Splendour in the Dark: C. S. Lewis’s Dymer in His Life and Work (Hansen Lectureship Series)

by Jerry Root; David C. Downing; C. S. Lewis

Overview

Several years before he converted to Christianity, C. S. Lewis published a narrative poem, Dymer, under the pseudonym Clive Hamilton. Later, of course, Lewis became well known for his beloved imaginative stories, such as The Chronicles of Narnia and Till We Have Faces, as well as his ability to defend and articulate the faith in works such as Mere Christianity.

But what about his literary work before his conversion?

In this fourth volume in the Hansen Lectureship Series, Jerry Root contends that Lewis’s early poem Dymer can not only shed light on the development of Lewis’s literary skills but also offer a glimpse of what was to come in his intellectual and spiritual growth—a “splendour in the dark,” to borrow one of Lewis’s own lines from the poem. Under Root's careful analysis, Dymer becomes a way to understand both Lewis’s change of mind as well as the way in which each of us is led on a journey of faith.

This volume also includes the complete text of Dymer with annotations from David C. Downing, co-director of the Marion E. Wade Center.

The Hansen Lectureship series offers accessible and insightful reflections by Wheaton College faculty members upon the transformative work of the Wade Center authors.

Key Features

• Sheds light on the development of Lewis’s literary skills
• Includes the complete text of Dymer with annotations
• Offers a glimpse of what was to come in Lewis’s intellectual and spiritual growth

Contents

• Dymer: Wade Annotated Edition
• Foreword and Annotations by David C. Downing
• Preface by C. S. Lewis to the 1950 Edition
• Dymer
• Appendix
• Index for Dymer
• Introduction: Walter Hansen
• Chapter One: “A Spendour in the dark, a tale, a song”
• Response: Jeffry C. Davis
• Chapter Two: “The low voice of the world / Brooding alone beneath the strength of things”
• Response: Mark Lewis
• Chapter Three: “Out of old fields the flowers of unborn springs”
• Response: Miho Nonaka

Praise for the Print Edition

Isn’t it remarkable that this poem, written almost a century ago, has now been brought to life? Of course, because the poem’s author was C. S. Lewis, it will be of interest to a whole slew of Lewis lovers, eager for fresh material to ingest in the name of literary scholarship. Dr. Jerry Root, a longtime advocate and commentator of the Lewis oeuvre has given us a new reading to ponder, and in this annotated version of Dymer he offers an appreciation of Lewis’s power of versification and command of language. As you read, you are made aware of a practicing wordsmith doing his exercises and enjoying himself immensely. His early studies with W. T. Kirkpatrick, which involved Greek and Latin, gave the young Lewis an understanding of how much of the English language evolved, and thus supplies even this early writing with a richness and depth.

—Luci N. Shaw, author of The Thumbprint in the Clay

Jerry Root has succeeded in making Dymer interesting and showing that the poem is worthy of academic study. He has also been brave enough to invite people who disagree with him to contribute to the volume. This is a fascinating read on a difficult subject.

—Suzanne Bray, Lille Catholic University

Splendour in the Dark is an important new work on the narrative poem Lewis wrote before his conversion to Christianity. In addition to printing the complete text of the poem, the highlight of the volume is three commentary chapters by Lewis scholar Jerry Root and the response to each chapter by a different reader of Dymer. Root’s intimate knowledge of the Lewis corpus is everywhere present, and his essential argument that by knowing Dymer readers will recognize many important themes of Lewis's postconversion writings is compelling.

—Don W. King, author of C. S. Lewis, Poet: The Legacy of His Poetic Impulse

Product Details

• Title: Splendour in the Dark: C. S. Lewis's Dymer in His Life and Work
• Authors: Jerry Root, David C. Downing, C. S. Lewis
• Print Publication Date: 2020
• Pages: 220
• Language: English
• Resources: 1
• Format: Digital › Logos Reader Edition
• Resource ID: LLS:SPLNDRINDARK
• Resource Type: Monograph
• Metadata Last Updated: 2020-09-18T21:28:23Z

About Jerry Root

Jerry Root (PhD, Open University) is professor of evangelism and director of the Evangelism Initiative at Wheaton College. He is the author of C.S. Lewis and a Problem of Evil: An Investigation of a Pervasive Theme, the coauthor of The Surprising Imagination of C.S. Lewis and The Sacrament of Evangelism, and the coeditor of The Quotable Lewis and The Soul of C.S. Lewis.