Spirits in Bondage: A Cycle of Lyrics

by C. S. Lewis

Overview

So piteously the lonely soul of man Shudders before this universal plan, So grievous is the burden and the pain, So heavy weighs the long, material chain From cause to cause, too merciless for hate, The nightmare march of unrelenting fate, -from "Dungeon Grates" C. S. Lewis is a profound and perhaps the most respected Christian apologist because his belief was so hard-won. This collection of verse, written immediately after he returned from the battlefields of World War I in 1919, offers penetrating insight into the psyche of a young man struggling with traumatic wartime experiences and the crisis of faith they engendered. By turns angry, bitter, and melancholy, these poems constitute a provocative document of Lewis's journey from atheism through agnosticism and on to conviction. Irish writer CLIVE STAPLES ("JACK") LEWIS (1898-1963) was born in Belfast. A volunteer in the British Army during World War I, he served in the trenches of France, and returned to study and teach at Oxford University; he later accepted a post at Cambridge University, retiring only months before his death. His best-known works are The Chronicles of Narnia (1950-1956), Mere Christianity (1952), and his autobiography, Surprised by Joy (1955).

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781596053724
Publisher:	Cosimo Classics
Publication date:	11/01/2005
Series:	Cosimo Classics Literature
Pages:	88
Product dimensions:	5.00(w) x 8.00(h) x 0.21(d)

About the Author

Clive Staples Lewis (1898–1963) 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, when 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 Out of the Silent Planet, The Great Divorce, The Screwtape Letters, and the universally acknowledged classics in The Chronicles of Narnia. To date, the Narnia books have sold over 100 million copies and have been transformed into three major motion pictures.

Date of Birth:

November 29, 1898

Date of Death:

November 22, 1963

Place of Birth:

Belfast, Nothern Ireland

Place of Death:

Headington, England

Education:

Oxford University 1917-1923; Elected fellow of Magdalen College, Oxford in 1925

Website:

http://www.cslewisclassics.com

Editorial Reviews

2020 Top Shelf Book Cover Award Winner

This slim volume of lyrics was indeed the start of a stellar career, and those who love the father will surely find … something irresistible about his literary first-born.
—Michael Ward, University of Oxford, co-editor of The Cambridge Companion to C. S. Lewis

This cycle of poems helps us pinpoint the difference conversion made to one of the world's most celebrated converts.
—Peter J. Leithart, Theopolis Institute, author of The End of Protestantism

The author of these poems had already heard the summons of divine joy but was not yet ready to believe it, and could scarcely have imagined all that it portends.
—Ben Myers, The Millis Institute, Australia, author of The Apostles’ Creed

These beautifully crafted poems, made stronger by their adherence to forms as diverse as the sonnet and triolet, will make fascinating reading for anyone interested in discovering how Lewis achieved such clarity about the darkness he eventually left behind, and in how pagan honor and virtue prepared him for the transformative light of the gospel.
—David Lyle Jeffrey, Baylor University, author of Scripture and the English Poetic Imagination

In these poems he vacillates between a longing for beauty and a frustration with a universe he believes governed by a cruel, capricious God. Reading Spirits in Bondage, therefore, throws into relief the astounding changes he undergoes in becoming the foremost Christian apologist of the twentieth century.
—Don W. King, Montreat College, author of C. S. Lewis, Poet: The Legacy of His Poetic Impulse and The Collected Poems of C. S. Lewis: A Critical Edition

Anyone who wants to know Lewis more fully should read this book.
—Mark Neal, co-author of The Neglected C. S. Lewis and The Surprising Imagination of C. S. Lewis

For years, C. S. Lewis longed to be a poet. Thanks to Lexham Press’s re-release of Spirits in Bondage, we have a rare glimpse not only into Lewis’s early poetry but also his thought as a young atheist.
—Ryan J. Pemberton, First Presbyterian Church of Berkeley, author of Called: My Journey to C. S. Lewis’s House and Back Again and Walking with C. S. Lewis: A Companion Guide

This cycle of poems helps us pinpoint the difference conversion made to one of the world's most celebrated converts. —Peter J. Leithart, Theopolis Institute, Author of The End of Protestantism

The author of these poems had already heard the summons of divine joy but was not yet ready to believe it, and could scarcely have imagined all that it portends. —Ben Myers, The Millis Institute, Australia, author of The Apostles’ Creed

These beautifully crafted poems, made stronger by their adherence to forms as diverse as the sonnet and triolet, will make fascinating reading for anyone interested in discovering how Lewis achieved such clarity about the darkness he eventually left behind, and in how pagan honor and virtue prepared him for the transformative light of the gospel. —David Lyle Jeffrey, Baylor University, author of Scripture and the English Poetic Imagination

In these poems he vacillates between a longing for beauty and a frustration with a universe he believes governed by a cruel, capricious God. Reading Spirits in Bondage, therefore, throws into relief the astounding changes he undergoes in becoming the foremost Christian apologist of the twentieth century. —Don W. King, Montreat College, author of C. S. Lewis, Poet: The Legacy of His Poetic Impulse and The Collected Poems of C. S. Lewis: A Critical Edition

Anyone who wants to know Lewis more fully should read this book. —Mark Neal, co-author of The Neglected C. S. Lewis and The Surprising Imagination of C. S. Lewis

For years, C. S. Lewis longed to be a poet. Thanks to Lexham Press’s re-release of Spirits in Bondage, we have a rare glimpse not only into Lewis’s early poetry but also his thought as a young atheist. —Ryan J. Pemberton, First Presbyterian Church of Berkeley, author of Called: My Journey to C. S. Lewis’s House and Back Again and Walking with C. S. Lewis: A Companion Guide

From the Publisher