C. S. Lewis, The Allegory of Love: A Study in Medieval Tradition

Robert Boenig (Texas A&M University)

The Literary Encyclopedia. Volume 1.2.1.08: English Writing and Culture of the early Twentieth Century , 1900-1945.
Vol. editors: Chris Baldick (Goldsmiths College, University of London), Peter Childs (Newman University), Louise McDonald (Newman University)

Dates

First circulation or publication 1936

Places

Northern Ireland (Country of Origin)

Genres and Modes

Non-Fiction
- Commentary / Criticism (literary)

Resources

C. S. Lewis’s first important professional work was his 1936 book, The Allegory of Love. Published by Oxford University Press, it secured Lewis’s standing in his profession and soon became enormously influential in setting the terms of subsequent scholarly discussion about the nature of Courtly Love and the role allegory played in its codification and depiction. In it Lewis sketches a literary history about how developing attitudes about gender relations intersected with an indirect mode of expression in which—as all definitions of allegory suggest—one thing is made to stand for another. Though The Allegory of Love has been the target of much adverse criticism and subsequent critics have done much to disprove …

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3560 words

Citation: Boenig, Robert. "The Allegory of Love: A Study in Medieval Tradition". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 15 July 2008 [https://staging.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=12300, accessed 22 November 2024.]

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