An Experiment in Criticism, C. S. Lewis
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An Experiment in Criticism

Author: C. S. Lewis

Narrator: Richard Elwood

Unabridged: 3 hr 36 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 05/02/2021


Synopsis

Why do we read literature and how do we judge it? C. S. Lewis's classic An Experiment in Criticism springs from the conviction that literature exists for the joy of the reader and that books should be judged by the kind of reading they invite. He argues that 'good reading', like moral action or religious experience, involves surrender to the work in hand and a process of entering fully into the opinions of others: 'in reading great literature I become a thousand men and yet remain myself'. Crucial to his notion of judging literature is a commitment to laying aside expectations and values extraneous to the work, in order to approach it with an open mind. Amid the complex welter of current critical theories, C. S. Lewis's wisdom is valuably down-to-earth, refreshing and stimulating in the questions it raises about the experience of reading.

Author Bio

It is a lofty goal, but many would be pleased if the work they accomplished would last well after their death, and be lauded with posthumous praise. Such is what happened to British author Clive Staples Lewis. He was born on November 29, 1898 and passed on November 22, 1963...... just prior to his 65th birthday. It was 2013 on the 50th Anniversary of Lewis' death, that he was honored by being given a memorial in Poet's Corner in West minister Abbey.

Lewis wore many professional hats......that of novelist, poet, academic, medievalist, literary critic, essayist, lay theologian, broadcaster, lecturer, and Christian apologist. His best known work is The Chronicles of Narnia, The Screwtape Letters, and The Space Trilogy. He is the author of more than 30 books, translated into over 30 languages. As we are all aware, The Chronicles of Narnia had tremendous sales numbers and have been made popular on stage, TV, radio, and cinema.

Lewis married American author, Joy Davidman, in 1956, but sadly, she passed away only four years later from cancer at only 45 years old. Lewis then died in 1963 of renal failure.

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