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 11
... universe they portray is an ultimately bounded and circular one : and that sense of a bounded universe is , more and less , behind all Christian fantasy . It is concomitant with the dialectic of the imagination , at once expansive and ...
... universe they portray is an ultimately bounded and circular one : and that sense of a bounded universe is , more and less , behind all Christian fantasy . It is concomitant with the dialectic of the imagination , at once expansive and ...
Page 108
... universe in which such truths are to be re- created . Milton has let his imagination off the leash , has let it roam amid immensity . This is certainly in keeping with the new nature of the universe as it was then being scientifically ...
... universe in which such truths are to be re- created . Milton has let his imagination off the leash , has let it roam amid immensity . This is certainly in keeping with the new nature of the universe as it was then being scientifically ...
Page 277
... universe . In each case they are helped by a form of angel : in the first book by three shape- changing old women ... universe , is seen as a way of finding out about God . The very choice of apparently insig- nificant children as ...
... universe . In each case they are helped by a form of angel : in the first book by three shape- changing old women ... universe , is seen as a way of finding out about God . The very choice of apparently insig- nificant children as ...
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