Product Description

Published under the pseudonym, Clive Hamilton, Spirits in Bondage

was C. S. Lewis' first book. Released in 1919 by Heinemann, it

was reprinted in 1984 by Harcourt Brace Jovanovich and included

in Lewis' 1994 Collected Poems.

Most of the poems appear to have been written between 1915 and

1918, a period during which Lewis was a student under W. T.

Kirkpatrick, a military trainee at Oxford, and a soldier serving

in the trenches of World War I. Their outlook varies from Romantic

expressions of love for the beauty and simplicity of nature to

cynical statements about the presence of evil in this world. In

a September 12, 1918 letter to his friend Arthur Greeves, Lewis

said that his book was, "mainly strung around the idea that I

mentioned to you before--that nature is wholly diabolical &

malevolent and that God, if he exists, is outside of and in

opposition to the cosmic arrangements." In his cynical poems,

Lewis is dealing with the same questions about evil in nature

that Alfred Lord Tennyson...

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #25043 in eBooks
• Published on: 2008-03-01
• Format: Kindle Book

About the Author
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).

Customer Reviews

Not the best poetry, but vital to a proper understanding of Lewis
These poems have their bright spots, thought in parts they are rather overloaded with mythic words and a sense that the author was struggling to keep up a sense of awe and epicness and failing in the process. Most of the poems revolve around two themes: (1) I hate God and (2) I hate the world. Most of them are not happy poems to say the least.

While they are not excellent poetry, they are decent, and very good if you take into consideration that he wrote them while a teenager. They provide a glimpse into his thoughts on life and God which cannot even be seen in his letters from the period. He apparently felt he was able to write in poetry what he did not necessarily want others to know that be thought. The fact that he published it under the false name Clive Hamilton should not be overlooked.

In short, do not get this if you're looking for excellent poetry. Get this if you want to understand the development of Lewis' thought.

Overall grade: B+

Little-known writing on par with Lewis' best
The creativity and keen spiritual insights that have made C.S. Lewis the most renowned Christian writer of the modern era combine with eloquent poetry to reveal the writer's struggles, hopes and nightmares that predate his conversion to Christianity. This book of poems illustrates his yearning for truth and salvation by revealing his images God, man and Satan in delightful, rhyming lyrics. The intellectual and spiritual force present in these poems create a powerful edge rarely matched. Readers will discern the drive that eventually leads Lewis to find "his heart's delight." This is a must-have for those who have appreciated Lewis' other writings.

Lewis' searching and questions parallel many who have had doubts about the present reality and character of a God that seems to hide in mysteries. The genius behind Mere Christianity and the Chronicles of Narnia is behind these poems, even though he has yet to have his eyes opened. The heart of a desperate, sincere seeker of God is painted in these lyrics that in themselves make great poetry.

vivid, beautiful poems
I know that Lewis is mostly known for his books, but these poems have images in them that have remained in my mind for several years after I've read them...the imagery, and the ideas, is what really works in these poems.
Also, it is very interesting to read what Lewis wrote before he became a Christian; since most of his writings are religious.