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. |
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Page 96
... seen as at first desired by the speaker , desired perhaps because it will bring him to behold the God he longs for : it will end all struggle , and all doubt . Beyond this it might be seen as a way of abdicating from personal ...
... seen as at first desired by the speaker , desired perhaps because it will bring him to behold the God he longs for : it will end all struggle , and all doubt . Beyond this it might be seen as a way of abdicating from personal ...
Page 158
... seen in , at best , coldly scientific terms , and become nothing to man : this is the dilemma as Carlyle and Tennyson see it , and both resort to a form of ' immanentism'.11 Where previously , in more religiously ' certain ' centuries ...
... seen in , at best , coldly scientific terms , and become nothing to man : this is the dilemma as Carlyle and Tennyson see it , and both resort to a form of ' immanentism'.11 Where previously , in more religiously ' certain ' centuries ...
Page 285
... seen also as caused by God : the first holocaust is known as the ' Flame Deluge ' by the monks , meaning that like the Flood it was sent to purge and cleanse mankind . Nor again does this prevent the onset of war at the end of the story ...
... seen also as caused by God : the first holocaust is known as the ' Flame Deluge ' by the monks , meaning that like the Flood it was sent to purge and cleanse mankind . Nor again does this prevent the onset of war at the end of the story ...
Contents
The Faerie Queene Book I | 6 |
The Metaphysical Poets | 94 |
Paradise Lost | 111 |
Copyright | |
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allegory angels Anodos Beatrice becomes Bible biblical Blake Bunyan C. S. Lewis character Charles Williams Christ Christian fantasy Church Commedia creation Dante Dante's death described desire devil divine dragon Duessa earth eternal evil fact Faerie Queene Fairy Land faith fantastic worlds Faustus Faustus's feel figure further God's Grail Heaven and Hell Hideous Strength Holy human idea imagery imagination invented J. R. R. Tolkien journey Kingsley Kingsley's lady Lewis's Lilith Lion literary literature London look MacDonald Medieval Mephostophilis Milton mind Modern Fantasy moral mystic myth narrative nature North Wind novel Paradise Lost pattern Pearl Perelandra Phantastes picture Pilgrim's Progress planet play poem poet portrays Princess and Curdie Purgatory realise reality Redcrosse Satan science fiction seems seen sense Shardik significance soul Spenser spiritual story supernatural Swedenborg Tamburlaine tells theology things Tolkien true truth University Press Victorian vision Water-Babies whole writers