C.S. Lewis's Via Positiva & T.S. Eliot's Via Negativa: two writers divided by a common faith

Abstract

George Bernard Shaw is supposed to have said that America and Britain are two countries separated by a common language. A paraphrase of his remark might be applied to C.S. Lewis and T.S. Eliot. For Christianity has two distinct modes of approaching— of conceiving of—and of speaking about the divine; namely, the via positiva, and the via negativa, each with its own rich tradition. The former aims to say things about God; the latter aims to unsay things about God, in order to preserve a sense of God’s pure transcendental otherness—his ontological distinctness from creation. Each side of this divide represents a fundamentally different spiritual disposition, which—critically, for the purposes of this thesis— inclines one to see nature (primarily) in either one of two ways: the former sees the divine in, and through, nature; the latter seeks an encounter with the divine that is unmediated by nature or created things. What is more, this difference translates into different ways of using language. Lewis (via positiva) and Eliot (via negativa), find themselves on opposite sides of this divide as near perfect exemplars of their respective positions. This thesis will evaluate the way in which this key difference is reflected in each writer’s work (literary-critical, and creative), and how it shapes their debate.

Thesis embargoed until 31 July 2026

Date of Award	Jul 2024
Original language	English
Supervisor	Willa Murphy (Supervisor) & Andrew Keanie (Supervisor)