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. |
From inside the book
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... poem became more accessible if some musician had recorded it as a rock song, themes and characters of literature ... poems that he treasured throughout his life. Fortunately, Lewis did not hesitate to express himself on all matters of ...
... poem “regretting that it was not longer.” In fact, late in his life he “expressed a wish that when he reached the Next World he might find that Spenser had written another six books of The Faerie Queene for him to read”; not a ...
... poem. The Allegory of Love, often considered “one of the most influential literary histories of the century,” is still respected, even by scholars who disagree with his conclusions. Both critics who concur with his analyses and ...
... poem and the fantasy manuscript.3 Yet, The Faerie Queene was not the only epic poem that took root in Lewis's imagination and his scholarship. It is clear that in his mind, as well as in his writing, he linked Edmund Spenser with John ...
... poem, while also examining structural, theological, and textual issues. Lewis's boldness in claiming his Christian beliefs, rather than making excuses for them, has also been cited as a refreshing and impres- sive aspect of the Preface ...
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 |