“For Williams, poetry is language at its most substantial; in poetic verse, or what Williams often prefers to call ‘the grand art,’ words become incarnate, embodied presences that do not simply describe reality, but actively shape it.”
— Dr. Laura Van Dyke, English department
Dr. Laura Van Dyke has taught in the English department at TWU since 2015. She completed her PhD at the University of Ottawa in 2019, with specializations in Twentieth-Century British Literature and in the environmental humanities.
In 2020, Dr. Van Dyke, along with fellow Trinity Western professors Dr. Monika Hilder and Dr. Sara Pearson, published a co-edited volume, The Inklings and Culture: A Harvest of Scholarship from the Inklings Institute of Canada, featuring writings from twenty-seven renowned and emerging scholars.
It is a celebratory collection representing the work of the Inklings Institute of Canada since its inception in 2013.
The power of myth for communicating truth
In Dr. Van Dyke’s chapter, “Language and the 'Grand Art': The Poetic Vision of Charles Williams,” she recounts how British poet Charles Williams honoured the power of myth for communicating truth.
Williams was an associate of C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien, and part of their famous Inklings writers’ group.
Language and our connection to the divine
Part of Williams’s greatest legacy, Dr. Van Dyke explained, is his conviction that myth could be used effectively to communicate theological truths.
“Williams really did see the world as a place where human utterances shape external realities, even realities as large as world wars,” Dr. Van Dyke wrote.
Williams saw, for example, how the myth of the Holy Grail (a literary motif: the cup used by Jesus at the Last Supper, and the vessel that Joseph of Arimathea used to collect Jesus’ blood at the cross) represented “the site of union between the human and the divine, and the visible icon on earth of reconciliation between time and eternity.”
Equally influenced by modern philosophies and biblical tradition
As a writer, Williams was formed by both the Christian theological tradition and the Western philosophies and sciences of his time.
Dr. Van Dyke notes that readers of Williams often recognize in his poetry “a robust theology of Christ as the Logos.” Readers can observe Williams’s respect for language as essential to the structures of the cosmos.
“...in the same way that God creates the world through the Hebrew alphabet in the Kabbalah, so human speech is capable, to varying degrees and for good or for ill, of reflecting this creative power and shaping the world around us.”
Poet questions whether society could retain the power in words
As a poet and theologian writing between the years of two major world wars, Williams was worried about words losing their meaning.
In a time of global crisis, Williams cautioned readers “not to lose their respect for language,” or to let the growing societal panic diminish the meaning of words we use.
In her chapter, Dr. Van Dyke explains that “linguistic precision mattered to Williams because for him words have the ability to affect reality.”
Words shape the world around us
Dr. Van Dyke writes that Williams believed, “in the same way that God creates the world through the Hebrew alphabet in the Kabbalah, so human speech is capable, to varying degrees and for good or for ill, of reflecting this creative power and shaping the world around us.”
It was an idea that recurred throughout Williams’s writing.
“For Williams, poetry is language at its most substantial; in poetic verse, or what Williams often prefers to call ‘the grand art,’ words become incarnate, embodied presences that do not simply describe reality, but actively shape it,” Dr. Van Dyke explained.
If Williams was right in believing that language is among the most powerful means we have both to enchant and to shape our worlds, says Dr. Van Dyke, then his poetic vision remains a valuable resource for us today.
About Trinity Western University
Founded in 1962, Trinity Western University is Canada’s premier Christian liberal arts university dedicated to equipping students to establish meaningful connections between career, life, and the needs of the world. It is a fully accredited research institution offering liberal arts and sciences, as well as professional schools in business, nursing, education, human kinetics, graduate studies, and arts, media, and culture. It has four campuses and locations: Langley, Richmond-Lansdowne, Richmond-Minoru, and Ottawa. TWU emphasizes academic excellence, research, and student engagement in a vital faith community committed to forming leaders to have a transformational impact on culture. Learn more at www.twu.ca or follow us on Twitter @TrinityWestern, on Facebook and LinkedIn.
For media inquiries, please contact: media@twu.ca
Image by Alvaro Serrano on Unsplash.