I. Paul
Michaelson: “The Evolution of J.R.R. Tolkien's Thought on
Fairy-Stories”
JRRT
gave the 1939 Andrew Lang lectures at St. Andrews (!), which became
“On Fairy-Stories.” Same time that he was working on LOTR: “as
yet unknown territory.” He got stuck and had no idea what to do
with it. He made the mistake of writing The Hobbit
for children, and imbibed some unfortunate elements of style from
condescending children's books. Working through writing these
lectures was beneficial for LOTR. Critical juncture in JRRT's
development. Also frustrated at being pigeon-holed as a children's
writer. Tolkien felt trapped by "juvenilia" and wished
there was a literary category “senilia.”
Wrote
about “Faërie.”
{Here
Michaelson just repeats a lecture I heard on a podcast by Corey
Olsen, “The
Tolkien Professor.”}
What
are fairy-stories for? Renewal and escape.
The
Lang lectures were not published right away, due to WWII, which
turned out to be a good thing, since it gave him time to revise and
expand. Appeared in '47 in Essays Presented to Charles
Williams.
- Eucatastrophe: the resurrection is the greatest eucatastrophe possible in the greatest fairy-story. Major new development in JRRT's approach.
- Consolation: happy endings. Not just an imaginary satisfaction of ancient desires, but the joy of the Evangelion.
- Difference between mythology and fairy-story. Myth dwindles down into fairy-story? JRRT thought the truth was the other say around.
- The “pot of soup,” the Cauldron of Story. Analysis will not discover the secret of the whole by examining individual ingredients.
- Fairy cannot be defined; it must be experienced.
- secondary belief
- subcreation
THEMES:
What are the values and functions of
fairy-stories for adults?
- the value of art
- fantasy, recovery, escape
Writing, giving, and revising the Lang
lecture helped JRRT see that the connection between children and
fairy-stories is false. Wrote one on “a large canvas” for adults,
with a background mythology.
He
gave imaginative literary respectability. Now people are less likely
to think fairy-stories are just for kids, or that fantasy is “just
escapism.”
II. Constance
Rice: “Renewed Interest in Popular Culture of the Fairy Tale”
Interest
in the tv shows Grim and Once Upon a Time.
CSL
and JRRT had to defend their choice of the fairy-tale genre.
Recently, the fairy-tale has risen in popularity in many media.
Partly due to Harry Potter, Twilight, the LOTR movies. There are two
Snow White movies, an upcoming Jack-in-the-Beanstalk, etc. What would
CSL and JRRT say about these postmodern uses of the fairy-tale?
Grim
is set in Portland, Oregon. The protagonist is a guardian against the
predations of evil supernatural fantasy creatures. Once
Upon a Time has fairy-tale
characters transported to Storybrook, a town in the modern world.
Each week, a different fairy-tale character is the focus. Both are
set in the contemporary world (although Once Upon a Time
has flashbacks to fairyland).
JRRT
on subcreation: need to create “arresting strangeness.” It must
not remain “merely fanciful.” Do these two TV series achieve the
art of subcreation? (Compare to Harry Potter's and Twilight's use of
contemporary and parallel settings). Fairy-tales use everyday objects
that can be portals into another world or experience: rabbit hole,
garden, golden egg, etc. We read fairy-tales because we hope we might
encounter a bit of enchantment in our own world.
The
worlds of these two shows become slowly re-enchanted, like Narnia in
Prince Caspian.
Fairy-tales can bring enchantment to our drab and dreary world.
There's the perennial fight between good and evil, but some ambiguous
characters. The modern and postmodern worship practicality: the ends
justify the means (as does Nikabrick). Trumpkin is an empiricist.
III. Brenton
Dickieson: “The Pedagogical Value of the Screwtape Letters
for a New Generation”
Assigned
The Screwtape Letters
to students in a secular university. Still relevant in terms of
content and form/genre.
Dorothy
Sayers wrote her own “Screwtape letter” in response. Lewis found
it “fit for human consumption.”
What
about our own functionally illiterate students? The course is “Myths
of Hate and Evil.”
Then
Brenton went through the numbers of religious/nonreligious students
in his courses compared to Prince Edward Island, Canada, and the
USA—very like my
paper on Eugenides and Smith!
How
did Brenton proceed?
- lecture series asking “is there more than there is?”
- mythology and Genesis
- “Satan week” on campus!
- The problem of evil unit
- the problem of good (utopic literature)
- holocaustism and hatred
- zombies
- Screwtape Letters in contexts of biblical story, history, and pop culture
- group discussions
- critique of the book
- write an original “Screwtape letter”! Units/themes of temptation- mental illness- vocation- apathetic arts (social media, etc.)- relationships- stuff and status- teen fall (drinking, partying, etc.)- big ideas
Do
we have a Lewisian perspective? Some. Some really nice lines. Some
capture the essence. Solid liberal arts program communicates
something serious.
Is
this relevant? Yes: allows students to use the Screwtapian inverse
perspective: creative form for cultural critique; offer insight into
how to see the world.
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