Thoughts on Mythopoeia

In his poem, “Mythopoeia,” Tolkien discusses the complex nature of being human in the modern world, with a specific focus on the connection between human mythmaking and faith or religion, as it was created as an afterthought to an argument with C.S. Lewis, to convince him of the validity and importance of myths and religion. Tolkien argues in his poem that life is partly justified by science but also by more, such as by art and by faith, and also by some things that cannot be seen, proven, or even very well explained by human words.  In his poem, Tolkien mixes romance, unknowingness, and science, just as he does when creating his own mythologies. Because Tolkien’s secondary world are simply creations inspired by and adapted from the primary world, Tolkien’s mythologies reflect the world that humans live in and that he is attempting to describe. for Lewis. The nature of both worlds, primary and secondary and driven by and inspired by the higher powers of science, facts, religion, faith, and the acceptance of what could possibly be unknown.

-Melian