What Bunyan’s Pilgrim’s Progress Teaches us about English and Education
One of my first posts on A Pilgrim in Narnia was the confession that I had not really ever read John Bunyan’s classic The Pilgrim’s Progress (1678). I’m pretty sure I had pretended to read it. I had...
View ArticleA Peculiar Dedication
In his academic world of literary criticism, C.S. Lewis might be most influential in his A Preface to Paradise Lost. As I read it now, it does not seem an astounding book, though it is surprisingly...
View ArticleVirgin Books
I am reading C.S. Lewis’ A Preface to Paradise Lost for the first time. This is one of Lewis’ early works (1942), and comes out of his lecturing in English Literature. I was struck immediately on the...
View Article“On the Morning of Christ’s Nativity” by John Milton
I am reading through John Milton’s Paradise Lost and stumbled upon his poem, “On the Morning of Christ’s Nativity.” There are two parts, a 4 stanza “proem” followed by a 27 stanza hymn. They hymn is...
View ArticleC.S. Lewis and the Music of the Spheres
Brenton Dickieson:On Monday I blogged “On Leprechauns,” referencing C.S. Lewis’ “The Discarded Image,” where he embarks on a rather scientific look at faeries. “The Discarded Image” is part of a larger...
View ArticleHarold Bloom’s Canon: The Essential List
On Monday I introduced Harold Bloom‘s 1994 bestseller, The Western Canon: The Books and School of the Ages. I decided to create a “canonical list” in today’s blog for those who are inclined to try to...
View ArticleLewis, Wagner, and Frankenstein: Literary Accident or Reader’s Providence?
I’ve been thinking a lot lately about what I call “Pilgrim’s Providence.” This is when we as travelers embrace the challenges and opportunities that come along our pathway as a kind of opportunity...
View Article“On the Morning of Christ’s Nativity” by John Milton
On this morning that transforms all mornings, I thought I would share from one of the masters. My copy of John Milton’s Paradise Lost includes a number of other poems. One of these is “On the Morning...
View ArticleDid I Assign the Right Lines from Paradise Lost? A Rebuke from C.S. Lewis and...
For the first time, I am teaching Paradise Lost–beyond the normal references that come up in English literature, C.S. Lewis courses, and talks about religious history. I am using it to begin an...
View ArticleA Peculiar Dedication: C.S. Lewis’ Dedication of A Preface to Paradise Lost...
At A Pilgrim in Narnia we have an occasional feature called “Throwback Thursday.” This is where I find a blog post from the past–raiding either my own blog-hoard or someone else’s–and throw it back out...
View ArticleThe Pilgrim’s Progress and the Nursery Bookshelf: A Book’s Journey (Throwback...
At A Pilgrim in Narnia, we have an occasional feature called “Throwback Thursday.” By raiding either my own blog-hoard or someone else’s, I find a blog post from the past and throw it back out into the...
View ArticleJohn Bunyan’s Apology for his Book with a Note from C.S. Lewis on Writing as...
In my blog post last week, “Bunyan and Others and Me: Vicarious Bookshelf Friendship and a Jazz Hands Theory of Reading,” I offered two “Theories of Reading” from my experience of trying to find...
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