Lewis, C. S.

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'''Clive Staples Lewis''' (29 November 1898 – 22 November1963), known for his writings as '''C. S. Lewis''' and by his friends and associates as '''Jack''', was a famous [[Irish people| Irish]] author and novelist. His friend Owen Barfield said that C.S. Lewis could be broken down into three very different and distinct C.S. Lewises—the first was the role he played as a distinguished [[Oxford]] scholar and teacher, the second as a popular author of science fiction and children's novels, and the third as a highly religious spokesman and writer of Christian apologetics  Lewis is most famous for his children's series entitled ''[[The Chronicles of Narnia]]''. The writings of C.S. Lewis have impacted not only the country of England, but have spread across the globe, bringing values and ideas to people everywhere. His books and writings continue to be translated in many language and are finding a greater audience than ever. His writings not only inspire a number of children, who continue to discover his imaginative stories, but also a growing number of adults find themselves immersed in his commentaries on human nature and the human condition. 
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== Early Life ==
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'''Clive Staples Lewis''' (November 29, 1898 – November 22, 1963), known for his writings as '''C. S. Lewis''' and by his friends and associates as '''Jack''', was a famous [[Ireland|Irish]] author, novelist, and one of the great spokespersons for [[Christianity]] in the twentieth century.
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As a youth, the untimely death of his mother, the cruelty of his schoolmates and the traumatic events of [[World War I]] caused C. S. Lewis to question a God who would allow such horrible things to happen. In 1931, he reconverted to the Christianity of his youth. From that point onward, C. S. Lewis wrote for other people who suffered from the disbelief that had plagued his early life. Whether indirectly through children's novels or directly in apologetic works and [[radio]] broadcasts, he spent the latter part of his life helping others come closer to [[religion]], and most especially to [[Jesus Christ]]. His writings continue to help people decipher their beliefs, and are today more popular than ever.
  
Clive Staples Lewis was born in [[Belfast]], [[Ireland]] on November 29, 1898 to Albert James Lewis and Flora Augusta Hamilton Lewis. His parents were dedicated members of the [[Church of Ireland]] and raised Lewis and his elder brother, Warren Hamilton Lewis (Warnie) in that faith. His father worked as a [[solicitor]] and his mother was a very promising mathematician. Both parents, but especially Flora, had a great love of books. She taught both of her children to love books and learning, encourageing them to learn Latin and French. Lewis's parents extensive library gave him the luxury of reading book after book, allowing his imagination to come alive, he often noted that he felt much more comfortable in the various lands of the past described in his novels, then he did in technological world of the 20th century.
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==Biography==
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Clive Staples Lewis was born in Belfast, [[Ireland]] on November 29, 1898, to Albert James Lewis and Flora Augusta Hamilton Lewis. His parents were dedicated members of the [[Church of Ireland]] and raised Lewis and his elder brother, Warren Hamilton Lewis (Warnie) in that faith. His father worked as a solicitor and his mother was a very promising mathematician. Both parents, but especially Flora, had a great love of books. She taught both of her children to love books and learning, encouraging them to learn Latin and French. The Lewis's extensive library gave Jack the luxury of reading book after book, allowing his imagination to come alive. He often noted that he felt much more comfortable in the various lands of the past described in novels, than he did in the technological world of the 20th century.
  
At a young age Lewis fell in love with the world created by [[Beatrix Potter]] and her stories about animals talking and acting as humans. He and his brother, Warnie, would spend hours together creating their own world inhabited and run by animals, they called this the world of [[Boxen (C. S. Lewis)|Boxen]]. Lewis loved to dress up the family pet, Jacksie, from whom he took his nickname. When Lewis was four, his dog was hit by a car and died. After this, Lewis declared to all that his name was now Jacksie and he kept firm to this resolution, not answering to anything else. This name eventually became Jacks, and then finally, Jack. When he was six and Warnie was nine, the little family moved to Leeborough or Little Lea, a new house located in Strandtown.  
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At a young age Lewis fell in love with the world created by [[Beatrix Potter]] and her stories about animals talking and acting as humans. He and his brother, Warnie, would spend hours together creating their own world inhabited and run by animals. They called this world Boxen. Lewis loved to dress up the family pet, Jacksie, from whom he took his nickname. When Lewis was four, his dog was hit by a car and died. After this, Lewis declared to all that his name was now Jacksie and he kept firm to this resolution, not answering to anything else. This name eventually became Jacks, and then finally, Jack. When he was six and Warnie was nine, the family moved to Leeborough or Little Lea, a new house located in Strandtown.  
  
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C. S. Lewis' happy childhood was unexpectedly disrupted when Jack was just nine years old. His mother passed away from cancer. It was the aftermath of his mother's death that eventually led Lewis to ask questions about the meaning and purpose of life, and led to his rejection of religion. Albert dealt with his loss by sending Lewis to the same boarding school his brother was attending, the Wynyard School in Watford, Hertfordshire.
  
C.S. Lewis was blessed with a very happy childhood until tragedy struck. When little Jack was just nine years old his mother died suddenly from cancer. The beauty and tranquility of the Lewis house was shattered and the three men left were unsure of how to continue without Flora. Albert dealt with his loss by sending Lewis to the same boarding school that Warnie had been attending for the past three years. With both boys away, he was able to wallow in his grief. Lewis, who before this time had been educated by his mother and various tutors, left home in 1908 and went to the Wynyard School in [[Watford]], [[Hertfordshire]]. This hard time in the boys life was accentuated by the cruelity of the school. The headmaster was a man named Robert "Oldie" Capron, a man so cruel, so abusive, and so unpredictable that many who knew him believed him to be insane. The school soon closed, Capron claimed it was lack of pupils, but this lack was certainly due to the harsh methods he implimented. Lewis would refer to his time at this school in his autobiographical novel, ''Surprised By Joy'', in which he renamed the school Lewis "[[Bergen-Belsen concentration camp|Belsen]]" after the World War II concentration camp.
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Lewis, who before this time had been educated by his mother and various tutors, left a few months after his mother's death. The pain of her death was accentuated by the cruelty of the school headmaster. Robert "Oldie" Capron, was a man so cruel, so abusive, and so unpredictable that many who knew him believed him to be insane. The school closed in 1911. It was during this difficult time that he found solace and comfort in writing. He wrote about fantasy lands and kind characters, thus escaping from the school through his imagination. Lewis would refer to his time at this school in his autobiographical novel, ''Surprised By Joy'', in which he renamed the school "Belsen" after the World War II concentration camp.
  
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===Education===
  
Lewis next attended [[Campbell College]] in the east of Belfast about a mile from his home, but he left after a few months due to respiratory problems. As a result of his illness, Lewis was sent to the health-resort town of [[Malvern, Worcestershire]], where he attended the prep-school Cherbourg House (known to Lewis as "Chartres"). It was during his time at Cherbourg that he abandoned his childhood Christian faith. In September 1913, Lewis started attending [[Malvern College]], where he would remain until the following June, then moving on to study privately with William T. Kirkpatrick, his father's old tutor and former headmaster of [[Lurgan College]].
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C. S. Lewis went on to attend several other scholastic institutions before finally taking charge of his own education. He attended the nearby Campbell College for a few months, until illness made it impossible for him to stay. The educators and doctors felt that Lewis would benefit from time spent in the health-resort town of Malvern, Worcestershire. He enrolled in the prep-school Cherbourg House (which Lewis knew as "Chartres"). It was during this time that Lewis officially denounced his Christian faith. Lewis went on to spend the 1913 school year at Malvern College, until eventually returning home to Belfast and remaining there until 1917. Along with being tutored by William T. Kirkpatrick, the former headmaster of Lurgan College, Lewis attributes his education to the family library.  
  
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In ''Surprised by Joy'' Lewis says, "I am the product of long corridors, empty sunlit rooms, upstairs indoor silences, attics explored in solitude, distant noises of gurgling cisterns and pipes, and the noise of wind under the tiles. Also of endless books. There were books in the study, books in the drawing-room, books in the cloakroom, books in the great bookcase on the landing, books in a bedroom, books piled as high as my shoulder in the cistern attic, books of all kinds reflecting every transient stage of my parents' interests, books readable and unreadable, books suitable for a child and books most empathetically not. Nothing was forbidden me. In the seemingly endless rainy afternoons I took volume after volume from the shelves."
  
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During these teenage years, Lewis not only read, but became fascinated with the songs of [[Richard Wagner]] and the legends of the North that Wagner described in his operas. The music of Wagner along with the beauties of nature around him gave him an intense longing for what he would later call "joy", and this became a main focal point of study for him.
  
As a teenager, he was wonderstruck by [[Richard Wagner]] and the songs and legends of the North. They intensified a longing he had within him, a deep desire he would later call "joy". He also grew to love nature — the beautiful scenes in nature reminded him of the stories of the North, and the stories of the North reminded him of the beauties of nature. In his teenage years, his writing moved away from the tales of Boxen, and he began to use different art forms (epic poetry and opera) to try and capture his newfound interest in [[Norse mythology]] and in the natural world. Studying with Kirkpatrick (“The Great Knock”, as Lewis afterwards called him) instilled in him a love of Greek literature and mythology, and sharpened his skills in debate and clear reasoning.
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This solitary time at home enabled him to continue writing. He began to explore different mediums, writing epic poetry and trying his hand at writing an opera. Both of these endeavors centered around his love of [[Norse mythology]]. He also developed a great love for the Greek literature and mythology while studying with Kirkpatrick (or as Lewis referred to him, "The Great Knock"). With Kirkpatrick's sharp skills, Lewis became adept in debate and clear, focused reasoning.
  
In 1916 Lewis won a [[scholarship]] to [[University College, Oxford]] during [[World War I]]. He enlisted in the [[British Army]] in 1917. He was commissioned as an officer in the third Battalion, [[Somerset Light Infantry]]. Lewis arrived at the front line in the [[Somme]] Valley in [[France]] on his nineteenth birthday.
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With all of these many facets of education under his belt, Lewis was the recipient of a scholarship from University College, Oxford in 1916. which coincided with the events of [[World War I]]. Lewis did not immediately begin college, but instead enlisted with the [[British Army]] in 1917, where he was commissioned as an officer in the Third Battalion, Somerset Light Infantry.  
  
On April 15th 1917, Lewis was wounded during the [[Battle of Arras (1917)|Battle of Arras]], and suffered some depression, due in part to missing his Irish home. On his recovery in October, he was assigned duty in [[Andover, Hampshire|Andover]], England. He was discharged in December 1918, and returned to his studies. He received a First in [[Honour Moderations]] (Greek and Latin Literature) in 1920, a First in [[Greats]] (Philosophy and Ancient History) in 1922, and a First in [[English studies|English]] in 1923.
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===The war===
  
While being trained for the army he shared a room with another cadet, "Paddy" Moore, who was killed in action in 1918. Paddy had introduced Lewis to his mother, Jane King Moore, and a friendship very quickly sprang up between Lewis, who was eighteen when they met, and Jane, who was forty-five.  The friendship was particularly important to Lewis when he was recovering from his wounds in hospital and his father refused to visit him.  He had promised Paddy that, should Paddy die, Jane's care would be provided by Lewis himself.  He kept this promise, frequently referring to her as his mother.  Jane subsequently made the domestic relationship difficult and Lewis noted in many of his letters the toll this took on his life.
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During his training, Lewis made an acquaintance that would change his life. Edward Francis Courtenay "Paddy" Moore was Lewis's roommate during the training period and became friends with Lewis. Paddy introduced Lewis to his mother, Jane King Moore, who took him under her wing and treated him like a son. At nineteen, Lewis was sent to the front line of the Somme Valley in [[France]], and on April 15, 1917, he suffered an injury during the Battle of Arras.  
  
There has been some speculation among Lewis scholars as to the nature of the relationship between Lewis and Jane Moore.  Lewis for most of his life and certainly after his conversion, introduced Moore as his mother to all his acquaintances and college personnel. Lewis was exceptionally reticent on the matter in his autobiography, writing only "All I can or need to say is that my earlier hostility to the emotions was very fully and variously avenged". Wilson declared categorically that they had been intimate during the period of his convalescence, but this seems to be based on few and poorly interpreted letters, and owes something to Wilson's tendency to psychological interpretation. Walter Hooper, Lewis's literary executor, allowed that it was possible, but as a late acquaintance his data is all derivative, like Wilson.  George Sayer, on the other hand, was present during these years as a student of Lewis and denies the possibility emphatically ("Jack" appendix re Wilson's claim). At any rate, their friendship was certainly a very close one.  In December 1917 Lewis wrote, in a letter to his childhood friend, Arthur Greeves, that Jane and Greeves were "the two people who matter most to me in the world".
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In addition to his physical injury, Lewis found himself battling depression and a severe case of homesickness. While in the hospital he found himself visited by Paddy Moore's mother, Jane. A lasting friendship formed and Lewis took to her kindness immediately, which is not surprising given that his father refused to visit him in the hospital. Lewis made a promise to Paddy, that should Paddy die, then he would care for Jane and see to her needs.  
  
After the war, in 1918 or 1919, Lewis and Moore shared a house, although Lewis also kept rooms at his college, and in 1930, they and Lewis's brother, Warren Lewis, moved into "The Kilns", a house in Risinghurst, Headington (a suburb of Oxford).  They all three contributed financially to the purchase of the house, which passed to [[Lady Dunbar of Hempriggs]], Moore's daughter, when Warren died in 1973.
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By October of the same year, Lewis had made a full recovery from his wounds, but his experiences of war and battle were never forgotten. Paddy Moore did die in battle and Lewis kept his promise, often referring to Jane as his mother. As Jane aged and grew senile, the relationship became difficult, but Lewis kept his promise, visiting her nearly everyday when she was put in a nursing home.
  
Moore has been much criticized for being possessive and controlling and making Lewis do a lot of housework.  However, she was also a warmhearted, affectionate and hospitable woman who was well liked by her neighbours at The Kilns. "She was generous and taught me to be generous, too", Lewis said to his friend George Sayer.
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In December of 1918, he returned home with an honorable discharge and returned to his studies. In the next few years C. S. Lewis distinguished himself by receiving several different awards including: a First in [[Honor Moderations]] (Greek and Latin Literature) in 1920, a First in [[Greats]] (Philosophy and Ancient History) in 1922, and a First in [[English studies|English]] in 1923. These years also marked the time when Lewis moved in with Jane Moore, even though he also kept rooms at his college. In December 1917, Lewis wrote, in a letter to his childhood friend, Arthur Greeves, that Jane and Greeves were "the two people who matter most to me in the world." Finally in 1930, Lewis and his brother Warnie moved into "The Kilns", a large house with a wardrobe that is depicted in the ''Chronicles of Narnia''. The house is located in Risinghurst, Headington (a suburb of Oxford). The gentlemen took an aged Jane to live with them, and all three contributed to the purchase of the house. Upon Warren's death in 1973, the house passed to Jane Moore's daughter, "Lady Dunbar of Hempriggs.
 
 
In later years Moore suffered from dementia and was eventually moved into a nursing home where she died in 1951. Lewis visited her every day while she was in the home.
 
  
 
== "My Irish life" ==
 
== "My Irish life" ==
[[Image:CSLewisPlaque.jpg|thumb|Plaque on a park-bench in [[Bangor, County Down|Bangor]], [[County Down]] ]]
 
Lewis experienced a certain cultural shock when living in England. "No Englishman will be able to understand my first impressions of England," Lewis wrote in ''[[Surprised by Joy]]''. "The strange English accents with which I was surrounded seemed like the voices of demons. But what was worst was the English landscape... I have made up the quarrel since; but at that moment I conceived a hatred for England which took many years to heal."
 
 
From his youth, Lewis had immersed himself in [[Irish mythology]] and literature and expressed an interest in the [[Irish language]]. He later developed a particular fondness for [[W. B. Yeats]], in part because of Yeats’s use of Ireland’s [[Celt]]ic heritage in poetry. In a letter to a friend Lewis wrote, "I have here discovered an author exactly after my own heart, whom I am sure you would delight in, W. B. Yeats. He writes plays and poems of rare spirit and beauty about our old Irish mythology."
 
 
He was surprised to find his English peers indifferent to Yeats and the [[Celtic Revival]] movement. In describing his time at Oxford he wrote: "I am often surprised to find how utterly ignored Yeats is among the men I have met: perhaps his appeal is purely Irish — if so, then thank the gods that I am Irish."
 
 
Perhaps to help cope with his environment, Lewis even expressed a somewhat tongue-in-cheek chauvinism toward the English. Describing an encounter with a fellow Irishman he wrote: "Like all Irish people who meet in England we ended by criticisms of the inevitable flippancy and dullness of the [[Anglo-Saxons |Anglo-Saxon]] race. After all, ami, there is no doubt that the Irish are the only people... I would not gladly live or die among another folk."
 
 
Lewis did indeed live and die among another folk, due to his Oxford career and often expressed a certain regret at having to leave Ireland. Throughout his life, he sought out the company of his fellow Irish living in England and visited Ireland regularly. He called this "my Irish life".
 
 
Early in his career, Lewis considered sending his work to the major [[Dublin]] publishers. In a letter to a friend he wrote: "If I do ever send my stuff to a publisher, I think I shall try Maunsel, those Dublin people, and so tack myself definitely onto the Irish school." After his conversion to Christianity, his interests gravitated towards Christian spirituality and away from Celtic mysticism.
 
 
== Conversion to Christianity ==
 
Although raised in a churchgoing family in the [[Church of Ireland]], Lewis was an atheist for much of his youth. His separation from Christianity began when he started to view his religion as a chore and as a duty. He also gained an interest in the occult as his studies expanded as to include such topics. Lewis quoted [[Lucretius]] as having one of the strongest arguments for atheism:
 
 
:''Nequaquam nobis divinitus esse paratam''
 
:''Naturam rerum; tanta stat praedita culpa''
 
 
:''Had God designed the world, it would not be''
 
:''A world so frail and faulty as we see.''
 
  
When he later wrote an account of his adult reconversion to Christianity, under the title ''[[Surprised by Joy]]'', he said that he had been "very angry with God for not existing". Some interpret this to mean that he did not so much reject the existence of God as harbour anger at God for the unfairness in life. This interpretation appears to be contradicted by a letter to a friend, in which he said: "all religions, no, mythologies to give them their proper name, have no proof whatsoever!" Later in his life, however, he began to believe in a deeper experience of some fundamentals of Western thought.
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[[Image:CSLewisPlaque.jpg|thumb|300px|Plaque on a park-bench in Bangor, County Down.]]
  
Influenced by arguments with his Oxford colleague and [[Roman Catholic]] friend [[J. R. R. Tolkien]], and by [[G.K. Chesterton]]'s book, ''[[The Everlasting Man]]'', he slowly rediscovered Christianity. In 1929, he came to believe in the existence of God although he fought greatly against it. He describes his last struggle in ''[[Surprised by Joy]]'':
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C. S. Lewis' Irish heritage led him to write of England, "No Englishman will be able to understand my first impressions of England," he wrote in ''Surprised by Joy''. "The strange English accents with which I was surrounded seemed like the voices of demons. But what was worst was the English landscape... I have made up the quarrel since; but at that moment I conceived a hatred for England which took many years to heal."
  
:"You must picture me alone in that room in Magdalen, night after night, feeling, whenever my mind lifted even for a second from my work, the steady, unrelenting approach of Him whom I so earnestly desired not to meet. That which I greatly feared had at last come upon me. In the Trinity Term of 1929 I gave in, and admitted that God was God, and knelt and prayed: perhaps, that night, the most dejected and reluctant convert in all England."
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Lewis's patriotism for Ireland was strong and heartfelt. He associated himself with the land, the people, and the history of his country. From a young age Lewis had studied [[Irish mythology]] in depth, along with the great Irish authors and he was intrigued with learning the unique [[Irish language]]. During his studies, Lewis came to admire deeply the writings of fellow Irishman, [[W.B. Yeats]]. He loved Yeats's details and vivid use of Ireland's [[Celt]]ic heritage in his poems. In a letter to a friend Lewis wrote, "I have here discovered an author exactly after my own heart, whom I am sure you would delight in, W. B. Yeats. He writes plays and poems of rare spirit and beauty about our old Irish mythology." When he found his English associates indifferent to Yeats, he was shocked, and unable to account for it. In describing his time at Oxford he wrote: "I am often surprised to find how utterly ignored Yeats is among the men I have met: perhaps his appeal is purely Irish—if so, then thank the gods that I am Irish."
  
In 1931, after a lengthy discussion with Tolkien and another close friend, [[Hugo Dyson]], he reconverted to Christianity and (to the regret of Tolkien) joined the [[Church of England]]. He noted, "I came into Christianity kicking and screaming."
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Lewis was unable to return to Ireland because of his work at Oxford, and he regretted this circumstance, but he paid regular visits to the country of his birth. At the beginning of his writing career, Lewis had intended on sending his works to a major [[Dublin]] publisher. In a letter to a friend he wrote: "If I do ever send my stuff to a publisher, I think I shall try Maunsel, those Dublin people, and so tack myself definitely onto the Irish school." Lewis was often known for his tongue-in-cheek chauvinism toward the English. Describing an encounter with a fellow Irishman he wrote: "Like all Irish people who meet in England we ended by criticisms of the inevitable flippancy and dullness of the [[Anglo-Saxons |Anglo-Saxon]] race. After all, ami, there is no doubt that the Irish are the only people... I would not gladly live or die among another folk."
  
Although an [[Church of England|Anglican]], Lewis's Catholic leanings appeared to influence his beliefs; he accepted the Catholic doctrine of [[mortal sin]], implying that he believed a Christian could lose their salvation, a belief somewhat at odds with reformed views on [[Justification (theology)|justification]]. This opinion was thoroughly explored in Lewis's book ''The Screwtape Letters''. {{DisputedAssertion|Catholicism etc. }}
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Throughout his life, C. S. Lewis often sought out other Irish living in England and kept close friendships with many of them. He referred to this as "my Irish life".
Lewis was also sympathetic to the Catholic doctrine of [[Purgatory]]. His references to the subject in his final work, "Letters to Malcolm", find him taking a line similar to the Catholic theologian John Henry Newman's approach in "The Dream of Gerontius". It seems likely that Newman in turn had taken his position from that found in Catherine of Genoa's "Purgation and Purgatory".
 
  
 
== Career as a scholar ==
 
== Career as a scholar ==
Lewis taught as a fellow of [[Magdalen College, Oxford]], for nearly thirty years, from [[1925]] to [[1954]], and later was the first [[Professor of Medieval and Renaissance English, Cambridge University|Professor of Medieval and Renaissance Literature]] at the [[University of Cambridge]] and a fellow of [[Magdalene College, Cambridge]]. Using this position, he argued that there was no such thing as an [[English Renaissance]]. Much of his scholarly work concentrated on the later Middle Ages, especially its use of allegory. His ''The Allegory of Love'' (1936) helped reinvigorate the serious study of late medieval narratives like the ''[[Roman de la Rose]]''. Lewis wrote several prefaces to old works of literature and poetry, like ''Layamon's Brut''. His preface to John Milton’s poem ''[[Paradise Lost]]'' is still one of the most important criticisms of that work. His last academic work, ''The Discarded Image, an Introduction to Medieval and Renaissance Literature'' (1964), is a summary of the medieval world view, the "discarded image" of the cosmos in his title.
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Lewis's friend Owen Barfield said that C. S. Lewis could be broken down into three very different and distinct C. S. Lewises—the first was the role he played as a distinguished Oxford scholar and teacher, the second as a popular author of science fiction and children's novels, and the third as a highly religious spokesman and writer of Christian apologetics.
  
Lewis was a prolific writer and a member of the literary discussion society [[Inklings|The Inklings]] with his friends [[J. R. R. Tolkien]], [[Charles Williams (UK writer)|Charles Williams]], and [[Owen Barfield]]At Oxford he was the tutor of, among other undergraduates, poet [[John Betjeman]] and critic [[Kenneth Tynan]]. Curiously, the religious and conservative Betjeman detested Lewis, whereas the anti-Establishment Tynan retained a life-long admiration for him.
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C. S. Lewis served as a teaching fellow from Magdalen College, Oxford from 1925-1954. His career as a professor and intellect would prove to be satisfying, prestigious, and prolific. After his tenure at Magdalen, he worked at the University of Cambridge and Magdalene College, Cambridge. He became the first Professor of Medieval and Renaissance English at Cambridge University. These classes, and his particular interest in the subject, led to one of his first works, ''The Allegory of Love'' (1936), which concentrated on the later Middle Ages and the use of allegory during that time periodLewis was then commissioned to write important prefaces to old works of literature and poetry, among them were ''Layamon's Brut'' and [[John Milton]]'s ''Paradise Lost''. His last academic work was published in 1964, ''The Discarded Image, an Introduction to Medieval and Renaissance Literature''.  
  
Of [[J. R. R. Tolkien]], Lewis writes in [[Surprised by Joy]] (chapter X1V, p173):
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His career as a scholar also brought him into association with distinguished men who became his life long friends. Among them were [[J.R.R. Tolkien]], [[Charles Williams (UK writer)|Charles Williams]], and [[Owen Barfield]]. These men formed a literary discussion society, [[The Inklings|Inklings]], which met every Tuesday for lunch at the Eagle and Child pub (known also as the Bird and Baby) pub from the 1930s to 1949. Lewis wrote of J. R. R. Tolkien, in ''Surprised by Joy'' (chapter X1V, p173):
 
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"When I began teaching for the English Faculty, I made two other friends, both Christians (these queer people seemed now to pop up on every side) who were later to give me much help in getting over the last stile.  They were H. V. V. Dyson ... and J. R. R. Tolkien.  Friendship with the latter marked the breakdown of two old prejudices.  At my first coming into the world I had been (implicitly) warned never to trust a Papist, and at my first coming into the English Faculty (explicitly) never to trust a philologist.  Tolkien was both.
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"When I began teaching for the English Faculty, I made two other friends, both Christians (these queer people seemed now to pop up on every side) who were later to give me much help in getting over the last stile.  They were H. V. V. Dyson and J. R. R. Tolkien.  Friendship with the latter marked the breakdown of two old prejudices.  At my first coming into the world I had been (implicitly) warned never to trust a Papist, and at my first coming into the English Faculty (explicitly) never to trust a philologist.  Tolkien was both."
 
</blockquote>
 
</blockquote>
  
 
== Career as a writer of fiction ==
 
== Career as a writer of fiction ==
In addition to his scholarly work, Lewis wrote a number of popular novels, including his [[science-fiction]] [[Space Trilogy]], his [[fantasy fiction|fantasy]] [[Narnia]] books, and various other novels, most containing allegories on Christian themes such as sin, the Fall, and redemption. (For more information about those works, see their individual articles.)
 
  
===[[The Pilgrim's Regress]]===
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C. S. Lewis is probably best known as a writer of fiction. Lewis wrote several popular novels for young adults and children. His two most popular series remain the ''Space Trilogy'' (science fiction) and his series, ''The Chronicles of Narnia'' (fantasy).
His first novel after becoming a Christian was ''The Pilgrim's Regress'', his take on [[John Bunyan]]'s ''[[The Pilgrim's Progress]]'' which depicted his own experience with Christianity. The book was critically panned at the time, particularly for its [[recondite]] nature - as to merely read it requires a familiarity with classical sources far beyond the capabilities of the typical reader or reviewer.
 
  
===[[Space Trilogy]]===  
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===''Space Trilogy''===  
His Space Trilogy or "Ransom Trilogy" novels dealt with what Lewis saw as the then-current dehumanizing trends in modern science fiction. The first book, ''[[Out of the Silent Planet]]'', was apparently written following a conversation with his friend [[J. R. R. Tolkien]] about these trends. Lewis agreed to write a "space travel" story and Tolkien a "time travel" one. Tolkien’s story, "[[The Lost Road and Other Writings|The Lost Road]]", a tale connecting his Middle-earth mythology and the modern world, was never completed. Lewis’s character of Ransom is generally agreed to be based, in part, on Tolkien. The minor character Jules, from ''[[That Hideous Strength]]'', is an obvious caricature of [[H. G. Wells]]. Many of the ideas presented in the books, particularly in ''That Hideous Strength'', are dramatizations of arguments made more formally in Lewis’s ''[[The Abolition of Man]]''.
 
  
===[[The Chronicles of Narnia]]===  
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Lewis grew up with a pessimistic view of the world conditions he witnessed. The ''Space Trilogy'' or "Ransom Trilogy" novels address the dehumanizing trends that Lewis and his fellow scholars witnessed in modern science fiction. Lewis wrote the first book, ''Out of the Silent Planet'', following an intense conversation with his friend Tolkien about these trends. The two agreed to a sort of pact, Lewis would write a "space travel" story and Tolkien a "time travel" one. Tolkien’s story, ''The Lost Road'', was a tale that dealt with his famous Middle-earth mythology and the modern world, though it was never completed. Lewis did finish his story and based the main character, Ransom, on Tolkien. Another character, Jules, from ''That Hideous Strength'', was inspired by the works of [[H. G. Wells]].
The Narnia stories are a series of seven fantasy novels for children that are by far the most popular of Lewis's works. The books have many Christian themes and describe the adventures of a group of children who visit a magical land called [[Narnia]]. ''[[The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe]]'', which was the first published and the most popular book of the series, has been adapted for both stage and screen. Published between 1950 and 1956, the Chronicles of Narnia borrow from [[Greek mythology|Greek]], [[Roman Mythology|Roman]], and [[Celtic mythology]] as well as from traditional English and Irish [[fairy tale]]s. Lewis reportedly based his depiction of Narnia in the novels on the geography and scenery of the [[Mourne Mountains]] in [[County Down]], [[Northern Ireland]]. [[Castlerock|Downhill House]] was his inspiration for the Witch's Castle. Lewis cited [[George MacDonald]]'s christian fairy tales as an influence in writing the series.
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 +
===''The Chronicles of Narnia''===  
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There are seven individual novels that comprise ''The Chronicles of Narnia.'' These books remain the pinnacle of Lewis's career as a fiction writer. The books reflect Lewis's Christian values and portray many Christian themes including The Fall, The Atonement, and The Resurrection. The novels depict the adventures of a group of children who find themselves in a magical and mystical land called ''Narnia''. The books were published between 1950 and 1956, beginning with ''The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe'', the most popular book of the series, which has now been adapted for both stage and screen. The novels clearly reflect Lewis's love and knowledge of Greek mythology, Roman mythology, Celtic mythology and traditional English and Irish fairytales.
  
 
===Other works===  
 
===Other works===  
He wrote quite a few works on Heaven and Hell. ''[[The Great Divorce]]'' is a short but entertaining novel. Those in Hell can take a bus ride to Heaven, where they meet some of those they had known on earth. The deal is that they can stay (in which case they can call the place where they had come from Purgatory, not Hell): but many find it not to their taste. The title is a reference to [[William Blake]]'s ''[[The Marriage of Heaven and Hell]]''. This work deliberately echoes two other more famous works with a similar theme: the ''[[Divine Comedy]]'' of [[Dante|Dante Aligheri]], and Bunyan's ''[[Pilgrim's Progress]]''. Another short novel, ''[[The Screwtape Letters]]'', consists of letters of advice from a senior [[demon]], Screwtape, to his nephew Wormwood, on the best ways to tempt a particular human and secure his [[Damnation#Religious|damnation]]. Lewis’s last novel was ''[[Till We Have Faces]]'' — many believe (as he did) that it is his most mature and masterful work of fiction, but it was never a popular success. It is a retelling of the myth of [[Cupid and Psyche]] from the unusual perspective of Psyche's sister. It is deeply concerned with religious ideas, but the setting is entirely pagan, and the connections with specific Christian beliefs are left implicit.
 
  
Before Lewis’ conversion to Christianity, he published two books: ''[[Spirits in Bondage]]'', a collection of poems, and ''[[Dymer]]'', a single narrative poem. Both were published under the pen name Clive Hamilton.
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Lewis was author to several other stories, among which are ''The Screwtape Letters'', a story about the temptation of man by the devil. ''Till We Have Faces'' is a retelling of the Cupid and Psyche myth. Lewis believed that this was one of his most masterful works, but the novel never gained much recognition.
  
 
== Career as a writer on Christianity ==
 
== Career as a writer on Christianity ==
In addition to his career as an English professor and an author of fiction, Lewis also wrote a number of books about [[Christianity]] &mdash; perhaps most famously, ''[[Mere Christianity]]''. In 2000, ''Mere Christianity'' was named the best book of the twentieth century by ''[[Christianity Today]]'' magazine, after the magazine asked 100 of its contributors and Church leaders to vote for best book.  He was very much interested in presenting a reasonable case for the truth of Christianity. ''[[Mere Christianity]]'', ''[[The Problem of Pain]]'', and ''[[Miracles (book)|Miracles]]'' were all concerned, to one degree or another, with refuting popular objections to Christianity. He also became known as a popular lecturer and broadcaster, and some of his writing (including much of ''Mere Christianity'') originated as scripts for radio talks or lectures.
 
  
He has become popularly known as ''The Apostle to the Sceptics'' because he says he originally approached religious belief as a sceptic but was converted by the evidence. Consequently, his books on Christianity examine common difficulties in accepting Christianity, such as "How could a good God allow pain to exist in the world?", which he examined in detail in ''The Problem of Pain''.
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Not only was C. S. Lewis a scholar and a novelist, he also became widely known for his Christian apologetics. ''Mere Christianity'' remains his most popular book on the subject. Having struggled deeply with religion, Lewis became an atheist in his youth and remained so until his conversion to [[Christianity]] in 1931. Because of his struggles with religion, Lewis desired to present the concept of Christianity with as much reason and logic as possible.  His books ''Mere Christianity'', ''The Problem of Pain'' and ''Miracles'' sought to address all the popular objections to Christianity. His career went beyond the pen as he became a lecturer and broadcaster, reading many of his writings for a radio audience. 
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As a child, Lewis began to view religion as a chore and a duty. Lewis quoted [[Lucretius]] as representing the strongest argument for atheism:
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:''Had God designed the world, it would not be''
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:''A world so frail and faulty as we see.''
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In his autobiographical novel, ''Surprised by Joy'', Lewis said that "I'm very angry with God for not existing". But the influence of his friends, especially  Tolkien and his wife [[Joy Greshim]], led Lewis to see Christianity with new eyes.
  
Lewis also wrote an autobiography entitled ''[[Surprised by Joy]]'', which describes his conversion. (It was written before he met his wife, [[Joy Gresham]]; the title of the book came from the first line of a poem by [[William Wordsworth]].) His essays and public speeches on Christian belief, many of which were collected in ''[[God in the Dock]]'' and ''[[The Weight of Glory and Other Addresses]]'', remain popular today.
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"You must picture me alone in that room in Magdalen, night after night, feeling, whenever my mind lifted even for a second from my work, the steady, unrelenting approach of Him whom I so earnestly desired not to meet. That which I greatly feared had at last come upon me. In the Trinity Term of 1929, I gave in, and admitted that God was God, and knelt and prayed: perhaps, that night, the most dejected and reluctant convert in all England."
  
His most famous works, the [[Chronicles of Narnia]], contain many strong Christian messages. These are often mistaken for [[allegory]] but, as Lewis himself said, are certainly not. Lewis is said to have stated that he wrote the novels when he wondered what it would be like if Jesus Christ was incarnated on another world or planet to save the souls of those inhabitants.
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In 1931, after a lengthy discussion with Tolkien and another close friend, [[Hugo Dyson]], Lewis could not deny what he knew to be true and he reconverted to Christianity, becoming a member of the [[Church of England]]. He noted, "I came into Christianity kicking and screaming."
  
=== Trilemma ===
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He is now popularly known as ''The Apostle to the Skeptics'' because he approached religion with a skeptics view, and still found conversion and conviction. He addresses many of his skeptical positions in ''The Problem of Pain''.
In the book ''Mere Christianity'', Lewis famously criticized the idea that Jesus was a great moral teacher whose claims to divinity were false:
 
  
: "I am trying here to prevent anyone saying the really foolish thing that people often say about him: I’m ready to accept Jesus as a great moral teacher, but I don’t accept his claim to be God.  That is the one thing we must not say.  A man who was merely a man and said the sort of things Jesus said would not be a great moral teacher.  He would either be a lunatic — on the level with the man who says he is a poached egg — or else he would be the Devil of Hell. You must make your choice.  Either this man was, and is, the [[Son of God]], or else a madman or something worse. You can shut him up for a fool, you can spit at him and kill him as a demon or you can fall at his feet and call him Lord and God, but let us not come with any patronising nonsense about his being a great human teacher. He has not left that open to us. He did not intend to."
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===Christian critics===
  
According to the argument, most people are willing to accept Jesus Christ as a great [[morality| moral]] teacher, but the [[Gospels]] record that Jesus made many claims to [[divinity]], either explicitly — ("I and the father are one."  [[Gospel of John|John]] 10:30; when asked by the High priest whether he was the Son of God, Jesus replied "It is as you said" [[Gospel of Matthew|Matthew]] 26:64) — or implicitly, by assuming authority only God could have ("the [[Son of Man]] has authority on earth to forgive sins" [[Gospel of Matthew|Matthew]] 9:6). Lewis said there are three options:
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Lewis was not without his critics and Evangelical Christians especially took exception to some of the things he professed. The fact that he smoked and drank and lived in a house with an unmarried woman 25 years older than him (even after he converted to Christianity) also did not sit well with some.
  
# Jesus was telling falsehoods and knew it, and so he was a liar.
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His fiction books were criticized for being vaguely and inaccurately based on biblical themes that were mixed with paganism. He claimed that followers of pagan religions can be saved without personal faith in Jesus Christ. He wrote in ''Mere Christianity'', “But the truth is God has not told us what His arrangements about the other people are33There are people in other religions who are being led by God’s secret influence to concentrate on those parts of their religion which are in agreement with Christianity, and who thus belong to Christ without knowing it."
# Jesus was telling falsehoods but believed he was telling the truth, and so he was insane.
 
# Jesus was telling the truth, and so he was divine.
 
  
Lewis’s argument, which stems from the medieval [[aut deus aut malus homo]] ("either God or an evil man"), was later expanded by the Christian apologist [[Josh McDowell]] (in his book ''More than a Carpenter'') to serve as a logical proof to Jesus’s divinity. It is from this latter development that the term "[[trilemma]]" actually comes. The term is often used to refer to both arguments, assuming that in fact they are one and the same. Various versions of both Lewis’s argument and McDowell’s have been extensively debated and frequently attacked by atheists for their importance to much accessible and orthodox Christian apologia. Atheists have attempted to dispute the truth of their premises as well as the validity of their structure. Nonetheless, for many people they remain significantly more logically compelling than attempted objections.
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Lewis did not subscribe to biblical inerrancy or penal substitution, but he did believe in purgatory and baptismal regeneration. He also stated that he did not believe that faith in the blood of Christ was an essential part of Christianity.
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He wrote, "You can say that Christ died for our sins. You may say that the Father has forgiven us because Christ has done for us what we ought to have done. You may say that we are washed in the blood of the Lamb. You may say that Christ has defeated death. They are all true. IF ANY OF THEM DO NOT APPEAL TO YOU, LEAVE IT ALONE AND GET ON WITH THE FORMULA THAT DOES. And, whatever you do, do not start quarrelling with other people because they use a different formula from yours.” (''Mere Christianity'')
  
== Portrayals of Lewis's life ==
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Lewis was clearly ecumenical in his approach to Christianity. He submitted parts of ''Mere Christianity'' to four clergymen for criticism&mdash;an [[Anglican]], a [[Methodist]], a [[Presbyterian]], and a [[Roman Catholic]]. He wrote of his hope that all Christians 'ought to be reunited.’ He was also clear that he did not intend his writings to be seen as an alternative to the creeds of existing denominations.
Interest in Lewis has resulted in several biographies (including books written by close friends of Lewis, among them [[Roger Lancelyn Green]] and [[George Sayer]]), at least one play about his life, and a [[1993]] film, ''[[Shadowlands]]'', based on an original stage and television play. The film fictionalizes his relationship with the American writer [[Joy Gresham]], whom he met and married in [[London]], only to watch her die slowly from bone cancer. Lewis’s book ''[[A Grief Observed]]'' describes his experience of bereavement in such a raw and personal fashion that Lewis originally released it under the pseudonym N.W. Clerk to keep readers from associating the book with him (ultimately too many friends recommended the book to Lewis as a method for dealing with his own grief, and he made his authorship public).
 
  
 
== Lewis's death and legacy ==  
 
== Lewis's death and legacy ==  
[[Image:Statue_of_C.S._Lewis,_Belfast.jpg|right|thumb|220px|A statue of C.S. Lewis in [[Belfast]], [[United Kingdom]]]]
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[[Image:Statue_of_C.S._Lewis,_Belfast.jpg|right|thumb|220px|A statue of C. S. Lewis in Belfast, United Kingdom]]
Lewis died on [[November 22]] [[1963]], exactly one week before his 65th birthday, at the Oxford home he shared with his brother, Warren. He is buried in the [[Headington Quarry Churchyard]], Oxford. Media coverage of his death was overshadowed by news of the [[assassination of President John F. Kennedy]], which occurred on the same day, as did the death of author [[Aldous Huxley]], author of ''[[Brave New World]]''. (This coincidence was the inspiration for [[Peter Kreeft]]'s book ''[[Between Heaven and Hell (novel)|Between Heaven and Hell: A Dialog Somewhere Beyond Death with John F. Kennedy, C. S. Lewis, & Aldous Huxley]]''.)
 
  
A bronze statue of Lewis looking into a wardrobe stands in Belfast's Holywood Arches.
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In April of 1956, C. S. Lewis, a 57-year-old dedicated bachelor, married Joy Davidman, an American poet with two young children. Lewis and Davidman enjoyed four years of blissful marriage and were intensely happy together. Joy died of cancer in 1960, at the age of 45. Her death shattered Lewis, and his pilgrimage through the process of bereavement resulted in his writing ''A Grief Observed''.  
  
Many books have been inspired by Lewis, including ''[[A Severe Mercy]]'' by his correspondent [[Sheldon Vanauken]]. The Chronicles Of Narnia have been particularly influential. Modern children's authors such as [[Daniel Handler]] (''[[A Series of Unfortunate Events]]''), [[Eoin Colfer]] (''[[Artemis Fowl (series)|Artemis Fowl]]''), [[Philip Pullman]] (''[[His Dark Materials]]'' trilogy), and [[J. K. Rowling]] (''[[Harry Potter]]'') have been more or less influenced by Lewis's series. Authors of adult fantasy literature such as
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Lewis died on November 22, 1963, exactly one week before his 65th birthday, at the Oxford home he shared with his brother, Warren. He was buried in the Headington Quarry Churchyard, Oxford. His death coincided with the assassination of President John F. Kennedy, and the author Aldous Huxley, which all occurred on the same day. Thus, for much of the world, Lewis passed away quietly. His works live on and a bronze statue of Lewis looking into a wardrobe, erected in Belfast's Hollywood Arches, remind the world of his legacy.
[[Tim Powers]] have also testified to being influenced by Lewis's work. In a number of these cases, such as that of Pullman (who has criticized Lewis[http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk_news/story/0,3604,726739,00.html]), the influence was negative.
 
  
Most of Lewis’s posthumous work has been edited by his [[literary executor]], [[Walter Hooper]]. An independent Lewis scholar, the late [[Kathryn Lindskoog]], argued in several books that Hooper's scholarship is not reliable and that he has made false statements and attributed forged works to Lewis. (See ''[[The Dark Tower (1977 novel)|The Dark Tower]]''.) Scholars in the field of Lewis studies are divided over whether these charges have been settled at all, and if so, in whose favour.
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C. S. Lewis left behind a long legacy of influence. He remains the inspiration of several books including, ''A Severe Mercy'' by [[Sheldon Vanauken]], along with works inspired in part by ''The Chronicles Of Narnia'', including ''A Series of Unfortunate Events'' by [[Daniel Handler]], [[Eoin Colfer]]'s ''Artemis Fowl'' series, [[Philip Pullman]]'s ''His Dark Materials'' trilogy, and [[J. K. Rowling]]'s ''Harry Potter''. His later life was also made into a major motion picture, ''Shadowlands'', starring Sir Anthony Hopkins. During his lifetime, Lewis was against his novels being turned into films because of the technology at the time. He was worried that all of his creations, especially the animal characters, could only come off looking like "buffoonery or nightmare". Thus no films were attempted during his career.  
  
Lewis was strongly opposed to the creation of live-action versions of his works due to the technology at the time. His major concern was that the anthropomorphic animal characters "when taken out of narrative into actual visibility, always turn into buffoonery or nightmare". This was said in the context of the 1950s, when technology would not allow the special effects required to make a coherent, robust film version of Narnia. Whether or not Lewis would be happy with the CGI creations of [[The Chronicles of Narnia film series|''The Chronicles of Narnia'' film series]], naturally, cannot be known.
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Lewis continues to be an inspiration even in pop-culture as the song "The Earth Will Shake" performed by ''Thrice'' is based on one of his poems, and the band ''Sixpence None the Richer'' are named after a quote they took from ''Mere Christianity''.
 
 
The song "The Earth Will Shake" performed by [[Thrice]] is based on one of his poems, and the band [[Sixpence None the Richer]] are named after a passage in Mere Christianity.
 
  
 
== Bibliography ==
 
== Bibliography ==
 
=== Nonfiction ===
 
=== Nonfiction ===
* ''[[The Allegory of Love]]: A Study in Medieval Tradition'' (1936)
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* ''The Allegory of Love: A Study in Medieval Tradition'' (1936), ISBN 0192812203
* ''[[Rehabilitations]] and other essays'' (1939) — with two essays not included in ''Essay Collection'' (2000)
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* ''Rehabilitations and other essays'' (1939) — with two essays not included in ''Essay Collection'' (2000) ISBN 040304233X
* ''[[The Personal Heresy]]: A Controversy'' (with [[E. M. W. Tillyard]], 1939)
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* ''The Personal Heresy: A Controversy'' (with [[E. M. W. Tillyard]], 1939) ASIN: B0007K1Y3U
* ''[[The Problem of Pain]]'' (1940)
+
* ''The Problem of Pain'' (1940) ISBN 0060652969
* ''[[A Preface to Paradise Lost]]'' (1942)
+
* ''A Preface to Paradise Lost'' (1942) ISBN 0195003454
* ''[[The Abolition of Man]]'' (1943)
+
* ''The Abolition of Man'' (1943) ISBN 0060652942
* ''[[Beyond Personality]]'' (1944)
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* ''Beyond Personality'' (1944) ASIN: B0007DRDZ0
* ''[[Miracles (book)|Miracles]]: A Preliminary Study'' (1947, revised 1960)
+
* ''Miracles: A Preliminary Study'' (1947, revised 1960) ISBN 0060653019
* ''[[Arthurian Torso]]'' (1948; on [[Charles Williams]]'s poetry)
+
* ''Arthurian Torso'' (1948; on [[Charles Williams]]'s poetry) ISBN 040420290X
* ''[[Mere Christianity]]'' (1952; based on radio talks of 1941-1944)
+
* ''Mere Christianity'' (1952; based on radio talks of 1941-1944) ISBN 0060652926
* ''[[English Literature in the Sixteenth Century]] Excluding Drama'' (1954)
+
* ''English Literature in the Sixteenth Century Excluding Drama'' (1954) ISBN 0198812981
* ''[[Major British Writers, Vol I]]'' (1954), Contribution on Edmund Spenser
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* ''Major British Writers, Vol I'' (1954), Contribution on Edmund Spenser ISBN 0310267811
* ''[[Surprised by Joy]]: The Shape of My Early Life'' (1955; [[autobiography]])
+
* ''Surprised by Joy: The Shape of My Early Life'' (1955; autobiography) ISBN 0156870118
* ''[[Reflections on the Psalms]]'' (1958)
+
* ''Reflections on the Psalms'' (1958) ISBN 015676248X
* ''[[The Four Loves]]'' (1960)
+
* ''The Four Loves'' (1960) ISBN 0156329301
* ''[[Studies in Words]]'' (1960)
+
* ''Studies in Words'' (1960) ISBN 0521398312
* ''[[An Experiment in Criticism]]'' (1961)
+
* ''An Experiment in Criticism'' (1961) ISBN 0521422817
* ''[[A Grief Observed]]'' (1961; first published under the [[pseudonym]] «N. W. Clerk»)
+
* ''A Grief Observed'' (1961; first published under the pseudonym N. W. Clerk) ISBN 0060652381
* ''Selections from [[Layamon]]'s [[Brut]]'' (ed. G L Brook, 1963 ''Oxford University Press'') introduction
+
* ''Selections from Layamon's Brut'' (ed. G L Brook, 1963 ''Oxford University Press'') introduction ISBN 0859891399
* ''[[Prayer: Letters to Malcolm]]'' (1964)
+
* ''Prayer: Letters to Malcolm'' (1964) ISBN 0156027666
* ''[[The Discarded Image]]: An Introduction to Medieval and Renaissance Literature'' (1964)
+
* ''The Discarded Image: An Introduction to Medieval and Renaissance Literature'' (1964) ISBN 0521477352
* ''[[Studies in Medieval and Renaissance Literature]]'' (1966) — not included in ''Essay Collection'' (2000)
+
* ''Studies in Medieval and Renaissance Literature'' (1966) — not included in ''Essay Collection'' (2000) ISBN 0521645840
* ''[[Spenser's Images of Life]]'' (ed. [[Alastair Fowler]], 1967)
+
* ''Spenser's Images of Life'' (ed. Alastair Fowler, 1967), ISBN 0521055466
* ''[[Letters to an American Lady]]'' (1967)
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* ''Letters to an American Lady'' (1967) ISBN 080281428X
* ''[[Selected Literary Essays]]'' (1969) — not included in ''Essay Collection'' (2000)
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* ''Selected Literary Essays'' (1969) — not included in ''Essay Collection'' (2000) ISBN 0521296803
* ''[[God in the Dock]]: Essays on Theology and Ethics'' (1970), = ''[[Undeceptions]]'' (1971) — all included in ''Essay Collection'' (2000)
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* ''God in the Dock: Essays on Theology and Ethics'' (1970), = ''Undeceptions'' (1971) — all included in ''Essay Collection'' (2000) ISBN 0802808689
* ''[[Of Other Worlds]]'' (1982; essays) — with one essay not included in ''Essay Collection''
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* ''Of Other Worlds'' (1982; essays) — with one essay not included in ''Essay Collection'' ISBN 0156027674
* ''[[All My Road Before Me]]: The Diary of C. S. Lewis 1922-27'' (1993)
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* ''All My Road Before Me: The Diary of C. S. Lewis 1922-27'' (1993) ISBN 0156027968
* ''[[Essay Collection]]: Literature, Philosophy and Short Stories'' (2000)
+
* ''Essay Collection: Literature, Philosophy and Short Stories'' (2000) ISBN 0006281575
* ''[[Essay Collection]]: Faith, Christianity and the Church'' (2000)
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* ''Essay Collection: Faith, Christianity and the Church'' (2000) ISBN 0006281575
* ''[[Collected Letters]], Vol. I: [[Family Letters 1905-1931]]'' (2000)
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* ''Collected Letters, Vol. I: Family Letters 1905-1931'' (2000) ISBN 0006281451
* ''[[Collected Letters]], Vol. II: [[Books, Broadcasts and War 1931-1949]]'' (2004)
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* ''Collected Letters, Vol. II: Books, Broadcasts and War 1931-1949'' (2004) ISBN 0060727640
  
 
=== Fiction ===
 
=== Fiction ===
* ''[[The Pilgrim's Regress]]'' (1933)
+
* ''The Pilgrim's Regress'' (1933) ISBN 0802806414
* [[Space Trilogy]]
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* Space Trilogy
** ''[[Out of the Silent Planet]]'' (1938)
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** ''Out of the Silent Planet'' (1938) ISBN 0684823802
** ''[[Perelandra]]'' (1943)
+
** ''Perelandra'' (1943) ISBN 0684823829
** ''[[That Hideous Strength]]'' (1946)
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** ''That Hideous Strength'' (1946) ISBN 0684823853
* ''[[The Screwtape Letters]]'' (1942)
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* ''The Screwtape Letters'' (1942) ISBN 0060652934
* ''[[The Great Divorce]]'' (1945)
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* ''The Great Divorce'' (1945) ISBN 0060652950
* [[The Chronicles of Narnia]]
+
* The Chronicles of Narnia (Boxed Set ISBN 0064471195)
** ''[[The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe]]'' (1950)
+
** ''The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe'' (1950) ISBN 000711561X
** ''[[Prince Caspian]]'' (1951)
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** ''Prince Caspian'' (1951) ISBN 0064471055
** ''[[The Voyage of the Dawn Treader]]'' (1952)
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** ''The Voyage of the Dawn Treader'' (1952) ISBN 0064471071
** ''[[The Silver Chair]]'' (1953)
+
** ''The Silver Chair'' (1953) ISBN 0064471098
** ''[[The Horse and His Boy]]'' (1954)
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** ''The Horse and His Boy'' (1954) ISBN 0064471063
** ''[[The Magician's Nephew]]'' (1955)
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** ''The Magician's Nephew'' (1955) ISBN 0064471101
** ''[[The Last Battle]]'' (1956)
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** ''The Last Battle'' (1956) ISBN 006447108X
* ''[[Till We Have Faces]]'' (1956)
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* ''Till We Have Faces'' (1956) ISBN 0156904365
* ''[[Screwtape Proposes a Toast]]'' (1961) (an addition to ''The Screwtape Letters'')
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* ''Screwtape Proposes a Toast'' (1961) (an addition to ''The Screwtape Letters'') ISBN 0006245668
* ''[[Letters to Malcolm: Chiefly on Prayer]]'' (1964)
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* ''Letters to Malcolm: Chiefly on Prayer'' (1964) ISBN 015650880X
* ''[[The Dark Tower (1977 novel)|The Dark Tower]] and other stories'' (1977)
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* ''The Dark Tower and other stories'' (1977) ISBN 0156239302
* ''[[Boxen: The Imaginary World of the Young C. S. Lewis]]'' (ed. Walter Hooper, 1985)
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* ''Boxen: The Imaginary World of the Young C. S. Lewis'' (ed. Walter Hooper, 1985) ISBN 0156140004
  
 
=== Poetry ===
 
=== Poetry ===
* ''[[Spirits in Bondage]]'' (1919; published under [[pseudonym]] Clive Hamilton)
+
* ''Spirits in Bondage'' (1919; published under [[pseudonym]] Clive Hamilton) ISBN 0156847485
* ''[[Dymer]]'' (1926; published under pseudonym Clive Hamilton)
+
* ''Dymer'' (1926; published under pseudonym Clive Hamilton)  
* ''[[Narrative Poems]]'' (ed. Walter Hooper, 1969; includes ''Dymer'')
+
* ''Narrative Poems'' (ed. Walter Hooper, 1969; includes ''Dymer'') ISBN 0156027984
* ''[[The Collected Poems of C. S. Lewis]]'' (ed. Walter Hooper, 1994; includes ''Spirits in Bondage'')
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* ''The Collected Poems of C. S. Lewis'' (ed. Walter Hooper, 1994; includes ''Spirits in Bondage'') ISBN 006063880X
 
 
== Books about C. S. Lewis ==
 
<div class="references-small">
 
* John Beversluis, ''C. S. Lewis and the Search for Rational Religion''. Eerdmans, 1985. ISBN 0802800467
 
* [[Humphrey Carpenter]], ''The Inklings: C. S. Lewis, J. R. R. Tolkien, Charles Williams and their friends''.  George Allen & Unwin, 1978. ISBN 0048090115
 
* Joe R. Christopher & Joan K. Ostling, ''C. S. Lewis: An Annotated Checklist of Writings about him and his Works''. Kent State University Press, n.d. (1972). ISBN 0873381386
 
* Michael Coren, ''The Man Who Created Narnia: The Story of C.S. Lewis''.  Eerdmans Pub Co, Reprint edition 1996. ISBN 0802838227
 
* [[James Como]], Branches to Heaven: The Geniuses of C. S. Lewis, Spence, 1998.
 
* James Como, Remembering C. S. Lewis (3rd ed. of C. S. Lewis at the Breakfast Table)''.  Ignatius, 2006
 
* [[Colin Duriez]] and [[David Porter]], ''The Inklings Handbook: The Lives, Thought and Writings of C. S. Lewis, J. R. R. Tolkien, Charles Williams, Owen Barfield, and Their Friends''.  2001, ISBN 1902694139
 
* Colin Duriez, ''Tolkien and C.S. Lewis: The Gift of Friendship''.  Paulist Press, 2003. ISBN 1587680262
 
* Bruce L. Edwards, ''Not a Tame Lion: The Spiritual World of Narnia''. Tyndale. 2005.
 
* Bruce L. Edwards, ''Further Up and Further In: Understanding C. S. Lewis’s The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe''. Broadman and Holman, 2005.
 
* Jocelyn Gibb (ed.), ''Light on C. S. Lewis''.  Geoffrey Bles, 1965 & Harcourt Brace Jovanovich 1976. ISBN 0156520001
 
* Douglas Gilbert & Clyde Kilby, ''C.S. Lewis: Images of His World''. Eerdmans, 1973 & 2005. ISBN 0802828000
 
* David Graham (ed.), ''We Remember C.S. Lewis''. Broadman & Holman Publishers, 2001. ISBN 0805422994
 
* [[Roger Lancelyn Green]] &amp; [[Walter Hooper]], ''C. S. Lewis: A Biography''. Fully revised & expanded edition. HarperCollins, 2002. ISBN 0006281648
 
* [[Douglas Gresham]], ''Jack's Life: A Memory of C.S. Lewis''.  Broadman & Holman Publishers, 2005. ISBN 0805432469
 
* Douglas Gresham, ''Lenten Lands: My Childhood with Joy Davidman and C.S. Lewis''. HarperSanFrancisco, 1994. ISBN 0060634472
 
* William Griffin, ''C.S. Lewis: The Authentic Voice''.  (Formerly ''C.S. Lewis: A Dramatic Life'') Lion, 2005.  ISBN 0745952089
 
* David Hein and Edward Hugh Henderson, eds., ''Captured by the Crucified: The Practical Theology of Austin Farrer''. New York and London: T & T Clark / Continuum, 2004.  A study of Lewis's close friend the theologian [[Austin Farrer]], this book also contains material on Farrer's circle, "the Oxford Christians," including C. S. Lewis.
 
* Walter Hooper, ''C. S. Lewis: A Companion and Guide''. HarperCollins, 1996. ISBN 0006278000
 
* Walter Hooper, ''Through Joy and Beyond: A Pictorial Biography of C. S. Lewis''. Macmillan, 1982. ISBN 0025536702
 
* Alan Jacobs, ''The Narnian: The Life and Imagination of C.S. Lewis''. HarperSanFrancisco, 2005. ISBN 0060766905
 
* Carolyn Keefe, ''C.S. Lewis: Speaker & Teacher''. Zondervan, 1979.  ISBN 0310267811
 
* Clyde S. Kilby, ''The Christian World of C. S. Lewis''. Eerdmans, 1964, 1995. ISBN 0802808719
 
* Kathryn Lindskoog, ''Light in the Shadowlands: Protecting the Real C. S. Lewis''. Multnomah Pub., 1994. ISBN 0880706953
 
* W.H. Lewis (ed), ''Letters of C.S. Lewis''. Geoffrey Bles, 1966. ISBN 0002424576
 
* Susan Lowenberg, ''C. S. Lewis: A Reference Guide 1972–1988''. Hall & Co., 1993. ISBN 0816118469
 
* Wayne Mardindale & Jerry Root, ''The Quotable Lewis''. Tyndale House Publishers, 1990.  ISBN 0842351159
 
* Markus Mühling, "A Theological Journey into Narnia. An Analysis of the Message beneath the Text", Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, Göttingen 2005, ISBN 3525604238
 
* Joseph Pearce, ''C. S. Lewis and the Catholic Church''. Ignatius Press, 2003. ISBN 0898709792
 
* Thomas C. Peters, ''Simply C.S. Lewis. A Beginner's Guide to His Life and Works''. Kingsway Publications, 1998. ISBN 0854767622
 
* Justin Phillips, ''C.S. Lewis at the BBC: Messages of Hope in the Darkness of War''. Marshall Pickering, 2003.  ISBN 0007104375
 
* Victor Reppert, ''C.S. Lewis's Dangerous Idea: In Defense of the Argument from Reason''. InterVarsity Press, 2003. ISBN 0830827323
 
* [[George Sayer]], ''Jack: C. S. Lewis and His Times''. Macmillan, 1988. ISBN 0333433629
 
* Peter J. Schakel, ''Imagination and the Arts in C. S. Lewis: Journeying to Narnia and Other Worlds.''  University of Missouri Press, 2002. ISBN 082621407X
 
* Peter J. Schakel. ''Reason and Imagination in C. S. Lewis: A Study of "Till We Have Faces."'' Available [http://hope.edu/academic/english/schakel/tillwehavefaces/index.html  online]. Eerdmans, 1984. ISBN 0802819982
 
* Peter J. Schakel, ed. ''The Longing for a Form: Essays on the Fiction of C. S. Lewis''. Kent State University Press, 1977. ISBN 0873382048
 
* Peter J. Schakel and Charles A. Huttar, ed. ''Word and Story in C. S. Lewis.'' University of Missouri Press, 1991. ISBN 082620760X
 
* Stephen Schofield. ''In Search of C.S. Lewis''. Bridge Logos Pub. 1983. ISBN 088270544X
 
* Jeffrey D. Schultz and John G. West, Jr. (eds.), ''The C.S. Lewis Readers' Encyclopedia''. Zondervan Publishing House, 1998. ISBN 0310215382
 
* G. B. Tennyson (ed.), ''Owen Barfield on C.S. Lewis''. Wesleyan University Press, 1989. ISBN 081955233X.
 
* Richard J. Wagner.  ''C.S. Lewis and Narnia for Dummies''. For Dummies, 2005. ISBN 0764583816
 
* Chad Walsh, ''C. S. Lewis: Apostle to the Skeptics''. Macmillan, 1949.
 
* Chad Walsh, ''The Literary Legacy of C. S. Lewis''. Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, 1979. ISBN 0156527855.
 
* George Watson (ed.), ''Critical Essays on C. S. Lewis''. Scolar Press, 1992. ISBN 085957853
 
* A. N. Wilson, ''C. S. Lewis: A Biography''. W. W. Norton, 1990. ISBN 0393323404
 
* White, Michael, ''C.S. Lewis: The Boy Who Chronicled Narnia''.  Abacus, 2005.  ISBN 0349116253
 
</div>
 
 
 
== See also ==
 
* [[Christian apologetics]] (field of study concerned with the defence of Christianity)
 
* [[The Inklings]]
 
* [[Pauline Baynes]]
 
  
 
== External links ==
 
== External links ==
{{Spoken Wikipedia|En-CSLewis.ogg|2005-11-20}}
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All links retrieved December 22, 2016.
{{wikiquote}}
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* {{gutenberg author| id=C.+S.+Lewis | name=C. S. Lewis}}.
* {{gutenberg author| id=C.+S.+Lewis | name=C. S. Lewis}}
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* [http://www.cslewis.org/ C. S. Lewis Foundation]  
* [http://www.cslewis.org/ C.S. Lewis Foundation]
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*[http://www.rapidnet.com/~jbeard/bdm/exposes/lewis/cs-lewis.htm RapidNet.com — C. S. Lewis FAQ]  
* [http://www.wheaton.edu/learnres/wade/ Marion E. Wade Center] at [[Wheaton College, Illinois|Wheaton College]] &mdash; has the world’s largest collection of Lewis's works and works about him
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* [http://cslewis.drzeus.net Into the Wardrobe] — a Web site devoted to C. S. Lewis.
* [http://www.taylor.edu/academics/supportServices/csLewis/brown.htm] Taylor University, Upland, Indiana, has the world's largest private collection of C. S. Lewis first editions, letters, manuscripts, and ephemera--the Edwin W. Brown Collection
+
* [http://www.narniafans.com/ NarniaFans.com] — C. S. Lewis news, database, and community.
 +
* [http://www.narniaweb.com/ NarniaWeb.com] — Narnia & C. S. Lewis news, resources, forum.
 +
* [http://www.scriptoriumnovum.com/l.html C. S. Lewis Chronicles] — a compendium of information about Lewis.
 +
* [http://www.cslewis.com/ C. S. Lewis Classics] — a website by HarperCollins Publishers.
 +
* [http://findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=1455 FindAGrave C. S. Lewis]
 +
* [http://www.bbc.co.uk/religion/religions/christianity/people/cslewis_1.shtml Religion & Ethics]
  
*[http://www.rapidnet.com/~jbeard/bdm/exposes/lewis/cs-lewis.htm RapidNet.com &mdash; C. S. Lewis FAQ]
 
*[http://www.pseudobook.com/cslewis C. S. Lewis & The Inklings] &mdash; Bruce Edwards's site, with resources on Lewis and friends
 
* [http://cslewis.drzeus.net Into the Wardrobe] &mdash; a Web site devoted to C. S. Lewis
 
* [http://www.narniafans.com/ NarniaFans.com] &mdash; C.S. Lewis news, database, and community
 
* [http://www.narniaweb.com/ NarniaWeb.com] &mdash; Narnia & C.S. Lewis news, resources, forum
 
* [http://www.thestonetable.com/ The Stone Table] &mdash; the latest C.S. Lewis news, reviews, and community
 
* [http://www.scriptoriumnovum.com/l.html C.S. Lewis Chronicles] &mdash; a compendium of information about Lewis
 
* [http://www.aslan.demon.co.uk/cslfaq.htm The alt.books.cs-lewis FAQ]
 
* [http://www.cslewis.com/ C.S. Lewis Classics] &mdash; a website by HarperCollins Publishers
 
* {{isfdb name|id=C._S._Lewis|name=C. S. Lewis}}
 
* [http://findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=1455 FindAGrave C.S.Lewis]
 
* [http://www.malacandra.co.uk Malacandra.co.uk] &mdash; a Wiki for C.S. Lewis fans
 
* [http://www.solcon.nl/arendsmilde/cslewis Arend Smilde's CSL site] — Dutch and (mainly) English. Several unique or hard-to-find texts and resources
 
* [http://www.bbc.co.uk/religion/religions/christianity/features/cslewis/audio.shtml Audio of CS Lewis speaking]
 
  
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Revision as of 23:44, 12 January 2023

Clive Staples Lewis (November 29, 1898 – November 22, 1963), known for his writings as C. S. Lewis and by his friends and associates as Jack, was a famous Irish author, novelist, and one of the great spokespersons for Christianity in the twentieth century.

As a youth, the untimely death of his mother, the cruelty of his schoolmates and the traumatic events of World War I caused C. S. Lewis to question a God who would allow such horrible things to happen. In 1931, he reconverted to the Christianity of his youth. From that point onward, C. S. Lewis wrote for other people who suffered from the disbelief that had plagued his early life. Whether indirectly through children's novels or directly in apologetic works and radio broadcasts, he spent the latter part of his life helping others come closer to religion, and most especially to Jesus Christ. His writings continue to help people decipher their beliefs, and are today more popular than ever.

Biography

Clive Staples Lewis was born in Belfast, Ireland on November 29, 1898, to Albert James Lewis and Flora Augusta Hamilton Lewis. His parents were dedicated members of the Church of Ireland and raised Lewis and his elder brother, Warren Hamilton Lewis (Warnie) in that faith. His father worked as a solicitor and his mother was a very promising mathematician. Both parents, but especially Flora, had a great love of books. She taught both of her children to love books and learning, encouraging them to learn Latin and French. The Lewis's extensive library gave Jack the luxury of reading book after book, allowing his imagination to come alive. He often noted that he felt much more comfortable in the various lands of the past described in novels, than he did in the technological world of the 20th century.

At a young age Lewis fell in love with the world created by Beatrix Potter and her stories about animals talking and acting as humans. He and his brother, Warnie, would spend hours together creating their own world inhabited and run by animals. They called this world Boxen. Lewis loved to dress up the family pet, Jacksie, from whom he took his nickname. When Lewis was four, his dog was hit by a car and died. After this, Lewis declared to all that his name was now Jacksie and he kept firm to this resolution, not answering to anything else. This name eventually became Jacks, and then finally, Jack. When he was six and Warnie was nine, the family moved to Leeborough or Little Lea, a new house located in Strandtown.

C. S. Lewis' happy childhood was unexpectedly disrupted when Jack was just nine years old. His mother passed away from cancer. It was the aftermath of his mother's death that eventually led Lewis to ask questions about the meaning and purpose of life, and led to his rejection of religion. Albert dealt with his loss by sending Lewis to the same boarding school his brother was attending, the Wynyard School in Watford, Hertfordshire.

Lewis, who before this time had been educated by his mother and various tutors, left a few months after his mother's death. The pain of her death was accentuated by the cruelty of the school headmaster. Robert "Oldie" Capron, was a man so cruel, so abusive, and so unpredictable that many who knew him believed him to be insane. The school closed in 1911. It was during this difficult time that he found solace and comfort in writing. He wrote about fantasy lands and kind characters, thus escaping from the school through his imagination. Lewis would refer to his time at this school in his autobiographical novel, Surprised By Joy, in which he renamed the school "Belsen" after the World War II concentration camp.

Education

C. S. Lewis went on to attend several other scholastic institutions before finally taking charge of his own education. He attended the nearby Campbell College for a few months, until illness made it impossible for him to stay. The educators and doctors felt that Lewis would benefit from time spent in the health-resort town of Malvern, Worcestershire. He enrolled in the prep-school Cherbourg House (which Lewis knew as "Chartres"). It was during this time that Lewis officially denounced his Christian faith. Lewis went on to spend the 1913 school year at Malvern College, until eventually returning home to Belfast and remaining there until 1917. Along with being tutored by William T. Kirkpatrick, the former headmaster of Lurgan College, Lewis attributes his education to the family library.

In Surprised by Joy Lewis says, "I am the product of long corridors, empty sunlit rooms, upstairs indoor silences, attics explored in solitude, distant noises of gurgling cisterns and pipes, and the noise of wind under the tiles. Also of endless books. There were books in the study, books in the drawing-room, books in the cloakroom, books in the great bookcase on the landing, books in a bedroom, books piled as high as my shoulder in the cistern attic, books of all kinds reflecting every transient stage of my parents' interests, books readable and unreadable, books suitable for a child and books most empathetically not. Nothing was forbidden me. In the seemingly endless rainy afternoons I took volume after volume from the shelves."

During these teenage years, Lewis not only read, but became fascinated with the songs of Richard Wagner and the legends of the North that Wagner described in his operas. The music of Wagner along with the beauties of nature around him gave him an intense longing for what he would later call "joy", and this became a main focal point of study for him.

This solitary time at home enabled him to continue writing. He began to explore different mediums, writing epic poetry and trying his hand at writing an opera. Both of these endeavors centered around his love of Norse mythology. He also developed a great love for the Greek literature and mythology while studying with Kirkpatrick (or as Lewis referred to him, "The Great Knock"). With Kirkpatrick's sharp skills, Lewis became adept in debate and clear, focused reasoning.

With all of these many facets of education under his belt, Lewis was the recipient of a scholarship from University College, Oxford in 1916. which coincided with the events of World War I. Lewis did not immediately begin college, but instead enlisted with the British Army in 1917, where he was commissioned as an officer in the Third Battalion, Somerset Light Infantry.

The war

During his training, Lewis made an acquaintance that would change his life. Edward Francis Courtenay "Paddy" Moore was Lewis's roommate during the training period and became friends with Lewis. Paddy introduced Lewis to his mother, Jane King Moore, who took him under her wing and treated him like a son. At nineteen, Lewis was sent to the front line of the Somme Valley in France, and on April 15, 1917, he suffered an injury during the Battle of Arras.

In addition to his physical injury, Lewis found himself battling depression and a severe case of homesickness. While in the hospital he found himself visited by Paddy Moore's mother, Jane. A lasting friendship formed and Lewis took to her kindness immediately, which is not surprising given that his father refused to visit him in the hospital. Lewis made a promise to Paddy, that should Paddy die, then he would care for Jane and see to her needs.

By October of the same year, Lewis had made a full recovery from his wounds, but his experiences of war and battle were never forgotten. Paddy Moore did die in battle and Lewis kept his promise, often referring to Jane as his mother. As Jane aged and grew senile, the relationship became difficult, but Lewis kept his promise, visiting her nearly everyday when she was put in a nursing home.

In December of 1918, he returned home with an honorable discharge and returned to his studies. In the next few years C. S. Lewis distinguished himself by receiving several different awards including: a First in Honor Moderations (Greek and Latin Literature) in 1920, a First in Greats (Philosophy and Ancient History) in 1922, and a First in English in 1923. These years also marked the time when Lewis moved in with Jane Moore, even though he also kept rooms at his college. In December 1917, Lewis wrote, in a letter to his childhood friend, Arthur Greeves, that Jane and Greeves were "the two people who matter most to me in the world." Finally in 1930, Lewis and his brother Warnie moved into "The Kilns", a large house with a wardrobe that is depicted in the Chronicles of Narnia. The house is located in Risinghurst, Headington (a suburb of Oxford). The gentlemen took an aged Jane to live with them, and all three contributed to the purchase of the house. Upon Warren's death in 1973, the house passed to Jane Moore's daughter, "Lady Dunbar of Hempriggs.

"My Irish life"

Plaque on a park-bench in Bangor, County Down.

C. S. Lewis' Irish heritage led him to write of England, "No Englishman will be able to understand my first impressions of England," he wrote in Surprised by Joy. "The strange English accents with which I was surrounded seemed like the voices of demons. But what was worst was the English landscape... I have made up the quarrel since; but at that moment I conceived a hatred for England which took many years to heal."

Lewis's patriotism for Ireland was strong and heartfelt. He associated himself with the land, the people, and the history of his country. From a young age Lewis had studied Irish mythology in depth, along with the great Irish authors and he was intrigued with learning the unique Irish language. During his studies, Lewis came to admire deeply the writings of fellow Irishman, W.B. Yeats. He loved Yeats's details and vivid use of Ireland's Celtic heritage in his poems. In a letter to a friend Lewis wrote, "I have here discovered an author exactly after my own heart, whom I am sure you would delight in, W. B. Yeats. He writes plays and poems of rare spirit and beauty about our old Irish mythology." When he found his English associates indifferent to Yeats, he was shocked, and unable to account for it. In describing his time at Oxford he wrote: "I am often surprised to find how utterly ignored Yeats is among the men I have met: perhaps his appeal is purely Irish—if so, then thank the gods that I am Irish."

Lewis was unable to return to Ireland because of his work at Oxford, and he regretted this circumstance, but he paid regular visits to the country of his birth. At the beginning of his writing career, Lewis had intended on sending his works to a major Dublin publisher. In a letter to a friend he wrote: "If I do ever send my stuff to a publisher, I think I shall try Maunsel, those Dublin people, and so tack myself definitely onto the Irish school." Lewis was often known for his tongue-in-cheek chauvinism toward the English. Describing an encounter with a fellow Irishman he wrote: "Like all Irish people who meet in England we ended by criticisms of the inevitable flippancy and dullness of the Anglo-Saxon race. After all, ami, there is no doubt that the Irish are the only people... I would not gladly live or die among another folk."

Throughout his life, C. S. Lewis often sought out other Irish living in England and kept close friendships with many of them. He referred to this as "my Irish life".

Career as a scholar

Lewis's friend Owen Barfield said that C. S. Lewis could be broken down into three very different and distinct C. S. Lewises—the first was the role he played as a distinguished Oxford scholar and teacher, the second as a popular author of science fiction and children's novels, and the third as a highly religious spokesman and writer of Christian apologetics.

C. S. Lewis served as a teaching fellow from Magdalen College, Oxford from 1925-1954. His career as a professor and intellect would prove to be satisfying, prestigious, and prolific. After his tenure at Magdalen, he worked at the University of Cambridge and Magdalene College, Cambridge. He became the first Professor of Medieval and Renaissance English at Cambridge University. These classes, and his particular interest in the subject, led to one of his first works, The Allegory of Love (1936), which concentrated on the later Middle Ages and the use of allegory during that time period. Lewis was then commissioned to write important prefaces to old works of literature and poetry, among them were Layamon's Brut and John Milton's Paradise Lost. His last academic work was published in 1964, The Discarded Image, an Introduction to Medieval and Renaissance Literature.

His career as a scholar also brought him into association with distinguished men who became his life long friends. Among them were J.R.R. Tolkien, Charles Williams, and Owen Barfield. These men formed a literary discussion society, Inklings, which met every Tuesday for lunch at the Eagle and Child pub (known also as the Bird and Baby) pub from the 1930s to 1949. Lewis wrote of J. R. R. Tolkien, in Surprised by Joy (chapter X1V, p173):

"When I began teaching for the English Faculty, I made two other friends, both Christians (these queer people seemed now to pop up on every side) who were later to give me much help in getting over the last stile. They were H. V. V. Dyson and J. R. R. Tolkien. Friendship with the latter marked the breakdown of two old prejudices. At my first coming into the world I had been (implicitly) warned never to trust a Papist, and at my first coming into the English Faculty (explicitly) never to trust a philologist. Tolkien was both."

Career as a writer of fiction

C. S. Lewis is probably best known as a writer of fiction. Lewis wrote several popular novels for young adults and children. His two most popular series remain the Space Trilogy (science fiction) and his series, The Chronicles of Narnia (fantasy).

Space Trilogy

Lewis grew up with a pessimistic view of the world conditions he witnessed. The Space Trilogy or "Ransom Trilogy" novels address the dehumanizing trends that Lewis and his fellow scholars witnessed in modern science fiction. Lewis wrote the first book, Out of the Silent Planet, following an intense conversation with his friend Tolkien about these trends. The two agreed to a sort of pact, Lewis would write a "space travel" story and Tolkien a "time travel" one. Tolkien’s story, The Lost Road, was a tale that dealt with his famous Middle-earth mythology and the modern world, though it was never completed. Lewis did finish his story and based the main character, Ransom, on Tolkien. Another character, Jules, from That Hideous Strength, was inspired by the works of H. G. Wells.

The Chronicles of Narnia

There are seven individual novels that comprise The Chronicles of Narnia. These books remain the pinnacle of Lewis's career as a fiction writer. The books reflect Lewis's Christian values and portray many Christian themes including The Fall, The Atonement, and The Resurrection. The novels depict the adventures of a group of children who find themselves in a magical and mystical land called Narnia. The books were published between 1950 and 1956, beginning with The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, the most popular book of the series, which has now been adapted for both stage and screen. The novels clearly reflect Lewis's love and knowledge of Greek mythology, Roman mythology, Celtic mythology and traditional English and Irish fairytales.

Other works

Lewis was author to several other stories, among which are The Screwtape Letters, a story about the temptation of man by the devil. Till We Have Faces is a retelling of the Cupid and Psyche myth. Lewis believed that this was one of his most masterful works, but the novel never gained much recognition.

Career as a writer on Christianity

Not only was C. S. Lewis a scholar and a novelist, he also became widely known for his Christian apologetics. Mere Christianity remains his most popular book on the subject. Having struggled deeply with religion, Lewis became an atheist in his youth and remained so until his conversion to Christianity in 1931. Because of his struggles with religion, Lewis desired to present the concept of Christianity with as much reason and logic as possible. His books Mere Christianity, The Problem of Pain and Miracles sought to address all the popular objections to Christianity. His career went beyond the pen as he became a lecturer and broadcaster, reading many of his writings for a radio audience.

As a child, Lewis began to view religion as a chore and a duty. Lewis quoted Lucretius as representing the strongest argument for atheism:

Had God designed the world, it would not be
A world so frail and faulty as we see.

In his autobiographical novel, Surprised by Joy, Lewis said that "I'm very angry with God for not existing". But the influence of his friends, especially Tolkien and his wife Joy Greshim, led Lewis to see Christianity with new eyes.

"You must picture me alone in that room in Magdalen, night after night, feeling, whenever my mind lifted even for a second from my work, the steady, unrelenting approach of Him whom I so earnestly desired not to meet. That which I greatly feared had at last come upon me. In the Trinity Term of 1929, I gave in, and admitted that God was God, and knelt and prayed: perhaps, that night, the most dejected and reluctant convert in all England."

In 1931, after a lengthy discussion with Tolkien and another close friend, Hugo Dyson, Lewis could not deny what he knew to be true and he reconverted to Christianity, becoming a member of the Church of England. He noted, "I came into Christianity kicking and screaming."

He is now popularly known as The Apostle to the Skeptics because he approached religion with a skeptics view, and still found conversion and conviction. He addresses many of his skeptical positions in The Problem of Pain.

Christian critics

Lewis was not without his critics and Evangelical Christians especially took exception to some of the things he professed. The fact that he smoked and drank and lived in a house with an unmarried woman 25 years older than him (even after he converted to Christianity) also did not sit well with some.

His fiction books were criticized for being vaguely and inaccurately based on biblical themes that were mixed with paganism. He claimed that followers of pagan religions can be saved without personal faith in Jesus Christ. He wrote in Mere Christianity, “But the truth is God has not told us what His arrangements about the other people are33There are people in other religions who are being led by God’s secret influence to concentrate on those parts of their religion which are in agreement with Christianity, and who thus belong to Christ without knowing it."

Lewis did not subscribe to biblical inerrancy or penal substitution, but he did believe in purgatory and baptismal regeneration. He also stated that he did not believe that faith in the blood of Christ was an essential part of Christianity. He wrote, "You can say that Christ died for our sins. You may say that the Father has forgiven us because Christ has done for us what we ought to have done. You may say that we are washed in the blood of the Lamb. You may say that Christ has defeated death. They are all true. IF ANY OF THEM DO NOT APPEAL TO YOU, LEAVE IT ALONE AND GET ON WITH THE FORMULA THAT DOES. And, whatever you do, do not start quarrelling with other people because they use a different formula from yours.” (Mere Christianity)

Lewis was clearly ecumenical in his approach to Christianity. He submitted parts of Mere Christianity to four clergymen for criticism—an Anglican, a Methodist, a Presbyterian, and a Roman Catholic. He wrote of his hope that all Christians 'ought to be reunited.’ He was also clear that he did not intend his writings to be seen as an alternative to the creeds of existing denominations.

Lewis's death and legacy

A statue of C. S. Lewis in Belfast, United Kingdom

In April of 1956, C. S. Lewis, a 57-year-old dedicated bachelor, married Joy Davidman, an American poet with two young children. Lewis and Davidman enjoyed four years of blissful marriage and were intensely happy together. Joy died of cancer in 1960, at the age of 45. Her death shattered Lewis, and his pilgrimage through the process of bereavement resulted in his writing A Grief Observed.

Lewis died on November 22, 1963, exactly one week before his 65th birthday, at the Oxford home he shared with his brother, Warren. He was buried in the Headington Quarry Churchyard, Oxford. His death coincided with the assassination of President John F. Kennedy, and the author Aldous Huxley, which all occurred on the same day. Thus, for much of the world, Lewis passed away quietly. His works live on and a bronze statue of Lewis looking into a wardrobe, erected in Belfast's Hollywood Arches, remind the world of his legacy.

C. S. Lewis left behind a long legacy of influence. He remains the inspiration of several books including, A Severe Mercy by Sheldon Vanauken, along with works inspired in part by The Chronicles Of Narnia, including A Series of Unfortunate Events by Daniel Handler, Eoin Colfer's Artemis Fowl series, Philip Pullman's His Dark Materials trilogy, and J. K. Rowling's Harry Potter. His later life was also made into a major motion picture, Shadowlands, starring Sir Anthony Hopkins. During his lifetime, Lewis was against his novels being turned into films because of the technology at the time. He was worried that all of his creations, especially the animal characters, could only come off looking like "buffoonery or nightmare". Thus no films were attempted during his career.

Lewis continues to be an inspiration even in pop-culture as the song "The Earth Will Shake" performed by Thrice is based on one of his poems, and the band Sixpence None the Richer are named after a quote they took from Mere Christianity.

Bibliography

Nonfiction

  • The Allegory of Love: A Study in Medieval Tradition (1936), ISBN 0192812203
  • Rehabilitations and other essays (1939) — with two essays not included in Essay Collection (2000) ISBN 040304233X
  • The Personal Heresy: A Controversy (with E. M. W. Tillyard, 1939) ASIN: B0007K1Y3U
  • The Problem of Pain (1940) ISBN 0060652969
  • A Preface to Paradise Lost (1942) ISBN 0195003454
  • The Abolition of Man (1943) ISBN 0060652942
  • Beyond Personality (1944) ASIN: B0007DRDZ0
  • Miracles: A Preliminary Study (1947, revised 1960) ISBN 0060653019
  • Arthurian Torso (1948; on Charles Williams's poetry) ISBN 040420290X
  • Mere Christianity (1952; based on radio talks of 1941-1944) ISBN 0060652926
  • English Literature in the Sixteenth Century Excluding Drama (1954) ISBN 0198812981
  • Major British Writers, Vol I (1954), Contribution on Edmund Spenser ISBN 0310267811
  • Surprised by Joy: The Shape of My Early Life (1955; autobiography) ISBN 0156870118
  • Reflections on the Psalms (1958) ISBN 015676248X
  • The Four Loves (1960) ISBN 0156329301
  • Studies in Words (1960) ISBN 0521398312
  • An Experiment in Criticism (1961) ISBN 0521422817
  • A Grief Observed (1961; first published under the pseudonym N. W. Clerk) ISBN 0060652381
  • Selections from Layamon's Brut (ed. G L Brook, 1963 Oxford University Press) introduction ISBN 0859891399
  • Prayer: Letters to Malcolm (1964) ISBN 0156027666
  • The Discarded Image: An Introduction to Medieval and Renaissance Literature (1964) ISBN 0521477352
  • Studies in Medieval and Renaissance Literature (1966) — not included in Essay Collection (2000) ISBN 0521645840
  • Spenser's Images of Life (ed. Alastair Fowler, 1967), ISBN 0521055466
  • Letters to an American Lady (1967) ISBN 080281428X
  • Selected Literary Essays (1969) — not included in Essay Collection (2000) ISBN 0521296803
  • God in the Dock: Essays on Theology and Ethics (1970), = Undeceptions (1971) — all included in Essay Collection (2000) ISBN 0802808689
  • Of Other Worlds (1982; essays) — with one essay not included in Essay Collection ISBN 0156027674
  • All My Road Before Me: The Diary of C. S. Lewis 1922-27 (1993) ISBN 0156027968
  • Essay Collection: Literature, Philosophy and Short Stories (2000) ISBN 0006281575
  • Essay Collection: Faith, Christianity and the Church (2000) ISBN 0006281575
  • Collected Letters, Vol. I: Family Letters 1905-1931 (2000) ISBN 0006281451
  • Collected Letters, Vol. II: Books, Broadcasts and War 1931-1949 (2004) ISBN 0060727640

Fiction

Poetry

  • Spirits in Bondage (1919; published under pseudonym Clive Hamilton) ISBN 0156847485
  • Dymer (1926; published under pseudonym Clive Hamilton)
  • Narrative Poems (ed. Walter Hooper, 1969; includes Dymer) ISBN 0156027984
  • The Collected Poems of C. S. Lewis (ed. Walter Hooper, 1994; includes Spirits in Bondage) ISBN 006063880X

External links

All links retrieved December 22, 2016.


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