Faun's Bookshelf

W. Starr Charlie

Description

While visiting with Mr. Tumnus in The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, Lucy Pevensie notices a bookshelf filled with such titles as Nymphs and Their Ways and Is Man a Myth? Be- ginning with these imaginary texts, Charlie W. Starr offers a comprehensive study of C. S. Lewis's theory of myth, including his views on Greek and Norse mythology, the origins of myth, and the implications of myth on thought, art, gender, theology, and literary and linguistic theory. For Lewis, myth represents an ancient mode of thought focused in the imagination-a mode that became the key that ultimately brought Lewis to his belief in Jesus Christ as the myth become fact.Beginning with a fThe Faun's Bookshelf goes on to discuss the many books Lewis imagined throughout his writings-books whose titles he made up but never wrote. It also presents the sylvan myths central to the first two book titles in Mr. Tumnus's library, including explorations of the relation- ship between myth and reality, the spiritual significance of natural conservation, and the spiritual and incarnational qualities of gender.Starr then turns to the definition of myth, the literary qualities of myth, the mythic nature inherent in divine glory, humanity's destiny to embrace (or reject) that glory, and a deeper exploration of the epistemological ramifications of myth in relation to meaning, imagination, reason, and truth.

Sujets

• Idioma inglés
• Comparative literature
• English
• Anglais

Informations

• Publié par: The Kent State University Press
• Date de parution: 10 juillet 2018
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9781631013294
• Langue: English

Extrait

PRAISE FOR THE FAUN’S BOOKSHELF
“The word Myth often refers either to a widespread falsehood or to an ancient collection of stories about gods and heroes. Charlie Starr delves more deeply into the term, offering surprising new insights into fiction, faith, gender, and even human nature itself. With his thorough research and readable prose, Starr lays a solid foundation for novice readers of Lewis (and Tolkien) and provides fresh illumination even for lifelong readers of Lewis and his friends.”— David C. Downing , codirector (with his wife Crystal) of the Marion E. Wade Center, Wheaton College, and author of six books on C. S. Lewis and the Inklings
“ The Faun’s Bookshelf explores one of the most important aspects of Lewis studies: how Lewis’s deep and abiding affection for myth undergirds, informs, and enriches both his fiction and poetry. Charlie Starr’s approach is inviting, conversational, and winsome. Readers will come away with a thorough understanding of Lewis’s mythic vision—including the mythic sources that influenced him and how Lewis used them in his own work. This book is long overdue and a welcome addition to Lewis studies.”— Don W. King , author of C. S. Lewis Poet: The Legacy of His Poetic Impulse and editor of The Collected Poems of C. S. Lewis: A Critical Edition
“This is a delightful book, at once erudite and accessible, that asks just the right questions about Lewis and myth and that answers them by searching in nooks and crannies of the Lewis corpus that have too often been overlooked.”— Louis Markos , professor of English and scholar in residence, Houston Baptist University; author of On the Shoulders of Hobbits: The Road to Virtue with Tolkien and Lewis
“Students of C. S. Lewis’s thought know that the phrase ‘myth become fact’ is central to his conversion, to his theology, and to the whole way his mind worked. In The Faun’s Bookshelf , Charlie Starr rings the changes on that phrase to show that it is more central than we could have guessed—to everything mentioned above and to Lewis’s imagination, his art, and the meaning of his stories as well. Lewis comes alive as a theorist and a practitioner of myth in a book that could deservedly be added to Mr. Tumnus’s library. I am delighted to have added it to mine.”— Donald T. Williams , R. A. Forrest Scholar at Toccoa Falls College and author of Deeper Magic: The Theology behind the Writings of C. S. Lewis
“Starr teaches us how and why myth matters, but he also entertains—even amuses—us while doing so. He guides us to that intersection of the whimsical, the profound, and the sacred. Wouldn’t Lewis (Tolkien, too) be delighted? Seldom do I see a scholarly book this creative and readable.”— Carolyn Curtis , coeditor of Women and C.S. Lewis: What His Life and Literature Reveal for Today’s Culture
“ The Faun’s Bookshelf is a fascinating exploration of the mythological underpinnings present in C. S. Lewis’s fictional worlds. It gives the reader a better understanding of the blend of myths used to ‘sing’ Narnia into existence, and reminds us of the abiding Truth in old legends. Charlie Starr’s exceptional work provides us with a refreshing lens to, once again, approach and appreciate Lewis’s marvelous fiction. I read this book with great delight!”— Crystal Hurd , author of Thirty Days with C.S. Lewis: A Women’s Devotional and review editor for Sehnsucht: The C. S. Lewis Journal
“A clever premise beautifully executed. Scrutinizing the books on Mr. Tumnus’s bookshelf helps us understand not only the mythic world of Narnia but our own world as well. Grab a cup of tea then settle in for a good ‘conversation’ with Charlie Starr. This masterfully crafted book will leave you affirmed, challenged, and grateful for the visit.”— Steven A. Beebe , Regents’ and University Distinguished Professor of Communication Studies, Texas State University
“Charlie Starr’s mastery of the essays written by C. S. Lewis is particularly impressive. Lewis readers will discover here how long-cherished passages can be paired with little-known extracts to yield fresh insights regarding myth and meaning. The bookshelf of Mr. Tumnus will never appear quite the same again. Over the titles Lucy found there we must now all linger.”— Bruce R. Johnson , general editor of Sehnsucht: The C. S. Lewis Journal
“Starr’s thoughtful consideration of a seemingly trivial witticism in the first Narnian chronicle has led to this book, the most comprehensive study yet of what myth meant to Lewis and what it can mean to us. Citations drawn from the whole range of Lewis’s writings—including some only recently discovered—are woven into a tapestry given substance by Starr’s expert understanding of Lewis’s views on imagination, meaning, and truth. Newcomers to Lewis will find this book accessible, with its winsome style developed over years of classroom teaching; seasoned scholars will find challenging new insights.”— Charles Huttar , author of numerous studies of the Inklings, including Word and Story in C. S. Lewis (coeditor) and Imagination and the Spirit (editor)
“ The Faun’s Bookshelf is a delightful read. In an engaging way Charlie Starr provides the necessary background about what myth means for Lewis and helps all readers understand more fully why myth matters!”— William O’Flaherty , author of The Misquotable C.S. Lewis and creator of EssentialCSLewis.com
“Charlie Starr’s insightful and readable explanation of why myth matters is the most illuminating, interesting, and important book on myth and mythopoeia that I am aware of.”— Peter J. Schakel , author of The Way into Narnia and Imagination and the Arts in C. S. Lewis
The Faun’s Bookshelf
The Faun’s Bookshelf
C. S. Lewis on Why Myth Matters

Charlie W. Starr
BLACK SQUIRREL BOOKS ® ® Kent, Ohio
BLACK SQUIRREL BOOKS ® ®
Frisky, industrious black squirrels are a familiar sight on the Kent State University campus and the inspiration for Black Squirrel Books®, a trade imprint of The Kent State University Press.
www.KentStateUniversityPress.com
© 2018 by Charlie W. Starr
All rights reserved
ISBN 978-1-60635-349-3
Manufactured in the United States of America
Cataloging information for this title is available at the Library of Congress.
22 21 20 19 18       5 4 3 2 1
Dedicated with love and thanks to Ron and Doris Rife
Contents
Foreword by Devin Brown
Acknowledgments
Introduction
Part I. Folios and Fauns
1 Of the Making of Many (Fake) Books: Lewis and Mythopoeia
2 Fauns and Their Fantasies
3 Might Myth Be Real?
Part II. Narnian Reality, Terran Myth
4 The Life and Letters of Silenus
5 Fauns Are from Mars, Nymphs Are from Venus
6 Why Sylvan Myths Matter
Part III. Terran Reality as Myth in Narnia
7 Defining Myth
8 Men, Monks, and Gamekeepers; a Study in Popular Legend
9 Is Man a Myth?
Part IV. Beyond the Bookshelf
10 Mythic Knowing
11 Lewis and the North
12 An Interpretive Mystery of Mythic Proportion
Permissions Acknowledgments
Notes
Bibliography
Index
Foreword
Devin Brown
Early in this fine book, Charlie Starr rightly highlights C. S. Lewis’s belief that myth matters whether we realize it or not. And if someone had asked Lewis for a succinct answer to the question of why myth matters, he might have replied that myth matters because it reminds us that we and the world we live in are mythic. Today, as the voice of economic exigency whispers to us that the earth is ours to do with as we please and as the conception of what it means to be human gets smaller and smaller, these reminders are desperately needed.
One of Lewis’s most significant encounters with myth—one of the times that it mattered most in his life—came on a frosty afternoon in March 1916 at the Leatherhead Train Station in the rural countryside southwest of London. Lewis was seventeen, and, in his routine of regular afternoon rambles, he had walked the three miles or so from the village of Great Bookham, where he was living at the time, and was waiting for the train to take him back. Standing on the platform in the fading light, he picked a worn book from the station’s used-book stall. He had seen it before on previous walks to Leatherhead, but had always put it back. This time he decided to buy it.
The book was Phantastes by George MacDonald; later Lewis would compare his encounter with the myth he found between its covers to the first glimpse Dante had of Beatrice, an event so pivotal that Lewis would look back and, using Dante’s phrase, declare, “Here begins the new life.”
George Sayer, who was Lewis’s pupil and friend as well as his biographer, writes at length about the impact Phantastes had on Lewis and concludes that MacDonald transformed Lewis’s attitude toward the ordinary, material things around him, instilling them with their own spiritual quality. After this seminal encounter with myth, try as he might, Lewis could never again fully believe that the world could be reduced to just atoms and molecules.
One of the books from Mr. Tumnus’s bookshelf is titled Is Man a Myth? If myth reminds us that our world is more than merely the matter it is made of, it also raises and answers the question “Is man mythic?”
Is man mythic? Are our decisions and the actions we take like those of the heroes we read about in the great stories of the past? Or are they more like the dull, inconsequential actions of J. Alfred Prufrock, T. S. Eliot’s angst-ridden protagonist, who measures out his trivial, insignificant life with coffee spoons, a character whose biggest concerns each morning are where to part his hair and whether to wear his trousers rolled up.
Is man mythic? Do our lives have any individual meaning and purpose beyond what we choose to give them? Or are they, as Macbeth claims, just a tale told by an idiot where any significance they might seem to have is really just sound and fury, signifying nothing?
Is man mythic? Are our lives part of something greater? Or are we alone in the darkness, like a brief and feeble candle