Christian Fantasy: From 1200 to the PresentThis is the first account of invented stories of the Christian supernatural, of fantasies that depict imagined forms of heaven or hell, angel or devil, world and creator; it considers their growth and changes from the time of Dante to the present day. Relatively infrequent, such works nevertheless for centuries represented some of the highest aspirations of art. Works considered here include the French Queste del Saint Graal, Dante's Commedia, the Middle English Pearl, the first book of Spenser's The Faerie Queene, Marlowe's Dr. Faustus, Milton's Paradise Lost, Bunyan's The Pilgrim's Progress, Swedenborg's Heaven and Hell and poems by Blake; and, from the post-Romantic and increasingly less 'Christian' period, the fantasies of George MacDonald, Charles Kingsley, Charles Williams, C. S. Lewis and many others. In the development of these works, a primary issue is found to be the fantasy-making imagination itself, at first seen as a potential obstacle to plain Christian purpose, but more recently given freer rein in the new aim of demonstrating God's existence in a more secular world. The picture that emerges is of a literary mode which becomes more fictive and indirect in its presentation of Christian vision. |
From inside the book
Results 1-3 of 26
Page 79
... believe in the reality of a God whom his refusals have made him unable to serve , and of a hell which he cannot avoid . At first he thinks of Mephostophilis as some sort of a genie he has called out of a bottle , and does not believe ...
... believe in the reality of a God whom his refusals have made him unable to serve , and of a hell which he cannot avoid . At first he thinks of Mephostophilis as some sort of a genie he has called out of a bottle , and does not believe ...
Page 135
... believe ; but of course we are asked to accept that such intellectual and spiritual worlds are not his , but have been revealed to him . He tells us that God is the Lord of heaven and of hell ; that all visible and physical things ...
... believe ; but of course we are asked to accept that such intellectual and spiritual worlds are not his , but have been revealed to him . He tells us that God is the Lord of heaven and of hell ; that all visible and physical things ...
Page 241
... believe ( I wish I did ) that my desire for Paradise proves that I shall enjoy it , I think it a pretty good indication that such a thing exists and that some men will . A man may love a woman and not win her ; but it would be very odd ...
... believe ( I wish I did ) that my desire for Paradise proves that I shall enjoy it , I think it a pretty good indication that such a thing exists and that some men will . A man may love a woman and not win her ; but it would be very odd ...
Contents
The French Queste del Saint Graal | 12 |
The Commedia | 21 |
The Middle English Pearl | 42 |
Copyright | |
10 other sections not shown
Other editions - View all
Common terms and phrases
allegory angels appears becomes beginning believe body called century certainly character Charles Christ Christian fantasy Church City comes concerned continually course created creation Dante death described desire devil direct divine earth evil existence experience expresses fact fairy faith fall Faustus feel fiction figure final further give given God's heaven Hell Holy human idea imagery imagination journey Kingsley Land later less Lewis literature live London look lost MacDonald means mind move narrative nature never novel once Paradise pattern Pearl perhaps physical picture Pilgrim's play poem portrays present Progress reality Redcrosse relation seems seen sense significance soul spiritual story suggests supernatural Swedenborg tells things thought true truth turn understanding universe University Press vision Water-Babies whole writers