CS Lewis is an amazing writer, but I had never considered his work TLTW&TW to be an epic. This idea has completely reinvigorated the work for me and makes we want to read the entire work again as an epic. The selection from Lewis' work has part of Aslan's aristeia: he is taunted continually by his enemies. After being shaved, the mob remarks that "he's only a great cat after all!" (150). In "Deeper Magic From Before the Dawn of Time," the audience is exposed to many of the prophesies that are traditionally found in the epics. Aslan reveals "that when a willing victim who has committed no treachery was killed in a traitor's stead, the Table would crack and Death itself would start working backwards" (160). This prophesy allows "the gods" to play a role in TLTW&TW. Also the gathering of the followers of Aslan together seems reminiscent of so many other epics. In Lord of the Rings a council met to discuss the fate of the rings, in Iliad both gods and men come together to discuss the next actions in the Trojan War, in Paradise Lost the council in heaven discussing the war with Satan also seems to influence this work.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment