Customer Reviews

Spirits In Bondage: A Cycle Of Lyrics

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Published a few months after the end of the Great War as part of the vogue for "soldier poets", this slim verse cycle (a prologue and 40 short poems) was C. S. Lewis' first book. Sales were minuscule, and it was never reprinted during the author's lifetime.

The poet was not yet 21, and his world view was dominated by two principles: rage-filled atheism ("I maintained that God did not exist. I was also very angry with God for not existing. I was equally angry with Him for creating a world.") and romantic longing (in the words of the prologue, "Sing about the Hidden Country fresh and full of quiet green/ Sailing over seas uncharted to a port that none has seen"). In the long run, these proved incompatible. In 1919 they rested side by side. In the first 21 poems of the cycle ("The Prison House"), the former predominates. In the second half ("Hesitation" and "The Escape"), an occult-tinged search for a spiritual world that may or may not actually exist offers release from bondage, climaxing in the finale "Death in Battle (xl)", with its stirring yet poignant first stanza:

"Open the gates for me,/ Open the gates of the peaceful castle, rosy in the West,/ In the sweet dim Isle of Apples over the wide sea's breast,/ Open the gates for me!"

"Death in Battle" is distinctly the highlight, as well as the conclusion, of the cycle. The beginning is also good, a bleak, powerful "Satan Speaks (i)": "I am Nature, the Mighty Mother,/ I am the law: ye have none other." In between are striking lines ("And here he builds a nebula, and there he slays a sun" ("Ode for New Year's Day (viii)")) but also many collections of images that fail to cohere (the two poems entitled "Night" (ix and xxix)) and much bald exposition that gains nothing from being set in verse ("Dungeon Grates (xv)", an apparent attempt to spell out the "philosophy" underlying Richard Lovelace's famous "To Althea, From Prison").

Often talent and imagination overcome technical faults. Although "The Star Bath (xxxvi)" is almost as badly overloaded as the two "Nights", its image of a primeval cleansing of the heavens clings to the reader's memory. "Irish Nocturne (v)", where the fog of industrial pollution symbolizes modern spiritual lethargy, has its clumsy moments but is redeemed by its concluding lines:

"For I know that the colourless skies/ And the blurred horizons breed/ Lonely desire and many words and brooding and never a deed."

Scattered also here and there are fantasy vignettes that relieve the heaviness of their companions and look forward to the "pictures in my head" that gave rise to Lewis' best work. "Spooks (vi)" tells of a ghost lingering at his sweetheart's door, "The Witch (xiv)" of an enchantress' flight through the woods, "How He Saw Angus the God (xxxiii)" of a Celtic epiphany.

If Lewis had written nothing else, this volume would not have kept his name alive. Few but Lewis completists are likely to buy it, but that audience will, I think, find it more readable and interesting than they anticipated.

First published in 1919 when Lewis was 20, a recent veteran of World War I, and still an agnostic/atheist. The planned title was "Spirits in Prison" taken from the verse in First Peter. The title reflects Lewis' Platonic dualism that sees the human spirit (which is good) trapped in matter (which is evil). Lewis never abandoned Platonism entirely (e.g. "The Last Battle") but it is far more stark and more grim in many of these early poems. In this - his transition from Platonism and its remaining vestiges after conversion - Lewis is similar to St. Augustine. (For more in this line see Lewis' "The Pilgrim's Regress" - particularly the introductory essay he wrote for later editions). "Spirits in Bondage" has beautiful moments such as "Dungeon Grates" which is not (in portions) an unfit expression of a Christian's experience: that sudden awareness of `unsought beauty in a casual hour.' All in all, this book is fairly grim (flatly blasphemous in places), but interesting for who wrote it and for the occasional moments of beauty and wit. [The star rating is reflective of this last thought.]

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+

(I rated this one star for your benefit not mine, personally I thought it was 5 stars, but that is because im a big time Lewis fan, depending on who you are and what your looking for in a C.S Lewis book, id be careful with this one because it can be a joy for some to read, a disappointing shock for others...)

This is a great book, containing some of the early poetical work that C.S Lewis wrote early in his career. I would reccomend it only to Hardcore C.S Lewis fans though.

This is definitely not the Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe...An entirely different man wrote this Cycle of Lyrics and what I mean by that is that C.S Lewis wrote these before he came to Christ.

For me personally, I loved the book, even though I agreed with probably less than half of what C.S Lewis wrote. I loved it because he is a great author and was a great man, it was really more of an educational experience for me. Usually reading his books is more of an edifying experience, but definitly not this one and ill explain-

It is intensely and graphically blasphemous. In my opinion it is on a whole higher level of hatred against God then any of the Dawkins or Hitchens (and company) books currently are. They all are looking to explain God away using moral philosophical and scientific reasoning. C.S Lewis (Pre-Conversion) admits that there is a God and talks much of gods, but whenever referring to God he is very intensely blasphemous and loathesome.

It will send a quiver down your spine especially if you are used to his normal God glorifying works like myself, such as the Screwtape Letters, Mere Christianity, and my personal favorite The Great Divorce. And you will probably drop dead if you have only read the Narnia series when you give this a shot.

I would definitly only recommend this to serious and discerning Lewis readers, read the preface/forward it will give you a little more explanation as to why this sounds like a different Lewis than we are normally accustomed to reading...

If you have never read Lewis before, definitly dont read this first, you will have a bad taste in your mouth. Spend the dough and read one of his more popular books first they are the best! This good to go back to though if you wanna read about what Pre-Converted C.S Lewis was like, it is really interesting if thats whats on your mind, he was like his own little Saul on the road to Damascus here, all his other books that we all know of are definitly the real tender fruit of his ministry!

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.

This was Lewis' first published book, which he published as a 20-year-old (!!). The collection of poems is easy to drift into and out of as they are all short, the longest being just a few pages.

I have to admit that going in, my history with poetry was laughable. I've never been a huge fan--mostly due to lack of exposure--but I especially get frustrated by poetry I can't even understand. A lot of the poetry in this collection fits that bill. Lewis channels Nordic myths, Greek gods, and ancient poets and if you're not already familiar with these references most of the content will fly over your head (at least it did for me.)

Yet still, there were parts that just set my soul ablaze. Even though I didn't understand most of Lewis' allusions, even though I missed most of his mythological references, I felt moved and swayed and lifted up at multiple points. If you love poetry this might be for you, but if not, it will be a struggle, though one peppered with momentary joys.

CS Lewis is not as highly regarded in poetry as he is inchildren's fiction, science fiction, Christian apologetics, andliterary criticism.

Moreover, this book was written before his converted to Christianity. You will therefore NOT know Lewis if this is all you're ever going to read of his works, and that would be a pity. He is simply one of the best in the business, with a very well focused and well defined moral vision...

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.

Considering Lewis wrote this cycle of poems when he was in his early twenties, they provide incredibly mature insight into the role pain has in people's lives. I ordered this book because I am writing my thesis on C.S. Lewis - I have to say, no study of Lewis' work is complete without this, his earliest and perhaps most poignant contribution to thoughts on powerfully important human topics like pain.