Both The Lord of the Rings and The Chronicles of Narnia are filled with epic battles between the forces of good and evil. What many people don't realize is that the authors of these two works — J.R.R. Tolkien and C.S. Lewis, respectively — had firsthand experience with war themselves. Both fought in the bleak trenches of World War I and both were dramatically shaped by that experience in a way that would influence their later work.
My guest today, Joseph Loconte, explores the history of Tolkien's and Lewis' battlefield experience and how it influenced their viewpoints and writing careers. Loconte is a professor of history at King's College and the author of A Hobbit, A Wardrobe, and a Great War.
On today's show, Joseph and I discuss what C.S. Lewis called the "Myth of Progress" that had swept the Western World leading up to the First World War, why it contributed to the war's catastrophic damage, and how the myth shaped both Lewis' and Tolkien's views about good, evil, and warfare. We then get into detail about Tolkien's and Lewis' battlefield experience and how it inspired specific characters and scenes in their respective works. We end our conversation about how the fantasy work of these writers carved a middle path between cynicism and unbridled optimism while simultaneously showing readers that even the lowliest of individuals can play a decisive role in the great adventure of life.
If you're a fan of The Lord of the Rings or The Chronicles of Narnia, you don't want to miss this episode.
Show Highlights
How the shared experience of fighting in WWI shaped the literature of Tolkien and Lewis
The specific WWI experiences that Tolkien and Lewis had
The "myth of progress" and how it shaped European culture and thought during WWI
How the myth of progress affected Christianity, and the faith of Tolkien and Lewis
How Tolkien and Lewis steered clear of the myth of progress
The importance of nature and the outdoors to both Tolkien and Lewis
The reluctant soldiership of the two men, and their views on war in general
The reasons both men were ultimately pulled from the battlefield
The impact the death of close friends had on Tolkien and Lewis
Major themes which emerged in their writing as a result of the war
Tolkien's inspiration for hobbits
Specific scenes and episodes from the books of Tolkien and Lewis inspired directly by war experiences
Did Tolkien and Lewis talk about their war experiences later on while part of the Inklings?
What is a eucatastrophe? And how does it show up in their works?
How Tolkien and Lewis kept from being disillusioned and cynical after the war
Their mutual admiration of other mythologies and tales besides just the Christian story
This has been one of my favorite books that I've read so far this year. If you enjoyed our piece "A Call for a New Strenuous Age," then I highly recommend picking up a copy. Many of the themes that Loconte hits in A Hobbit, a Wardrobe, and a Great War dovetail nicely with the themes in that article. Also, if you're a fan of C.S. Lewis and/or J.R.R. Tolkien, it's always nice to learn more about the real life experiences that influenced their writing.
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