Reverend Dr. Malcolm Guite

But Lewis was out there, you know, speaking to them. So I think some of what was going on there went into their thinking. And indeed, since the Lord of the Rings didn't come out until the 50s, you know, the post-war things. But here's a really important thing. They're not writing some kind of one-to-one political allegory.

But Lewis was out there, you know, speaking to them. So I think some of what was going on there went into their thinking. And indeed, since the Lord of the Rings didn't come out until the 50s, you know, the post-war things. But here's a really important thing. They're not writing some kind of one-to-one political allegory.

But Lewis was out there, you know, speaking to them. So I think some of what was going on there went into their thinking. And indeed, since the Lord of the Rings didn't come out until the 50s, you know, the post-war things. But here's a really important thing. They're not writing some kind of one-to-one political allegory.

So a classic example of this is when the Lord of the Rings came out and there's the idea of there's this one ring, but we can't use it, we can't use the enemy's weapon, it would change who we are. Not unnaturally, people thought this was a political allegory about the nuclear bomb and about how do we defend civilization without becoming uncivilized ourselves. Now, that's always a good question.

So a classic example of this is when the Lord of the Rings came out and there's the idea of there's this one ring, but we can't use it, we can't use the enemy's weapon, it would change who we are. Not unnaturally, people thought this was a political allegory about the nuclear bomb and about how do we defend civilization without becoming uncivilized ourselves. Now, that's always a good question.

So a classic example of this is when the Lord of the Rings came out and there's the idea of there's this one ring, but we can't use it, we can't use the enemy's weapon, it would change who we are. Not unnaturally, people thought this was a political allegory about the nuclear bomb and about how do we defend civilization without becoming uncivilized ourselves. Now, that's always a good question.

I mean, Socrates asked that question, how do you defend civilization? But... Tolkien had a laugh about this, because he had already figured out the whole network of how the story of the ring works before we even knew about nuclear weapons. But here's a great thing, if you want to think about how to read this in the different political circumstances we're in.

I mean, Socrates asked that question, how do you defend civilization? But... Tolkien had a laugh about this, because he had already figured out the whole network of how the story of the ring works before we even knew about nuclear weapons. But here's a great thing, if you want to think about how to read this in the different political circumstances we're in.

I mean, Socrates asked that question, how do you defend civilization? But... Tolkien had a laugh about this, because he had already figured out the whole network of how the story of the ring works before we even knew about nuclear weapons. But here's a great thing, if you want to think about how to read this in the different political circumstances we're in.

So when Lewis reviewed The Lord of the Rings when it came out, he said a beautiful thing. He said, this is not allegory, but it's great myth written at such a deep level that it is, this is exactly Lewis's phrase, it is continuously suggestive of incipient allegories. So the story is so primal that when you read it, Almost the story is wiser than you are. It's wiser than Tolkien.

So when Lewis reviewed The Lord of the Rings when it came out, he said a beautiful thing. He said, this is not allegory, but it's great myth written at such a deep level that it is, this is exactly Lewis's phrase, it is continuously suggestive of incipient allegories. So the story is so primal that when you read it, Almost the story is wiser than you are. It's wiser than Tolkien.

So when Lewis reviewed The Lord of the Rings when it came out, he said a beautiful thing. He said, this is not allegory, but it's great myth written at such a deep level that it is, this is exactly Lewis's phrase, it is continuously suggestive of incipient allegories. So the story is so primal that when you read it, Almost the story is wiser than you are. It's wiser than Tolkien.

He trusts the story. So the story keeps telling you certain things. It keeps suggesting ideas to you about how things are now. Now, I'm not a political animal, I have to say, so I don't particularly want to stray onto the extraordinary minefield of American or even my own politics.

He trusts the story. So the story keeps telling you certain things. It keeps suggesting ideas to you about how things are now. Now, I'm not a political animal, I have to say, so I don't particularly want to stray onto the extraordinary minefield of American or even my own politics.

He trusts the story. So the story keeps telling you certain things. It keeps suggesting ideas to you about how things are now. Now, I'm not a political animal, I have to say, so I don't particularly want to stray onto the extraordinary minefield of American or even my own politics.

I'm pretty old-fashioned sort of... I'm happy to live in a constitutional monarchy because I'm a constitutional monarch, but... Here's a thing that Tolkien does in these stories, and this does come out in the film, so you get this. He often has, if you like, kind of... connected but antithetical pairings of characters.

I'm pretty old-fashioned sort of... I'm happy to live in a constitutional monarchy because I'm a constitutional monarch, but... Here's a thing that Tolkien does in these stories, and this does come out in the film, so you get this. He often has, if you like, kind of... connected but antithetical pairings of characters.

I'm pretty old-fashioned sort of... I'm happy to live in a constitutional monarchy because I'm a constitutional monarch, but... Here's a thing that Tolkien does in these stories, and this does come out in the film, so you get this. He often has, if you like, kind of... connected but antithetical pairings of characters.

And what he's doing is he's exploring the way a thing could be done well and the way the same thing could be abused, the way a person could flourish or the way a person could be corrupted in themselves. So if you think about it, how do you be the kind advising wizard who actually has more power than the people he's advising but doesn't want to exploit them? Well, Gandalf is an example of that.

And what he's doing is he's exploring the way a thing could be done well and the way the same thing could be abused, the way a person could flourish or the way a person could be corrupted in themselves. So if you think about it, how do you be the kind advising wizard who actually has more power than the people he's advising but doesn't want to exploit them? Well, Gandalf is an example of that.