Clive Lewis

8/6/2019 Clive Lewis

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By Nastya Yablonska,Group 34-H,

Naukova Zmina Lycee,Kyiv 2011


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Clive Lewiss BiographyClive Staples Lewis was born in BelfastIreland, on 29 November 1898. His father was Albert James Lewis (18631929), asolicitor whose father, Richard, had come toIreland from Wales during the mid 19 th

century. Lewis was schooled by private

tutors before being sent to the WynyardSchool in Watford, Hertfordshire, in 1908, justafter his mother's death from cancer. Lewisthen attended Campbell College in the east of Belfast about a mile from his home, but heleft after a few months due to respiratoryproblems. He was then sent to the health-resort town of Malvern, Worcestershire,where he attended the preparatory schoolCherbourg House, which Lewis calls"Chartres" in his autobiography. InSeptember 1913, Lewis enrolled at MalvernCollege, where he remained until thefollowing June. He found the school sociallycompetitive.


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In 1917, Lewis left his studies to volunteer in the British Army. DuringWorld War I he was commissioned an officer in the Third Battalion,Somerset Light Infantry. Lewis arrived at the front line in the SommeValley in France on his nineteenth birthday, and experienced trenchwarfare.He was discharged in December 1918, and soon returned to hisstudies.Lewis was raised in a church-going family in the Church of Ireland. Hebecame an atheist at 15, though he later described his young self asbeing paradoxically "very angry with God for not existing". After hisconversion to theism in 1929, Lewis converted to Christianity in 1931,following a long discussion and late-night walk with his close friendsTolkien and Hugo Dyson. He records making a specific commitment toChristian belief while on his way to the zoo with his brother. He becamea member of the Church of England somewhat to thedisappointment of Tolkien, who had hoped that he would convert toRoman Catholicism.


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Lewis began his academic career as an undergraduatestudent at Oxford, where he won a triple first, thehighest honours in three areas of study.Lewis then taught as a fellow of Magdalena Collige,Oxford, for nearly thirty years, from 1925 to 1954, andlater was the first Professor of Medieval and

Renaissance English at the University of Cambridge

and a fellow of Magdalene College, Cambridge.

Lewis wrote several prefaces to old works of literatureand poetry, like Layamon's Brut . His book "A Preface toParadise Lost " is still one of the most valuablecriticisms of that work. His last academic work, TheDiscarded Image: An Introduction to Medieval and Renaissance Literature (1964), is a summary of themedieval world view, the "discarded image" of thecosmos in his title. Lewis was a prolific writer, and hiscircle of literary friends became an informal discussionsociety known as the "Inklings", including J. R. R.Tolkien, Nevill Coghill, Lord David Cecil, CharlesWilliams, Owen Barfield, and his brother Warren Lewis.


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In addition to his scholarly work, Lewis wrote a number of popular novels, including his science fiction The Space Trilogy and his fantasyfiction Narnian books, most dealing implicitly with Christian themessuch as sin, humanity's fall from grace, and redemption.

The Pilgrim's RegressHis first novel after becoming a Christian was The Pilgrim's Regress,which depicted his experience with Christianity in the style of JohnBunyan's The Pilgrim's Progress . The book was poorly received bycritics at the time, although D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones gave him much-valued encouragement.

"Space Trilogy" novelsHis "Space Trilogy" or "Ransom Trilogy" novels (also called the"Cosmic Trilogy") dealt with what Lewis saw as the de-humanising

trends in contemporary science fiction. In "Space Trilogy" enter threenovels: Out of the Silent Planet, Perelandra and That Hideous

Strength.


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The Chronicles of Narnia is aseries of seven fantasy novels for children and is considered aclassic of children's literature.Written between 1949 and 1954and illustrated by PaulineBaynes, the series is Lewis'smost popular work, having soldover 100 million copies in 41languages. It has been adaptedseveral times, complete or in part,for radio, television, stage andcinema.The books contain Christian

ideas intended to be easilyaccessible to young readers. Inaddition to Christian themes,Lewis also borrows charactersfrom Greek and Romanmythology as well as traditionalBritish and Irish fairy tales.


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The Chronicles of Narnia's seven books havebeen in continuous publication since 1956,selling over 100 million copies in 47 languagesincluding non-Roman scripts and Braille. Thebooks were first published in the UnitedKingdom by Geoffrey Bles, with the firstedition of The Lion, the Witch and theWardrobe released in London on 16 October

1950. Although three more books, PrinceCaspian , The Voyage of the Dawn Treader andThe Horse and His Boy , were already complete,they were not released at the time.


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I. The Lion, the Witch and theWardrobe (1950)The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe ,

completed by the end of March 1949 andpublished by Geoffrey Bles in London on 16October 1950, tells the story of four ordinarychildren: Peter, Susan, Edmund, and LucyPevensie. They discover a wardrobe inProfessor Digory Kirke's house that leads tothe magical land of Narnia. The Pevensiechildren help Aslan, a talking lion, saveNarnia from the evil White Witch, who hasreigned over the land of Narnia for a centuryof perpetual winter. The children become

kings and queens of this new-found landand establish the Golden Age of Narnia,leaving a legacy to be rediscovered in later books.


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II. Prince Caspian: The Return toNarnia (1951)

Completed after Christmas, 1949 andpublished on 15 October 1951, PrinceCaspian: The Return to Narnia tells thestory of the Pevensie children's second tripto Narnia. They are drawn back by thepower of Susan's horn, blown by PrinceCaspian to summon help in his hour of need. Narnia as they knew it is no more.Their castle is in ruins and all the dryadshave retreated so far within themselves thatonly Aslan's magic can wake them. Caspianhas fled into the woods to escape his uncle,

Miraz, who has usurped the throne. Thechildren set out once again to save Narnia.


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III. The Voyage of the DawnTreader (1952)Written between January and

February 1950 and published on15 September 1952, The Voyageof the Dawn Treader seesEdmund and Lucy Pevensie,along with their priggish cousin,Eustace Scrubb, return to Narnia.Once there, they join Caspian'svoyage on the ship Dawn Treader to find the seven lords who were

banished when Miraz took over the throne. This perilous journeybrings them face to face withmany wonders and dangers asthey sail toward Aslan's country atthe end of the world.


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IV. The Silver Chair (1953)

Completed at the beginning of March1951 and published 7 September 1953, The Silver Chair is the firstNarnia book without the Pevensiechildren. Instead, Aslan callsEustace back to Narnia together with his classmate Jill Pole. Therethey are given four signs to aid inthe search for Prince Rilian,Caspian's son, who disappearedafter setting out ten years earlier toavenge his mother's death. Eustaceand Jill, with the help of Puddleglumthe Marsh-wiggle, face danger andbetrayal on their quest to find Rilian.


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V. The Horse and His Boy (1954)

Begun in March and completed at the endof July 1950, The Horse and His Boy was published on 6 September 1954.The story takes place during the reign of the Pevensies in Narnia, an era whichbegins and ends in the last chapter of The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe .

A talking horse called Bree and a youngboy named Shasta, both of whom are inbondage in the country of Calormen, arethe protagonists. By chance, they meetand plan their return to Narnia andfreedom. Along the way they meet

Aravis and her talking horse Hwin whoare also fleeing to Narnia.


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VI. The Magician's Nephew (1955)

Completed in February 1954 and publishedby Bodley Head in London on 2 May1955, the prequel The Magician's Nephew brings the reader back to the origins of Narnia where we learn how Aslan createdthe world and how evil first entered it.Digory Kirke and his friend Polly Plummer stumble into different worlds byexperimenting with magic rings made byDigory's uncle. They encounter Jadis (TheWhite Witch) in the dying world of Charn,and witness the creation of Narnia. Manylong-standing questions about the worldare answered as a result.


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VII. The Last Battle (1956)

Completed in March 1953 andpublished 4 September 1956,The Last Battle chronicles the

end of the world of Narnia. Jilland Eustace return to saveNarnia from Shift, an ape, whotricks Puzzle, a donkey, intoimpersonating the lion Aslan,precipitating a showdownbetween the Calormenes andKing Tirian.


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True or false?

1.Clive Staples Lewis was born in Belfast,Northern Ireland, on 29 November 1898.

2. In 1917, Lewis didnt leave his studies.3. Lewis began his academic career as anundergraduate student at Oxford.

4. Prince Caspian: The Return to Narnia tells thestory of the Pevensie children's second trip toNarnia.

5. On 4 September 1956 was published The Last

Battle chronicles the end of the world of Narnia.

6 . The Chronicles of Narnia is a series of fivefantasy novels for children


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Q uestions:

1) How did Lewis Ransom Trilogyalso called?

2) How many children are the maincharacters in Lion, the Witch andWardrobe?

3) How was the talking horse in TheHorse and his Boy called?

Clive Lewis

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