Why Tolkien Hated Narnia

In this video we explore J. R. R. Tolkien's opinions on the Chronicles of Narnia, and specifically the reasons why he so famously disliked his friend C. S. Lewis' renowned work!

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[dn]

Tolkien's actual letters: "Well, I say, my dear Lewis, I did not much find of your work, but I suppose that to each their own, and I hope too, that you shall find success"

Clickbait Youtubers: "Why Tolkien DESPISED chronicals of Narnia with a raging PASSION"

[phillystevesteak]

I think you don't write a series as thoughtful and complex as LotR without being the most critical person who ever lived - which I'm sure he also applied to himself.

[austincalhoun]

Tolkien might have rather disliked quite a few things but man he sure was nice about it unlike most internet threads lol

[noskey]

I don't think having criticism on a work means "hate" it. Why would tolkien present a book that he hated to his granddaughter? If one translate "criticize" into "hate", that is another kind of "allegory". Disagreement does not always lead to displeasement, just like I don't agree with the title doesn't mean I hate this video. There is a huge emotional gap between them. I'm getting worried of these sort of "why who hated who" titles.
Cheers on providing precious information, yet I don't agree with the title.

[AmericanImperium]

Tolkien was a true gentleman. Had disagreements with Herbert and Lewis, but kept his criticisms private to not stir up public drama. Godspeed Tolkien 🫡

[Tallacus]

If Tolkien thought Narnia was bad, well good thing he is not alive to see his work bastardized at what Amazon screwed over his work

[MilesDei]

We live in a world where the word criticise mean hatered. They were friends and bith wanted the best for their books.

[geradkavanagh]

I read the CS Lewis books when I was about 10 years old. It was nearly 10 years later that I discovered and read the JRR Tolkien books. Both gave me immense joy in the reading of them.

[deathstar]

One of the things that I genuinely find about Narnia that captures me in a way Lotr doesn't is while Lewis does write fast and does go through plot points quickly he still finds ways to be very descriptive of environments, having general dialogue that's comfortable and down to earth and making all of these fantastical elements work together despite their origins. This shines the most when reading the Magician's Nephew or the Horse and his boy, you can sort of feel the effort Lewis takes to put you there, to make you see what he sees. Tolkien likes to treat his stories like they were told in an age past and you are hearing it from your Grandpa on a stormy night, Lewis puts you down by a fire and the fire is telling you the story much like how Lucy sees the story in the fire by Mr Thomas' house. Nobody is telling you a story your mind wanders into it and drifts through it like a dream.

And this is where allegory shines a bit because dreams are a reflection of the experiences we have in real life and often are an allegory about our experiences from a perspective we hadn't considered. We can look at history all we want and find the myth from legend but at the end of the day what we can create now is just as valuable even if its just bits and pieces from things in the past. I believe both perspectives are equally interesting and why I have the greatest respect for both authors.

[alexritchie]

Lewis and Tolkien just had different approaches. Lewis used simplistic narratives to allegorise multiple themes, whereas Tolkien used complex narratives to allegorise a singular theme.

[WildKat]

To be fair, Lewis thought Tolkien's works dragged on needlessly at various points of the books.

[MatthewCaunsfield]

Like many of us Tolkien held strong opinions in certain areas, but unlike many he was able to express them with a touch of class.

[dylanlindsey]

Can we stop naming our videos “so and so hated this, ” or “Why so and so hated that”? Been seeing this a lot lately, especially related to Tolkien for some reason. Someone can have opinions about something, even strong opinions, without “hating” it.

[TwoCentReview]

The more videos I see like this, the more I’d like to see a video that is called “Everything Tolkien Actually Liked” and it would be two minutes long.

[M.A.C.]

Seems like J.R.R. Tolkien hated a lot of things from the Beatles to Disney to Dune. Imagine if he lived long enough to see Harry Potter.

[Toldoris]

While I can acknowledge that Narina is a great piece of work I like Middle Earth much better. Tolkien's Christian influence is a subtle song in the background, while Lewis hits his message in your face with a sledgehammer!

[crimsondeath]

Only the friends who keep challanging you in a construrctive way are true friends who truly care about you as they want you to grow, always become better

[eltonbormes]

That's why, no matter who tells you otherwise, you should do your thing.

[МаксимильенМариИзидорРобеспьер]

Tolkien: Existed.
Youtube: Why Tolkien hated Dune? Why Tolkien hated Disney? Why Tolkien hated Narnia? Why Tolkien hated Shakespeare? Why Tolkien hated Rome? Why Tolkien hated Cars? Why Tolkien hated Democracy? Why Tolkien hated Allegory? Why Tolkien hated everything? Why Tolkien hated Tolkien?

[intensehumanbox]

I get the vibe if tolkien was given amnesia and knew nothing of his own creation hed read all of LotR and be like "Hmm.. Yeah 7.5/10"