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C.S. Lewis on 16th Century English

By Stuart Buck, Esq.

I've been slogging my way through C.S. Lewis's book English Literature in the Sixteenth Century, which is the only Lewis book that I haven't yet managed to read. It's been slow going, and I now understand why Lewis sarcastically referred to the book as OHEL (i.e., the Oxford History of English Literature), pronounced "O Hell." The book is, of course, immensely learned, as one might expect (Alan Jacobs notes that ?Lewis read every single sixteenth-century book in Duke Humfrey?s Library, the oldest part of Oxford?s great Bodleian Library?). The book is written as if you, the reader, are already familiar with all of the authors, political movements, theological and philosophical developments, etc., from the 16th century; thus, one continually runs across sentences that throw out names and terms in passing that are left undefined and unexplained, as Lewis immediately moves on to something else...continue to full post

Full post as published by The Buck Stops Here on February 02, 2011 (boomark / email).