Sub-Creation

Tolkien on the Work of Storytelling

Sub-creation is a term coined by J.R.R. Tolkien to describe the human act of creative storytelling as an imitation of God’s divine creation. In his essay On Fairy-Stories, Tolkien argues that when we make worlds, myths, or languages, we are not usurping God’s role as Creator, but rather fulfilling our nature as beings made in His image. We are “sub-creators”, crafting secondary worlds within God’s primary creation.

For Tolkien, sub-creation is not mere escapism or fantasy for its own sake. It is participation in God’s artistry. Just as God spoke the world into being with beauty and order, human beings mirror that act when they shape stories that reflect truth, goodness, and beauty. Sub-creation is thus an act of stewardship and worship—it arises from humility, not hubris. It acknowledges that all our imaginative powers are gifts, and that to create is to honor the Creator.

Tolkien’s own legendarium exemplifies this. In The Silmarillion, the Ainulindalë (the “Music of the Ainur”) create the world by divine symphony of angelic voices under the direction of Ilúvatar, the One. Even Melkor, who introduces discord, cannot ultimately escape the sovereign harmony of Ilúvatar’s design. This is the theological heart of sub-creation: human (and angelic) creativity is real and meaningful, but always within the bounds of God’s sovereign authorship. By our creation we continue to create what God is creating.

Sub-creation is possible because the world is not chaotic or meaningless, but narratively ordered. When writers create coherent, moral, beautiful stories, they bear witness to the deeper structure of reality. Even sorrow and failure, when woven into a well-told tale, reveal the pattern of redemption as echoes of the Gospel. Sub-creation is not just a literary principle. It is the image of God manifest in man.

In this way, Tolkien elevates the vocation of the artist and storyteller. He shows that to craft a good story is not only to entertain, but to echo the Song that called the world into being. Sub-creation, rightly ordered, is a form of praise. It echoes divine imagination. “Let there be,” offered in wonder, humility, and joy.