English and Literature

by C.S. Lewis

Essays

Genres: Nonfiction, Christian, Audiobook, Education, Literature

105 pages, Audiobook

Published January 1, 2013

About the author

Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.

Clive Staples Lewis was one of the intellectual giants of the twentieth century and arguably one of the most influential writers of his day. He was a Fellow and Tutor in English Literature at Oxford University until 1954. He was unanimously elected to the Chair of Medieval and Renaissance Literature at Cambridge University, a position he held until his retirement. He wrote more than thirty books, allowing him to reach a vast audience, and his works continue to attract thousands of new readers every year. His most distinguished and popular accomplishments include Mere Christianity, Out of the Silent Planet, The Great Divorce, The Screwtape Letters, and the universally acknowledged classics The Chronicles of Narnia. To date, the Narnia books have sold over 100 million copies and been transformed into three major motion pictures.

Lewis was married to poet Joy Davidman.
W.H. Lewis was his elder brother]

Reviews

[ValeReads Kyriosity · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was thought provoking. The essay on science fiction was the most intriguing. The genre was so young when he wrote it. I'd love to hash out with someone whether various of his points have held up over the decades.

And another provoking thing is the unfulfilled wish to have someone to deep-read with. I love my book groups, but a monthly chat about a shared title must, by nature, be superficial. My idea of the perfect marriage would include reading books together and constantly interrupting to discuss. It could work with other family members or even the right sort of roommate, too. I think it'd almost have to take place under the same roof, though.

Ralph Cosham was the reader—a voice I've heard on so many of Lewis's books that I have to remind myself it's not his voice.

[Laurel Hicks · Rating 5 out of 5]

A variety of lectures and essays scholarly and popular. Much to chew on here.

[Kofi Opoku · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great insights by a brilliant creative thinker. I found it very applicable to my profession as an artist/designer.

[Katie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lewis's thoughts on culture, literature, and human nature are always brilliant. Would recommend a hard copy as I found that listening to essays isn't always the best medium.

[Tom · Rating 4 out of 5]

Quoting Saint Augustine, City of God, Book XII, Ch. 1: "Pride does not only go before a fall, but is itself a fall; a fall of the creature's attention to what is better, God, to what is worse, itself." ~ ch. 1

"every seat must give the best view of something." ch. 1

"Thus, Saint Augustine and Rousseau both write confessions, but to the one, his own temperament is a kind of absolute [...], to the other it is "a narrow house, too narrow for Thee to enter, O make it wide, it is in ruins, O rebuild it." ~ ch. 1

"of every idea and of every method he will ask not, 'is it mine,' but 'is it good.' This seems to me the most fundamental difference between the Christian and the unbeliever in their approach to literature. But I think there is another. The Christian will take literature a little less seriously than the cultured pagan. He will feel less uneasy with the purely hedonistic standard for at least many kinds of work. The unbeliever is always apt to make a kind of religion of his aesthetic experiences. He feels ethically irresponsible, perhaps. But he braces his strength to receive responsibilities of another kind, which seem to the Christian quite illusory. He has to be 'creative,' he has to obey a mystical aim or moral law called his artistic conscience; and he commonly wishes to maintain his superiority to the great mass of mankind who turn to books for mere recreation. But the Christian knows from the outset that the salvation of a single soul is more important than the production or preservation of all the epics and tragedies in the world, and as for superiority, he knows that the vulgar, since they include most of the poor, probably include most of his superiors. He has no objections to comedies that merely amuse, and tales that merely refresh, for he thinks, like Thomas Acquinas, 'we can play as we can eat, to the glory of God.'

"The gold behind the paper currency is to be found almost exclusively in literature." ch. 3

"Those who hate the thing they are trying to explain are not, perhaps, those most likely to explain it. If you have never enjoyed a thing, and do not know what it feels like to enjoy it, you will hardly know what sort of people go to it, in what moods, seeking what sort of gratification. And if you do not know what sort of people they are, you will be ill-equipped to find out what conditions have made them so. In this way, one may say of a kind, not only, as Wordsworth says of the poet, that 'you must love it 'ere to you it will seem worthy of your love,' but that you must at least have loved it once if you are even to warn others against it. Even if it is a vice to read science fiction, those who cannot understand the very temptation to that vice will not be likely to tell us anything of value about it. Just as I, for instance, who have no taste for cards, could not find anything very useful to say by way of warning against deep playing. It will be like the frigid preaching chastity, misers warning us against prodigality, cowards denouncing rashness. And because, as I have said, hatred assimilates all the hated objects, it will make you assume that all the things lumped together as science fiction are of the same sort, and that the psychology of all those who like to read any of them is the same." ch. 7

"Every good writer knows that the more unusual the scenes and events of his story are, the slighter, the more ordinary, and more typical his persons should be. Hence, Gulliver is a commonplace little man, and Alice a commonplace little girl. If they had been more remarkable, they would have wrecked their books." ch. 7

"To tell how odd things struck odd people is to have an oddity too much. He who is to see strange sites must not himself be strange." ch. 7

[Laura · Rating 4 out of 5]

A delightful collection of essays and talks on education, reading, and the English language- three topics I especially love. One of the essays, “On the Reading of Old Books”, might now be among my favorite Lewis reads of all time!

“Every age has its own outlook. It is specially good at seeing certain truths and specially liable to making certain mistakes. We all therefore need the books that will correct the characteristic mistakes of our own period. All contemporary writers seem to share to some extent the contemporary outlook, even those who seem the most opposed to it. Nothing strikes me more when I read the controversies of past ages than the fact that both sides were usually assuming without question a good deal which we should now absolutely deny. They thought that they were as completely opposed as two sides could be, but in fact they were the whole time secretly united with each other and against earlier and later ages along certain assumptions.”

[Ryan Beck · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read this if you want a very eloquent Christian-centric philosophy on the importance of English. In it, the author talks about what distinguishes Christian literature from the bulk of other literature, what is the difference between high and low art, how to classify the different types of science fiction, how marketing tho juvenile may be nonsensical, how specific terms, such as Gentleman, get added to the abyss of words that mean "good and bad" without much thought by the public, as well as a host of other fascinating ruminations on art and literature. Read this book if you have had strong thoughts about the quality and purpose of the written word. If you want to hear the culmination of a literary soul share their thoughts that must've taken decades to refine. Read this book if you are a lover of fiction in the need of a good way to refine your thoughts on books.

[Daniel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Much of what is written in this collection of essays, I would dare to say most, is still relevant to today’s reader of literature, especially the Christian reader. However, some of these essays were more relevant for the time in which they were written, which can make for a confusing read if you are not taking into account the context of the times. Even so, this collection provides insight into the person of C. S. Lewis and his ability to reason logically, regardless of whether the reader agrees with his conclusions. A collection that requires several reads to really grasp everything his suggests.

[Bryan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Of particular interest were the first essay, in which he wrestles with the idea of "Christian" literature, and finds the idea somewhat preposterous--on par with "Christian" cooking. It was in a separate essay, but he makes an often overlooked, but obvious, point that critics should not review that which they already dislike, and he mentions that he just cannot stand works in which children engage in a romance. He doesn't have a moral stance on it, he just really dislikes it. I think we all have things we dislike in stories, and it was interesting to hear him so clear elucidate his own.

[Kells Next Read · Rating 4 out of 5]

C.S. Lewis never fails to disappoint. If I had one complaint, it would be that as I started to settled into each essay and wanted more, that would be the very time it would end. It left me with a feeling of being robbed or deprived of something enriching and pleasurable. Nevertheless, as with all his writings, I would highly recommend them, and I, for one, will revisit them shortly.

[Philip Brown · Rating 5 out of 5]

Interesting and thought provoking, as one would expect from Lewis. Particularly good were “High and Low Brows,” “Is English Doomed?” “On Science Fiction,” “Miserable Offenders,” and “On Juvenile Tastes.” It also has “On Reading Old Books,” which I have come across before as Lewis’ foreword to Athanasius’ “On the Incarnation,” which I enjoyed just as much the second time. I hope to return.

[Melody · Rating 4 out of 5]

A curious assortment of thoughts and views of language and writing from secular texts, sacred texts, and general prose. It probably works best as research support for a thesis or essay on the changing views of English and literature. Although some of Lewis' views or thoughts have just as much stirring in our 21st-century world.

[Marbeth Skwarczynski · Rating 5 out of 5]

C. S. Lewis had a charming way of getting to the heart of a matter with clarity and humor. English and Literature is a series of essays that covers such subjects as Bible translations, book snobs, the importance of rereading, and the beauty of children's literature.

[Clifford Luebben · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a fun collection of some Lewis thoughts on English & Literature, which I suppose were more in line with his professional area of expertise. I think I particularly enjoyed the essay On Science Fiction.

[Paul · Rating 3 out of 5]

C.S. Lewis used to be one of my favorite writers. He is still a great writer, but I don't think that some of his views on literature in the essays and pieces collected in this audio book have aged well. Either that, or my views have changed.

[Martin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Once again, Lewis proves himself to be a deep thinker. A good collection of essays. Not easy to listen to, but beneficial nontheless.

[Brad · Rating 4 out of 5]

Saying a translation is once for all is like giving your child a new outfit once for all.

[Kolter Sands · Rating 5 out of 5]

Brilliant

[Timilyn · Rating 5 out of 5]

The more of Lewis I read, the better understand his context and meaning

[Jacquelyn]

A

[Garbanzo Beans · Rating 4 out of 5]

Some of it was difficult to follow. The chapters on old books, science fiction, and bible translation were very good!

[Linda · Rating 5 out of 5]

Individual essays, all thought provoking and interesting. I love CS Lewis.

[Rubin Carpenter · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mr Lewis's observations on matters such as modern vs classic, teaching Literature what is literature, genres and are modern Bible translations necessary ?
Food for thought

[Lotzastitches · Rating 4 out of 5]

Audible

[Željko Filipin · Rating 3 out of 5]

"But if he must read only the new or only the old, I would advise him to read the old."

[Stifynsemons · Rating 4 out of 5]

[4 stars = I really liked it and will probably read again]

Many non-fiction books tend to say most of what they are going to say at the beginning and then continue to beat a dead horse. This collection avoids that pitfall by gathering twelve distinct short lectures/essays from C.S. Lewis on a variety of topics in literature, language, and religion. Each of them brought new insights to me, but relevant to goodreads, I found his discussion of classics versus non-classics and his advice on re-reading and variety to be enlightening. I need to read this again, perhaps next year, to see what else I can learn.