Tag Archives: John Milton

John Bunyan’s Apology for his Book with a Note from C.S. Lewis on Writing as Holistic Discovery–and How Narnia Achieved the Bigness You See

Posted on March 30, 2022 by Brenton Dickieson

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 sympathy with John Bunyan’s The Pilgrim’s … Continue reading →

Posted in Memorable Quotes, On Writing, Reflections | Tagged A Pilgrim's Regress, Arthur Greeves, BBC, C.S. Lewis, Dante, John Bunyan, John Milton, Selected Literary Essays, Sometimes Fairy Stories May Say Best What's to be Said, Spenser, spiritual theology, The Pilgrim's Progress, writing | 6 Comments

The Pilgrim’s Progress and the Nursery Bookshelf: A Book’s Journey (Throwback Thursday)

Posted on March 17, 2022 by Brenton Dickieson

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 digital world. This … Continue reading →

Posted in Reflections, Reviews | Tagged books, C.S. Lewis, children's literature, Education, Emily of New Moon, English Literature, fantasy, Frances Hodgson Burnett, John Bunyan, John Milton, L.M. Montgomery, literacy, Louisa May Alcott., Mark Twain, Shakespeare, The Pilgrim's Progress, The Pilgrim's Regress, Tyndale | 6 Comments

A Peculiar Dedication: C.S. Lewis’ Dedication of A Preface to Paradise Lost to Charles Williams (with a Note on Lewis Prefaces)

Posted on January 16, 2020 by Brenton Dickieson

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 into the digital world. This … Continue reading →

Posted in Lewis Biography, Memorable Quotes | Tagged A Preface to Paradise Lost, Charles Williams, Inklings, J.R.R. Tolkien, John Milton, lion the witch and the wardrobe, Lucy, Paradise Lost, Surprised by Joy, The Allegory of Love, The Discarded Image, The Place of the Lion, The Screwtape Letters, Till We Have Faces | 24 Comments

Did I Assign the Right Lines from Paradise Lost? A Rebuke from C.S. Lewis and a Christian Literature Reading List

Posted on January 8, 2020 by Brenton Dickieson

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 undergraduate course on Christian Literature (after reading Donne‘s … Continue reading →

Posted in Reflections | Tagged A Canticle for Leibowitz, A Preface to Paradise Lost, A Wrinkle in Time, C.S. Lewis, Frederick Buechner, Gilead, Godric, John Donne, John Milton, Madeleine L'Engle, Marilynne Robinson, Paradise Lost, Perelandra, Shūsaku Endō, Silence, The Great Divorce, Walter Miller | 25 Comments

“On the Morning of Christ’s Nativity” by John Milton

Posted on December 25, 2017 by Brenton Dickieson

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 of Christ’s Nativity.” There … Continue reading →

Posted in Reflections | Tagged Christmas, hymns, John Milton, Nativity, Paradise Lost, Poetry | 22 Comments

Lewis, Wagner, and Frankenstein: Literary Accident or Reader’s Providence?

Posted on August 31, 2016 by Brenton Dickieson

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 provided for us. It is a perspective … Continue reading →

Posted in Memorable Quotes, Thoughtful Essays | Tagged An Experiment in Criticism, C.S. Lewis, Frankenstein, John MacInnis, John Milton, mary shelley, Paradise Lost, pop culture, Ring Cycle, Signum University, the Lumineers, The Valkyrie, vampires, Wagner | 21 Comments

Harold Bloom’s Canon: The Essential List

Posted on July 13, 2016 by Brenton Dickieson

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 soak in this great radition. Taking … Continue reading →

Posted in Reviews, Thoughtful Essays | Tagged canon, Charles Dickens, Chaucer, Dante, Goethe, Harold Bloom, Jane Austen, John Milton, Leo Tolstoy, Reading, Shakespeare, The Western Canon, Virginia Woolf, writing | 33 Comments

C.S. Lewis and the Music of the Spheres

Posted on March 19, 2014 by 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 series of Oxford lectures that capture the medieval worldview to … Continue reading →

Posted in Reflections | Tagged C.S. Lewis, Copernicus, Gallileo, John Milton, Journey Towards Easter, Medieval Cosmology, music, Paradise Lost, Ptolomy, science, The Discarded Image, universe | 3 Comments

“On the Morning of Christ’s Nativity” by John Milton

Posted on December 25, 2013 by Brenton Dickieson

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 quite lovely, beginning: I … Continue reading →

Posted in Reflections | Tagged Christmas, Hymn, John Milton, Nativity, Paradise Lost, Poetry | 13 Comments

Virgin Books

Posted on December 3, 2013 by Brenton Dickieson

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 first page by … Continue reading →