Jackson Adams's Blog

Allegory has deep roots, perhaps as old as story itself. There is something in prehistoric cave paintings, for instance, that points at two meanings, one literal and one figurative.

This brings us to a first figure, Joseph Campbell. Many are probably familiar with Campbell’s Hero with a Thousand Faces, but his thinking  goes much further than that. Campbell’s self-set task was to connect the meanings behind the treasure trove of the world’s stories. He did this in a remarkable fashion, linking common symbols to common meanings, based largely on realities that all humans share.

Campbell’s self-set task was to connect the meanings behind the treasure trove of the world’s stories. He did this in a remarkable fashion, linking common symbols to common meanings, based largely on realities that all humans share.

If you have not seen Bill Moyers’ interviews with Joseph Campbell, go see them now. 

By looking at the way myth’s try to explain things, Campbell is doing something essentially allegorical. Although sometimes his conclusions are a bit materialist and overly conclusive for me, nevertheless he is doing something worthwhile. Though nearly a contemporary, this work merits making him a first stop on the way towards thinking about allegory.

What do you think?

“Don’t use words too big for the subject. Don’t say infinitely when you mean very; otherwise you’ll have no word left when you want to talk about something really infinite.”

― C.S. Lewis

A lot of ink has been spilled in the pursuit of good descriptions. Anyone tasked with forming words to conjure an image or an idea has had this problem: Sitting over a blank page, with all the best intentions to form the pieces of a puzzle for a subject that one sees as a whole.

To create the puzzle, you pick each piece’s form by choosing words. You can spend a lot of time picking these, putting them in an order that helps the person on the receiving end know how to put the puzzle back together.

One of the best ways to form these puzzles is to tell stories. In fact, stories seem to appeal above more direct, prosiac descriptions for a number of reasons: They are more entertaining, and they have a clear beginning-middle-end being the two that stand out to me the most–at the moment.

Allegories are an oft overlooked way of telling a story. Here are a few reasons I am for them:

Allegories are self-conscious: They set out a vision in the qualified manner of an illustration that knows it isn’t quite the real thing.

This means: Allegories are humble. Less qualified to describe reality in total, they instead try to make a story of metaphors. With a foot in both worlds, the allegory seems to know it isn’t a direct description or a truly imaginary world.

That doesn’t stop allegories from being creative. Because allegorical metaphors are involved in interactions, the imagination gives them a depth they might not otherwise have. This has more to do with what allegories don’t say than what they do say–in my opinion.  Sparce descriptions cast big shadows, which the reader’s imagination can promptly fill, and perhaps personalise–based on their own experiences.

All of these factors make allegories an ideal way to render extremely complex matters simple, without betraying their complexity.  Like the physics professor demonstrating a highly involved concept with an illustration.

Done well, allegories can be extremely subtle. It is my personal hope that they can make a kind of come back in literature. I will therefore try and devote several future blog posts to great users of allegory.

-Jackson

 

 

 

 

 

On Tuesday, February 9, 2016, Till Father’s Found can be downloaded for FREE. Just go to the Amazon page to find it.

If you do get the book for free, please make the extra effort to review it on Amazon and Goodreads! Independently published books have a hard time competing against the big players. For sure, having reviews helps more than anything else!

P.S. The promotion runs on US Pacific time.

 

 

Enter the Goodreads 1st Edition Paperback Book Giveaway




Till Father's Found



by Jackson Adams

Giveaway ends February 26, 2016.

See the giveaway details

at Goodreads.

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It is common knowledge that the Protestant Reformation began on October 31, 1517 with Dr. Martin Luther and his 95 Theses. The importance of the dramatic events that led up to and followed that act are the subject of many fascinating and entertaining studies and dramatisations.

Almost 150 years prior to that, a figure no less impressive and no less important, lived and worked in the centre of learning in the English language, Oxford University. John Wyclif (also often written Wycliffe) is the subject of fewer studies and far fewer dramatisations, though his life and achievements were no less interesting or impressive. It is perhaps a fluke of history that this is the case. In many ways, Wyclif’s stormy life was overshadowed by the even stormier times in which he lived.

Whatever the reason, it is partly out of a desire to see his reputation revived that I have undergone (in the medieval half) of my novel to cover the most interesting slice of his life, the years 1379-1381.

For the reader who wishes to learn more about John Wyclif’s fascinating thinking and beliefs, I leave a collection of links (and books) to investigate. I will try to keep this list updated, so if something seems to be missing, please do not hesitate to add some more information in the comments!

The best place to start for a scholarly look: John Wyclif (Great Medieval Thinkers).    This book is a heavy read, but the intrepid will not be let down by it.
To get an idea of the times that John Wyclif lived in, read this very imaginative book, Time Traveller’s Guide to Medieval England 
…

‘You want to learn about God? No offence, but that sounds like a tremendous waste of time.’

So begins the novel that looks at the study of Christianity in the 21st Century.

As such, Till Father’s Found attempts to do two things. First, it aims to provide an accessible “Sophie’s World” kind of experience to the study of Theology, by following two characters as they study the subject at Oxford University.

Second, Till Father’s Found is an attempt at historallegory: The blending of allegorical figures with real life historical ones.  Allegories were very popular going all the way back to the Middle Ages. The 20th Century writer, C.S. Lewis was very fond of them.

What makes Till Father’s Found a little different is its attempt to meld the allegorical with the historical. The context is 1379-1381, a very tumultuous time in English (and Medieval European) History.

This happens to be the historical time for the author of one of the greatest allegorical poems of all time, The Vision of Piers Plowman.

In many ways, Till Father’s Found is a homage to that work, which is often left in the shadows of contemporary works, such as the Canterbury Tales and Sir Gawain and the Green Knight.

Although it attempts to wrangle tough subjects, the book aims to be both accessible and entertaining. Readers will rapidly get pulled into the two quests, one a search for a human father, while searching for that more mysterious Heavenly Father.

Book Details:
1st Edition Paperback

334 pages

Language: English

ISBN-10: 0692605630

ISBN-13: 978-0692605639

Product Dimensions: 5.2 x 0.8 x 8 inches

Kindle Version

File Size: 1088 KB

Print Length: 370 pages

Sold by: Amazon Digital Services LLC

Language: English

ASIN: B018LAAZ7S

From the Back:

“James and Theobald arrive in Oxford University to study Theology. One is searching for evidence of his biological father, who mysteriously disappeared before he was born. The other finds himself caught up in a movement to reform Christianity led by the Evangelical Doctor, John Wyclif.

Though separated by centuries, the two tales intertwine, both finding more, and less, than they originally thought possible.

This tale is inspired by the genius of William Langland or “Long Will”, author of the medieval alliterative poem, the Vision of Piers Plowman.”

 

 

 

Till Father’s Found is now available wherever books are sold! 

From the Back:

“James and Theobald arrive in Oxford University to study Theology. One is searching for evidence of his biological father, who mysteriously disappeared before he was born. The other finds himself caught up in a movement to reform Christianity led by the Evangelical Doctor, John Wyclif.

Though separated by centuries, the two tales intertwine, both finding more, and less, than they originally thought possible.

This tale is inspired by the genius of William Langland or “Long Will”, author of the medieval alliterative poem, the Vision of Piers Plowman.”

ISBN 978-0-692-60563-9

 

 

Till Father’s Found is now available wherever books are sold! 

“James and Theobald arrive in Oxford University to study Theology. One is searching for evidence of his biological father, who mysteriously disappeared before he was born. The other finds himself caught up in a movement to reform Christianity led by the Evangelical Doctor, John Wyclif.

Though separated by centuries, the two tales intertwine, both finding more, and less, than they originally thought possible.

This tale is inspired by the genius of William Langland or “Long Will”, author of the medieval alliterative poem, the Vision of Piers Plowman.”

ISBN 978-0-692-60563-9

 

Till Father’s Found is now available wherever books are sold! 

“James and Theobald arrive in Oxford University to study Theology. One is searching for evidence of his biological father, who mysteriously disappeared before he was born. The other finds himself caught up in a movement to reform Christianity led by the Evangelical Doctor, John Wyclif.

Though separated by centuries, the two tales intertwine, both finding more, and less, than they originally thought possible.

This tale is inspired by the genius of William Langland or “Long Will”, author of the medieval alliterative poem, the Vision of Piers Plowman.”

ISBN 978-0-692-60563-9