Milton, Spenser and The Chronicles of Narnia: Literary Sources for the C.S. Lewis NovelsIn 1950, Clive Staples Lewis published the first in a series of children's stories that became The Chronicles of Narnia. The now vastly popular Chronicles are a widely known testament to the religious and moral principles that Lewis embraced in his later life. What many readers and viewers do not know about the Chronicles is that a close reading of the seven-book series reveals the strikingly effective influences of literary sources as diverse as George MacDonald's fantastic fiction and the courtly love poetry of the High Middle Ages. Arguably the two most influential sources for the series are Edmund Spenser's The Faerie Queen and John Milton's Paradise Lost. Lewis was so personally intrigued by these two particular pieces of literature that he became renowned for his scholarly studies of both Milton and Spenser. This book examines the important ways in which Lewis so clearly echoes The Faerie Queen and Paradise Lost, and how the elements of each work together to convey similar meanings. Most specifically, the chapters focus on the telling interweavings that can be seen in the depiction of evil, female characters, fantastic and symbolic landscapes and settings, and the spiritual concepts so personally important to C.S. Lewis. |
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... Christian literature, English—History and criticism. 8. Evil in literature. 9. Spirituality in literature. ¡0. Christianity in literature. I. Title. PR6023.E926C5335 2007 823'.9¡2—dc22 2006033¡92 British Library cataloguing data are ...
... Christian apologist. When I began my university literary studies, I was thrilled to find my old friend, the creator of Narnia, o›ering insights on authors I was studying in class, and it was with particular fervor that I discovered his ...
... Christian apologist whose writings have encouraged, uplifted, and inspired generations of readers also gives him a measure of credibility seldom lavished on children's authors, in part also due to Lewis's aversion of heavyhanded ...
... Christian faith which he embraced as an adult and defended in his nonfiction, fiction, and radio broadcasts. Instead of forcibly teaching Christianity, these elements familiarize the reader with Christian concepts such as love ...
... Christian Fantasy from ¡200 to the Present, C. N. Manlove describes a Lewis who “looked for sources as he looked for friends; he is essentially gregarious in his vision.” Despite his elevated academic position, Lewis was no literary ...
Contents
17 | |
The Depiction of Evil Men Mortals Monsters and Misled Protagonists | 51 |
Girls Whose Heads Have Something Inside Them The Characterization of Women | 77 |
An Inside Bigger Than Its Outside Setting and Geography | 107 |
Knowing Him Better There Spirituality and Belief | 135 |
Conclusion | 159 |
Chapter Notes | 163 |
Bibliography | 177 |
Index | 183 |