C. S. Lewis - A Preface to Paradise Lost (pdf)

C. S. Lewis - A Preface to Paradise Lost (Oxford, 1941). 143 pages.

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A lucid, beautifully written introduction to fundamental issues in understanding Milton's great epic.

description:

Why, in the 17th century, did Milton choose to write an Epic? What is an Epic? In what sense is Paradise Lost like the Homeric Poems or the Anglo-Saxon Beowulf? In what sense did Milton Develop the Virgilian Epic? Was is a matter of technique only or did it embrace the style itself and even the subject matter? C. S. Lewis's criticism has always been outstanding for first asking the right questions and then answering them with a lucidity and lightness of touch which, far from wearying his readers with learning, stimulates them to go back to the poetry itself. With absolute naturalness this defense of Epic as a literary form resolves itself into a plea that ritual and splendor, and joy itself, have a right to exist.

Review

"An essential work in understanding both the literary approach of C.S. Lewis and the theological assumptions of Paradise Lost. Unparalleled in its conciseness."--I.S. Maclean, James Madison University

"Still the most lucid, useful, entertaining introduction to Milton's poem anyone has contrived to write. Traditional literary criticism at its best."--Lance E. Wilcox, Elmhurst College

About the Author

C.S. Lewis (1898-1963) was an Irish author and scholar of mixed Irish, English, and Welsh ancestry. Lewis is known for his work on medieval literature, Christian apologetics and fiction, especially the children's series entitled The Chronicles of Narnia and his science fiction Space Trilogy.