Surprised by Joy, Steeped in Sacrament: Shaping the Creative Imaginations of C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien (thesis)

Abstract

. . . This, then, is my best guess (from what inadequate and ambiguous evidence I have gathered), as to how the story-germs of The Chronicles of Narnia and The Lord of the Rings grew in the soil of Lewis's and Tolkien's experiences. Lewis's Narnia, shaped by Protestantism and Platonism, employs supposition and occasional allegorical elements to grab the reader's attention and then point her eyes outward and upward. . . . By contrast, Tolkien approached the creation of Middle-earth from a Catholic medieval perspective. He understood suffering on both a personal and cultural level, and his works reflect a serious focus on the human experience. . . . [From Conclusion]