Imagination and the arts in C.S. Lewis : journeying to Narnia and other worlds / Peter J. Schakel.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Schakel, Peter J.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Lewis, C. S. (Clive Staples), 1898-1963--Knowledge and learning--Art.

Lewis, C. S.

Lewis, C. S. (Clive Staples), 1898-1963.

Lewis, C. S. (Clive Staples), 1898-1963. Chronicles of Narnia.

Art and literature--Great Britain--History--20th century.

Art and literature.

Children's stories, English--History and criticism.

Children's stories, English.

Fantasy fiction, English--History and criticism.

Fantasy fiction, English.

Imagination in literature.

Art in literature.

Imagination.

History.

Great Britain.

Physical Description:

xv, 214 pages : illustrations ; 24 cm

Place of Publication:

Columbia : University of Missouri Press, [2002]

Summary:

Imagination has long been regarded as central to C. S. Lewis's life and to his creative and critical works, but this is the first study to provide a thorough analysis of his theory of imagination, including the different ways he used the word and how those uses relate to each other. Peter Schakel begins by concentrating on the way reading or engaging with the other arts is an imaginative activity. He focuses on three books in which imagination is the central theme -- Surprised by Joy, An Experiment in Criticism, and The Discarded Image -- and shows the important role of imagination in Lewis's theory of education.

He then examines imagination and reading in Lewis's fiction, concentrating specifically on the Chronicles of Narnia, the most imaginative of his works. He looks at how the imaginative experience of reading the Chronicles is affected by the physical texture of the books, the illustrations, revisions of the texts, the order in which the books are read, and their narrative "voice," the "storyteller" who becomes almost a character in the stories.

Imagination and the Arts in C. S. Lewis also explores Lewis's ideas about imagination in the nonliterary arts. Although Lewis regarded engagement with the arts as essential to a well-rounded and satisfying life, critics of his work and even biographers have given little attention to this aspect of his life. Schakel reviews the place of music, dance, art, and architecture in Lewis's life, the ways in which he uses them as content in his poems and stories, and how he develops some of the deepest, most significant themes of his stories through them.

Schakel concludes by analyzing the uses and abuses of imagination. He looks first at "moral imagination." Although Lewis did not use this term, Schakel shows how Lewis developed the concept in That Hideous Strength and The Abolition of Man long before it became popularized in the 1980s and 1990s. While readers often concentrate on the Christian dimension of Lewis's works, equally or more important to him was their moral dimension. Imagination and the Arts in C. S. Lewis will appeal to students and teachers of both children's literature and twentieth-century British writers. It will also be of value to readers who wish to compare Lewis's creations with more recent imaginative works such as the Harry Potter series.

Contents:

1. "Feeding the Imagination" Lewis's Imaginative Theory and Practice 1

2. "The Temptation to Get a Nice New Book" Texts and the Imaginative Reading Experience 23

3. "It Does Not Matter Very Much"

or Does It? The "Correct" Order for Reading the Chronicles 40

4. "Narrative Nets" Lewis and the Appeal of Story 53

5. "He Looks As Though He'd Make It Come Out All Right" Lewis and His Storytellers 70

6. "Four Fiddles, Three Flutes, and a Drum" Lewis and Music 89

7. "Notable Dances and Feasts" Lewis and Dance 111

8. "Glimpses of Heaven in the Earthly Landscape" Lewis and Art, Architecture, and Clothing 137

9. "Let the Pictures Tell Their Own Moral" Lewis and the Moral Imagination 163

Appendix Table for Converting Page References to Chapter Numbers 189.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages 193-204) and index.

ISBN:

082621407X

OCLC:

49226254