First and Second Things: The Theoretical Criticism of C.S. Lewis
| Main Author: | |
|---|---|
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Bowling Green State University / OhioLINK
1978
|
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=bgsu1566463066602959 |
| id |
ndltd-OhioLink-oai-etd.ohiolink.edu-bgsu1566463066602959 |
|---|---|
| record_format |
oai_dc |
| spelling |
ndltd-OhioLink-oai-etd.ohiolink.edu-bgsu15664630666029592021-08-03T07:12:44Z First and Second Things: The Theoretical Criticism of C.S. Lewis Olsen, Dorothy Anne British and Irish Literature Readers of C. S. Lewis seem to fall into two groups: those interested in his theological writings and those interested in his literary criticism. This study is one which recognizes the unity of his mental vision and considers Lewis' theoretical criticism in the light of his theology. The principle of First and Second Things ("You can't get second things by putting them first; you can get second things only by putting first things first.") and its specific application in the idea of self-transcendence is central to all of Lewis' thinking. In this investigation, Lewis' theoretical criticism is divided into the three areas of Poet, Poem, and Audience. The central principle is seen to apply to the Poet in Lewis' stance against expressionism, which focuses the reader's attention on the poet instead of on the poem. The poetic process is one of self-transcendence when the poet "goes out of himself" or "forgets himself" while he writes. The principle of First and Second Things operates in relation to the Poem in Lewis' great concern that literature not be overvalued, that it be a means and not an end in itself. From a dulce et utile position he eventually comes to view literature as temporarily an end and to find its value in the self-transcendence it permits. The aesthetic experience in the Audience is, by definition, a self-transcendence. Literature allows the reader to see with other eyes, to "transcend his own particularity" and experience the world from the point of view of not only another person, but another time period. Though the self-transcendence in art (as in the Christian life) is an unattainable ideal, one must, in Lewis' view, make whatever progress he can toward that end. 1978 English text Bowling Green State University / OhioLINK http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=bgsu1566463066602959 http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=bgsu1566463066602959 unrestricted This thesis or dissertation is protected by copyright: all rights reserved. It may not be copied or redistributed beyond the terms of applicable copyright laws. |
| collection |
NDLTD |
| language |
English |
| sources |
NDLTD |
| topic |
British and Irish Literature |
| spellingShingle |
British and Irish Literature Olsen, Dorothy Anne First and Second Things: The Theoretical Criticism of C.S. Lewis |
| author |
Olsen, Dorothy Anne |
| author_facet |
Olsen, Dorothy Anne |
| author_sort |
Olsen, Dorothy Anne |
| title |
First and Second Things: The Theoretical Criticism of C.S. Lewis |
| title_short |
First and Second Things: The Theoretical Criticism of C.S. Lewis |
| title_full |
First and Second Things: The Theoretical Criticism of C.S. Lewis |
| title_fullStr |
First and Second Things: The Theoretical Criticism of C.S. Lewis |
| title_full_unstemmed |
First and Second Things: The Theoretical Criticism of C.S. Lewis |
| title_sort |
first and second things: the theoretical criticism of c.s. lewis |
| publisher |
Bowling Green State University / OhioLINK |
| publishDate |
1978 |
| url |
http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=bgsu1566463066602959 |
| work_keys_str_mv |
AT olsendorothyanne firstandsecondthingsthetheoreticalcriticismofcslewis |
| _version_ |
1719456152516820992 |