and Love in The Silmarillion

III. Grace and Charity in Leaf by Niggle

IV. Grace and Forgiveness in Narnia

V. Grace and the call to action in Perelandra

VI. Grace and free will in The Great Divorce

Comments

[baranduin.livejournal.com]

This sounds wonderful!

As far as books to suggest ... anything by Verlyn Flieger and especially Splintered Light.

[dreamflower]

I've heard about Splintered Light! I'll put it on my ILL list!

[febobe.livejournal.com]

I would love to be there to be one of your students! :D

*snugs in awe at your outline*

[dreamflower]

Well, I would love it too, because that means I'd get to meet you!

[elandulin.livejournal.com]

Looks fascinating, Barbara! Maybe you can post your handouts so we can follow along?? :)

I notice you refer to the "supposed estrangement" of Tolkien and Lewis. How are you approaching this? And will you include Tolkien's comments with regard to Lewis' "Christian apologeia"? I can't remember where I found this, though I know some of it must be in Letters. Certainly his deep feelings on Lewis' death are recorded there ("an axe-blow near the roots...").

Issue 78 (sometime in 2002 of Christian History Magazine was devoted to Tolkien and had some great stuff in it, including an article entitled "Tollers and Jack" which might be helpful to you. Maybe you could dig this out at the library. I rather expect they must have done an issue on Lewis, as well.

[dreamflower]

Maybe I will!

I am going to rely heavily on a book I read last fall, "Tolkien and C.S. Lewis: The Gift of Friendship" by Colin Duriez. He feels that while they were not as close in later years, Humphrey Carpenter overstated the extent of it, and he gives several good reasons. But mostly, I think of the subdued grief to be seen in JRRT's Letters at the time of CSL's death. (As you quoted!) I am sure that they often disagreed strongly on things, but I can't see it causing a true estrangement.

I'll have to see if I can get hold of that magazine!

[elandulin.livejournal.com]

The article I mentioned is also by Colin Duriez!

:)

[windsingerbard.livejournal.com]

It's only been published about five years, so I don't know how widespread knowlege of it is.

But I highly recommend: "Tolkien and C.S. Lewis: The Gift of Friendship" by Colin Duriez

Seriously, I thought I knew all there was to know about these two quirky old men. o_0 The book shed light under some rocks even *I* didn't know existed.

[dreamflower]

I read that book last fall, and loved it. It's going to form the basis of a lot of my introductory material. I think the author did a splendid job in showing the depths of their friendship.

*grin* They were quirky, weren't they? Eccentric, even just a little neurotic. But they didn't let that stop them...

[rhyselle.livejournal.com]

While you may not want to use them specifically as references in your classes, there is mention of Tolkien and the Narnia books and the Mars trilogy in the letters found in YOURS, JACK, Lewis' collection of letters regarding spiritual matters. I borrowed it from my county library and have been reading it for about four weeks (I might have to renew it as I'm still not done with it!), and I'm enjoying it thoroughly as a window into his life and works.

Maybe some of these letters might inspire some ideas for you. I recall one I read in which he discussed the publication of "The Great Divorce" in serial form for the GUARDIAN newspaper.

Good luck with your classes! I'd love to be one of your students. :)

[dreamflower]

I will see about putting that one on my ILL list! It sounds very interesting!

*grin* It should be interesting--it would be great to have some of my flist there--I have a feeling many of those attending are going to be new to JRRT and CSL.

[surgicalsteel.livejournal.com]

How very very cool!

[dreamflower]

*grin* It is, isn't it? An excuse to talk about two of my favorite writers!

[slightlytookish]

Can I take your class? It sounds great!

The only book I can suggest is Tolkien's Letters. I remember he spoke of Lewis and their rift.

[dreamflower]

My copy of Letters is so dog-eared! It will be a major resource!

[mumstheword54.livejournal.com]

Wow! You've already done a lot of work on your series!

"Coincidentally," I was just looking through InterVarsity Press's newest catalog and found this title (which obviously I haven't read yet):
Conversations with C. S. Lewis, by Robert Velarde
ISBN 978-0-8308-3483-9
"Imagine if you could walk with CSL through his life. What would he say? What would you see? Robert Velarde's new book takes you on just such an imaginative trip with the Oxford don who reveals pivotal events from his fascinating life and unpacks the principal theological ideas that matter most to him."

I definitely recommend Mere Christianity as a non-fiction resource -- one of the best "apologetics for the average man" books ever written, and actually taken from a series of CSL's BBC broadcasts 'way back when (maybe during WWII).

Rosie, who is a Tolkien/Lewis specialist, has said she'll gladly help you with a list of other resources. We're also both very willing to hitch a ride to YourTown to sit in on the series beta-read for you.


*squee, high-fives, and big hugs*

[dreamflower]

Ooh! I'll put that on my ILL list! I'm going to have quite a list for the library next time I go!

Mere Christianity is probably the book that nailed my own conversion--though Perelandra was what brought me to it!

*grin* Don't think for a minute I would not *LOVE* to have you here!!!!!

[shirebound]

Wow, I'm excited for you... and your lucky students!

[dreamflower]

I think it's going to be a lot of fun!!

[ramblin_rosie]

Here at Mum's suggestion, and thoroughly jealous! :D
This comment is something of a brain dump, but it will definitely not be comprehensive; there's a ton of secondary literature I haven't read and it's late and I have a headache on top of being braindead from prelims. Mythlore, of course, is the premiere journal, from the Mythopoeic Society; there's also Mallorn and Seven. I think there are several Tolkien societies, but the main one for Lewis (AFAIK) is the C. S. Lewis Foundation--and you may be interested in trying to organize a group to go to the Southwest Regional Retreat in Navasota this fall!

Authors:
Joseph Pearce
Louis Markos (Lewis Agonistes)
Ralph C. Wood (The Gospel According to Tolkien; you might search the Westminster John Knox site to see if there's a book on Lewis in that series)
Harry L. Poe
Jerry Root (especially helpful might be The Quotable Lewis, a collation of quotes from all his published works)
Douglas Gresham (Lenten Lands, Jack's Life)
Bradley J. Birzer
Tom Shippey
Alan Jacobs (The Narnian; you might also try to find his interview on Mars Hill Audio--from Fall 05, I think--for further insights)
Fleming Rutledge
Michael Ward (although Gresham thinks his latest book is all wet)

I can't remember if Walter Hooper has written anything. I also suggest the "Finding God In" series by Focus on the Family for verrrrry introductory material. Reading the Classics with C. S. Lewis might or might not be useful.

Primary nonfiction: On Stories and Other Essays is probably the best collection of works on CSL's views about writing, and An Experiment in Criticism for his views on reading. The Discarded Image is preferable to The Allegory of Love. The Monsters and the Critics has some fun stuff in it, and you may want to assign an edition of Tree and Leaf that includes "Mythopoeia" to discuss with "On Fairy-Stories." And I'm sure you know about how Tolkien responded to the Space Trilogy in "The Notion Club Papers."

If you think you'll need to bring in anything by the rest of the Seven: George MacDonald's views on imagination are in two essays in A Dish of Orts, Dorothy Sayers' (as you probably know) in The Mind of the Maker. Owen Barfield wrote a very interesting retrospective titled (IIRC) Owen Barfield on C. S. Lewis. There's a collection of essays by Charles Williams that might tie in with That Hideous Strength, but I've forgotten the title and the editor. GKC's first major impact on CSL was through The Everlasting Man, but that's a huge book; there might be something more useful in Orthodoxy or some of his fiction. The American Chesterton Society website would be a starting place.

For further insights on Tolkien's more Thomist views of imagination, you might look at Art and Scholasticism by Jacques Maritain and Mystery and Manners by Flannery O'Connor.

That's all I can think of offhand. Hope it helps!

[dreamflower]

Oh wow! I don't know how many of those books will be useful for a small class of people who are relatively unfamiliar with the authors--but they all sound like things *I'D* like to read!!

Fleming Rutledge's Battle for Middle-earth is one I plan to rely on fairly heavily on the Tolkien side. She's the one whose book I read last year, and wrote a letter to, praising most of it, but protesting her treatment of Merry and Pippin. I recently received a gracious response from her, in which she said I was right! Do you know if she has any other Tolkien books?

It's been over thirty years since I read The Discarded Image and The Allegory of Love, but I am certain that they will be useful, and that I can lay my hands on copies of those.

Anyway, all of those sound absolutely fascinating, whether I can use them in the class or not. Thank you! Thank you very much, and thank Mum for pointing you in my direction!!

[ramblin_rosie]

Yay! :) You're very welcome! I had a feeling it might be more than you could use, but I didn't want to forget anything. The Gospel According to Tolkien is beginner-level, as is Birzer's book from ISI (the title of which escapes me at the moment--JRRT's Sacramental Imagination or something like that). Jack's Life is written for fans as a kind of gap-filler for the other biographies already on the market, so it may not be useful for the class, but it's very good.
I have to confess that I haven't read The Battle for Middle-earth yet, although it's sitting on my Tolkien shelf. I think I have seen her name on another book on Amazon, but I don't remember what the title was.
If I think of anything else, I'll stop back by! :)

[dreamflower]

The Battle for Middle-earth was and excellent book except for the part of it in which she made me really annoyed; I wrote about it here and then I responded to it with this letter.

I had not heard back from her, so I imagined that either she did not get it, or that she simply disregarded it. But the other day, she sent me a very gracious response, telling me that I was probably right about Merry and Pippin, and "I stand corrected", which I thought was very lovely of her to do! And now that she agrees about Merry and Pippin, I feel quite gratified.

But she makes some absolutely stunning comparisons of JRRT's text and certain Biblical passages. It's really a wonderful book (except for the Merry and Pippin part.)

[ansostuff.livejournal.com]

That sounds like the perfect thing for you to do! I hope you get many attendants to the class. :D

*good luck hugs*

[dreamflower]

I've no idea how many people will be interested in the class. *fingers crossed*

[lindelea1.livejournal.com]

I am too brainless to comment this morning, except to say something silly.

When I read this post, I first mis-read it and thought it said,
"Each major *headache* indicates that week's topic"

I think I need to go back to bed for a little bit. We all have been staying up way too late to watch Olympics, and yet dh's work still starts way too early.

*hugs*

[claudia603.livejournal.com]

I haven't had a chance (being rather..er...distracted the last few days) to congratulate you on your class! Wow! What a fantastic opportunity! I can't wait to hear all about it as you plan and participate! *hugs*

[lindahoyland.livejournal.com]

I find this web site throught provoking on Tolkien's Christian themes
http://www.mythictruth.com/
Although it is from a Catholic viewpoint,much of the comment applies to Christianity in general.

[dreamflower]

Thanks! I just bookmarked it! I'm sure it will be very useful!

[cressidarambles.livejournal.com]

I really like this essay comparing and contrasting Tolkien and Lewis:

Conflict and Convergence on Fundamental Matters in C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien (http://www3.baylor.edu/~Ralph_Wood/lewis/LewisTolkienTension.pdf) by Ralph C. Wood

I'm particularly intrigued by Anthony Curtis's comparison of their teaching styles!

[dreamflower]

Thanks for the link! I will definitely bookmark that!