English Literature in the Sixteenth Century (Excluding Drama)

by C. S. Lewis

Overview

C. S. Lewis offers a magisterial take on the literature and poetry of one of the most consequential periods in world history, providing deep insight into some of the greatest writers of the age, including Edmund Spenser, William Shakespeare, William Tyndale, John Knox, Dr. Johnson, Richard Hooker, Hugh Latimer, Christopher Marlowe, John Donne, and Thomas Cranmer.

English Literature in the Sixteenth Century is an invigorating overview of English literature from the Norman Conquest through the mid-seventeenth century from one of the greatest public intellectuals of the modern age. In this wise, distinctive collection, C. S. Lewis expounds on the profound impact prose and poetry had on both British intellectual life and his own critical thinking and writing, demonstrated in his deep reflections and essays. 

This incisive work is essential for any serious literature scholar, intellectual Anglophile, or C. S. Lewis fan. 

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780063222175
Publisher:	HarperCollins
Publication date:	08/23/2022
Pages:	752
Sales rank:	433,325
Product dimensions:	5.80(w) x 9.20(h) x 2.00(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 The Chronicles of Narnia. To date, the Narnia books have sold over 100 million copies and have been transformed into three major motion pictures.

Clive Staples Lewis (1898-1963) fue uno de los intelectuales más importantes del siglo veinte y podría decirse que fue el escritor cristiano más influyente de su tiempo. Fue profesor particular de literatura inglesa y miembro de la junta de gobierno en la Universidad Oxford hasta 1954, cuando fue nombrado profesor de literatura medieval y renacentista en la Universidad Cambridge, cargo que desempeñó hasta que se jubiló. Sus contribuciones a la crítica literaria, literatura infantil, literatura fantástica y teología popular le trajeron fama y aclamación a nivel internacional. C. S. Lewis escribió más de treinta libros, lo cual le permitió alcanzar una enorme audiencia, y sus obras aún atraen a miles de nuevos lectores cada año. Sus más distinguidas y populares obras incluyen Las Crónicas de Narnia, Los Cuatro Amores, Cartas del Diablo a Su Sobrino y Mero Cristianismo.

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

Table of Contents

Preface vii

Introduction: New Learning and New Ignorance 1

Book I Late Medieval

I The Close of the Middle Ages in Scotland 77

II The Close of the Middle Ages in England 141

Book II 'Drab'

I Drab Age Prose: Religious Controversy and Translation 187

II Drab Age Verse 260

III Drab and Transitional Prose 320

Book III 'Golden'

I Sidney and Spenser 375

II Prose in the 'Golden' Period 462

III Verse in the 'Golden' Period 541

Epilogue: New Tendencies 627

Chronological Table 655

Bibliography 680

Index 734

Editorial Reviews

"At a time when literary history is hesitantly skirting a desert of technicalities, he has written a book in a great tradition, a book almost overwhelmingly rich and assured." — Frank Kermode, BBC Third Programme

From the Publisher

"At a time when literary history is hesitantly skirting a desert of technicalities, he has written a book in a great tradition, a book almost overwhelmingly rich and assured."

Frank Kermode