This essay provides a detailed exploration of interest in the Bible as a literary phenomenon. We start with Frye’s research in order to analyze academic perspectives that studied the Bible as a form of literary criticism. Among these perspectives, it is worth highlighting those that define biblical narrative as the principal element of the Western imaginative tradition. This phenomenon builds a set of interrelations that have shaped our specific literary tradition, imbuing it with this symbiosis between sacred and profane influences. Moving on to a second level of interpretation of the question at hand, we examine the encounter between secular and religious literatures as a consequence of the work initiated by Frye. The philological background of the writer C. S. Lewis is key and unprecedented in shedding light on the frontiers between reality and fantasy in the field of literary studies, as exemplified in The Chronicles of Narnia. The Narnia books allow their readers to experience catharsis. This experience is foundational for the acquisition and cultivation of some character strengths, as the ancient Greek tradition held and put into practice centuries ago.
This paper seeks to explore the narrative catechesis and elements of religious pedagogy in C.S. Lewis' “The Chronicles of Narnia” and to critically ponder on the following questions: To what extent is the message of faith conveyed to the reader by Lewis' story-telling? In which way is a narrative approach to theology and catechesis articulated and realised? Why is the narrative catechesis useful and what is its role in the context of the overall mission of the Church i.e. the preaching of the Gospel? In order to provide answers to these questions the first part of this paper outlines a Christian allegory of the Narnian stories. The second part deals with the formalistic approach as using allegory, allusion, and symbolism to interpret Lewis' narrative. The third part outlines the need for a critical awareness and the role of theological narrative in flourishing humanity and human wholeness. The concluding section presents an overall assessment of Lewis's Christian fantasy and its faith-shaping impact.
Children’s contemporary literature often presents an ambiguous and even immoral world of values, not to speak of Christian virtues, which are neither emphatically mentioned nor even faintly evoked. Theological virtues enhance human capacities and elevate every person to their highest being, to the supernatural order they are created for. Directly related to the Scriptures, for they are revealed, the theological virtues suggest an unavoidable and clear connection to God. In C.S. Lewis’ Chronicles of Narnia we find a useful counterexample to teaching morals through literature: these seven fantasy novels provide multiple examples of how to be faithful, hopeful and even how to practice the virtue of charity. Considering that through a fictional evocation of certain concepts these might be apprehended more significantly, in this paper we aim to explore new readings of the saga that go beyond a general approach in order to transcend its allegorical mechanisms and respond to criteria such as the virtue of charity and its two main features: vicariousness and forgiveness.
PL
Współczesna literatura dziecięca często przedstawia niejednoznaczny, a nawet niemoralny świat wartości, nie mówiąc już o cnotach chrześcijańskich, na które nie tylko nie kładzie ona nacisku, ale o których nie wspomina nawet mimochodem. Cnoty teologiczne doskonalą ludzkie sprawności i podnoszą człowieka do najwyższego poziomu jego bytu, do porządku nadprzyrodzonego, dla którego został stworzony. Cnoty teologiczne, bezpośrednio zakorzenione w Piśmie Świętym i należące do materii Objawienia, w nieunikniony sposób wyraźnie odsyłają do Boga. Wbrew rozpowszechnionemu trendowi, Opowieści z Narnii C.S. Lewisa stanowią użyteczny przykład nauczania moralności poprzez literaturę: te siedem powieści fantasy daje wiele przykładów, jak być wiernym, pełnym nadziei, a nawet jak praktykować cnotę miłości. Biorąc pod uwagę fakt, że pewne pojęcia można uchwycić znacznie lepiej poprzez ich fikcyjną ewokację, w niniejszym artykule zamierzamy dokonać nowego odczytania sagi, odbiegającego od jej standardowego ujęcia, aby wyjść poza jej alegoryczne mechanizmy i rozpoznać cnotę miłości oraz jej dwojaki charakter: zastępczy i przebaczający.
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