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 62
Page 42
... tells of his misery and asks her to return with him . She tells him he is ignorant of where he is and what she is . She tells him that when she died she was taken to heaven and now lives as a queen in the company of 144,000 innocents ...
... tells of his misery and asks her to return with him . She tells him he is ignorant of where he is and what she is . She tells him that when she died she was taken to heaven and now lives as a queen in the company of 144,000 innocents ...
Page 86
... tells himself to ' sound the depth of that thou wilt professe ' ( he often thus addresses himself as someone else ) : he does not know to what depths that will lead him . He bids himself apply his selected branch of learning to being ...
... tells himself to ' sound the depth of that thou wilt professe ' ( he often thus addresses himself as someone else ) : he does not know to what depths that will lead him . He bids himself apply his selected branch of learning to being ...
Page 140
... telling us we can only understand their nature when our inner or spiritual eyes are opened . In the same way he tells us that in heaven we shall retain our senses and personalities , that heaven is a perfect continuation of our lives ...
... telling us we can only understand their nature when our inner or spiritual eyes are opened . In the same way he tells us that in heaven we shall retain our senses and personalities , that heaven is a perfect continuation of our lives ...
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