C. S. Lewis: A Writer! A Philosopher! A Poet!?

C. S. Lewis was one of the most influential men for Christianity and the English Language in the 20th century. Lewis was a well-known writer, Christian philosopher, and professor, but unbeknownst to many, an avid poet. He is best known for his award winning Chronicles of Narnia Series, (the first of which is a major motion picture as of winter of 2005) and for his devout Christianity. Lewis wrote many poems but most of them were about one of two things: Christianity and science fiction. Despite his death in 1963, his works continue to influence modern English and Christian philosophy today.

Clive Staples Lewis was born into a Christian family in Belfast, Ireland on November 29, 1898. Which is odd because most Irish families at the time were Catholic or Protestant. He had only one brother, Warren Hamilton Lewis, who was three years older and always a close friend. Which is also odd because I always thought Irish families were really big, at least in this time period. Lewis grew with a passion for nature and fell in love with Richard Wagner's songs and legends of the north ("C.S. Lewis"). This is evident in his Chronicles of Narnia series later as nearly every scene is in a vivid colorful background of wooded forest or wide rolling plain. His early childhood was quite uneventful until his mother, Flora Augusta Hamilton Lewis, died when he was nine. Unfortunately, Lewis's dad did not deem to be up to the task of parenting. Lewis's dad, Albert James Lewis, soon after sent both Warren and him to boarding school in England. Lewis later said, "With his uncanny flair for making the wrong decision, my father had given us helpless children into the hands of a madman" (Lindsle). As it turns out the headmaster soon was declared insane and the school was closed. It would be so weird if our principal went to a loony bin. Of course it would explain a lot also. After switching schools a couple of times, Lewis eventually abandoned his Christian faith. I was very surprised to hear this. Lewis is famous for his Christian writings! How could he write Christian books as an Atheist?! Fortunately, I learned he didn't stay an atheist forever. Lewis's loss of faith was due to many things: a teacher who introduced him to the occult, doubts about differences between Christianity and paganism, and sexual temptation (Lindsle). They must have some weird schools in Britain, his first teacher gets chucked into the loony bin and another teaches him occult! Eventually William T. Kirkpatrick, his father's old teacher, tutored Lewis. Kirkpatrick was also a former headmaster of Lewis's father, and he taught Lewis to analyze, think, write, and speak clearly and logically (Lindsle).

Kirkpatrick's teachings helped Lewis win a full ride to Oxford in 1916 but just a year later, he abandoned his studies to fight The Great War, World War I. He must have been either really patriotic, really crazy, or just thought this particular war was worth fighting for because being Irish exempted him from the draft. he joined up in the British Royal Army in Somerset Light Infantry anyway. He fought on the front lines in the trenches of France. He was severely wounded and brought home however. Lewis achieved 2nd Lieutenant before leaving the service and returning to his studies ("Contemporary"). Seven years is a extremely short time to rank up that fast. He must have been a really good soldier, or just really good at sucking up.

Lewis graduated Oxford at the top of his class in 1925, with degrees in Greek, Latin literature, philosophy, ancient history, and of course, English literature. He remained after his graduation to teach English for 29 years, after which he accepted another post teaching Medieval and Renaissance literature at Cambridge (Stroud). By this time Lewis had once more come to the rock solid faith he is known for today. This partly due to discussions with two close friends and classmates J.R.R. Tolkien and Hugo Dyson, and partly a couple of Christian books (The Everlasting Man, and Phantastes). As arguments against faith were one by one proven wrong, he eventually gave in and prayed (Lindsle). He later called himself "the most dejected and reluctant convert in all England" ("C.S. Lewis"). For the rest of his life Lewis seemed to do nothing but write (and teach). He wrote over 30 books in many genres, ranging from Christian philosophy, to children's literature (McClain).

Some of Lewis's more noted works are of course his Chornicles of Narnia Series. These children's books are about a colorful and imaginative medeval world called Narnia which is ruled by talking animals. The first and most famous of the Narnia series, The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe, which as I mentioned earlier is a major motion picture, is about two brothers and two sisters who accidentally fall into the magical world of Narnia. They have to fight the evil witch that made the land "always winter but never christmas" alongisde an allmighty lion named Aslan (Lewis). Even here Lewis shows his faith, as Aslan the lion represents Jesus in his pureness, selfless sacrifice of himself to save others, and as the "Son of the Father from across the seas". Another of Lewis's more famous works is Mere Chrisitanity. This is a theological book about Christianity. It is organized into four separate sections. The first is what Lewis thinks to be the bare minimum someone needs for accepting and understanding Christ. In the second section Lewis describes several things he thinks are essential to all Christians. Section three is about what virtues all Christians should have or work towards getting. Lastly, his fourth section is an in depth discussion of the holy Trinity ("Book Review").

Lewis even started a club with some friends dubbed "The Inklings." Regular attendees included Lewis himself of course; Warren, Lewis's brother; J.R.R. Tolkien, author of the critically acclaimed Lord of the Rings series; Dr. R.E. Harvard; and Charles Williams. The group met once a week in a pub and read to each other things that they wrote. Lewis is noted to have shared an early manuscript of his famed Narnia series, and Tolkien shared his manuscript of Lord of the Rings with them ("C.S. Lewis").

Later in his life Lewis fell in love with and married American writer, Joy Gresham, in 1956. Joy acquired bone cancer. The docters didn't think she was going to make it but she expeirienced an amazing remission for two years (McClain). Sadly it caught on again and this time, proved fatal. Joy died in 1960 and left Lewis grieving for quite some time. Later he wrote a book about dealing with grief called A Grief Observed under the name of N.W. Clark so people wouldn't know it was him. Soon after he announced his authorship, because too many of his friends and