Socrates in the City Joe Loconte: The War for Middle – Earth
Joe Loconte, a historian and author specializing in C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien, delves into the profound wartime influences behind their masterpieces. He explores how World War II shaped their friendship and literary output, discussing themes of good versus evil. Loconte emphasizes the importance of their Christian worldview and the enduring relevance of their works. The conversation highlights the moral imagination they cultivated as a response to totalitarianism and the scars of their past, ultimately celebrating the beauty found in their struggles and triumphs.
56:17
War Shaped Their Creative Urgency
- The Second World War created urgent pressure that shaped Tolkien and Lewis's literary callings and themes.
- Understanding their wartime context is essential to appreciating their major works.
Shared Trauma Bonded Them
- Both men carried deep scars from World War I that influenced their imaginations and friendship.
- Shared trauma and love of heroic myths drew them together at Oxford.
Their Major Works Grew During Crisis
- Tolkien wrote The Hobbit around 1933 and began The Lord of the Rings at the end of 1937, writing through the war.
- Lewis's major works like Screwtape and Narnia also emerged amid wartime crises.
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Intro
00:00 • 3min
How Joe Discovered Tolkien
02:31 • 1min
Why Write The War for Middle‑Earth
03:50 • 1min
The Impact of Wartime Trauma on Both Men
04:58 • 6min
When Tolkien and Lewis Wrote Their Major Works
10:39 • 3min
How Tolkien and Lewis Became Friends
13:44 • 2min
Tolkien’s Reinvention of Modern Fantasy
16:07 • 2min
Shared Literary Foundations and Beowulf’s Influence
18:11 • 1min
How the War Shaped Lewis’s Dark Visions
19:29 • 3min
Their Literary Pushback Against Modernism
22:31 • 2min
Why Their Works Endure
24:33 • 3min
How War and Faith Shape Their Timeless Appeal
27:56 • 3min
The Inklings as a Beachhead of Resistance
30:28 • 3min
Friendship’s Role in Completing Major Works
33:57 • 3min
Month‑by‑Month Wartime Context in the Book
36:47 • 3min
Leaf by Niggle and Tolkien’s Mortality Reflection
39:20 • 34sec
Father Christmas Letters Reflect Wartime Reality
39:54 • 2min
Why Europeans Turned to Charismatic Leaders
41:40 • 2min
Totalitarianism’s Utopian Promise and Moral Centering
43:35 • 2min
Differences Between European and American Religious Culture
45:18 • 1min
Biblical Anthropology Versus Liberal Theology
46:23 • 2min
Literary Quality and Longevity of Their Works
48:34 • 5min
Eucatastrophe and Sudden Miraculous Grace
53:23 • 2min
Moral Realism: Sorrow, Valor, and Meaningful Action
55:14 • 27sec
Outro
55:41 • 28sec
#52411
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“Evil labors with vast power and perpetual success – in vain: preparing always only the soil for unexpected good to sprout in.” —J.R.R. Tolkien
What does it mean to cling to truth, beauty, and goodness in the shadow of history’s darkest hours? Can goodness truly spring forth from evil?
These questions lie at the heart of this Socrates in the City conversation with historian Joseph Loconte. The discussion focuses on J.R.R. Tolkien and C.S. Lewis, two literary giants who wrote their masterpieces in the aftermath of World War II. In his latest book, The War for Middle-earth: J.R.R. Tolkien and C.S. Lewis Confront the Gathering Storm, 1933–1945, Loconte—together with SITC host Eric Metaxas—traces how the devastation of World War II shaped both the friendship and the imaginations of C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien, inspiring them to create works that continue to illuminate the battle between good and evil.
The post Joe Loconte: The War for Middle – Earth first appeared on Socrates in the City.