Surprised by Joy
First edition (UK) | |
Author | C. S. Lewis |
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Language | English |
Genre | Autobiography |
Publisher | Geoffrey Bles (UK) Harcourt Brace (US) |
Publication date | 1955 |
Publication place | United Kingdom |
Media type | Paperback |
Pages | 252 |
OCLC | 28289338 |
Surprised by Joy: The Shape of My Early Life is a partial autobiography published by C. S. Lewis in 1955. The work describes Lewis's life from very early childhood (born 1898) until his conversion to Christianity in 1931, but does not go beyond that date.[1]
The title comes from William Wordsworth's poem "Surprised by Joy".
Overview
Lewis' purpose in writing was not primarily historical. His aim was instead to identify and describe the events surrounding his accidental discovery of and consequent search for the phenomenon he labeled "Joy", his best translation of the idea of (German) Sehnsucht. This Joy was so intense for something so good and so high up it could not be explained with words. He is struck with "stabs of joy" throughout his life. "Joy is distinct not only from pleasure in general but even from aesthetic pleasure. It must have the stab, the pang, the inconsolable longing."
Overall, the book contains less detail concerning specific events than a typical autobiography, although it is not devoid of information about his life. Lewis recounts and remembers his early years with a measure of amusement sometimes mixed with pain. However, while he does describe his life, the principal theme of the book is Joy as he defined it for his own purpose.
Lewis ultimately discovers the true nature and purpose of Joy and its place in his own life. The book's last two chapters cover the end of his search as he makes the leap from atheism to theism and then from theism to Christianity and, as a result, he realizes that Joy is like a "signpost" to those lost in the woods, pointing the way, and that its appearance is not as important "when we have found the road and are passing signposts every few miles."[2]
Contrary to assumptions, Surprised by Joy is not about the American poet and writer Joy Gresham, who edited its final draft and would become Lewis' unexpected wife two years after its publication. However, his friends and contemporaries were quick to notice the coincidence, frequently remarking that Lewis had really been "Surprised by Joy".[3]
References
External links
- Surprised by Joy: The shape of my early life at Faded Page (Canada)
- Surprised by Joy. (Canadian public domain Ebook)
- Notes on Quotations & Allusions in Surprised by Joy
- Index to authors and works quoted in Surprised by Joy
- v
- t
- e
- Spirits in Bondage (1919)
- "Reason" (c. 1925)
- Dymer (1926)
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The Space Trilogy |
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The Chronicles of Narnia |
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- The Allegory of Love (1936)
- The Personal Heresy (1939)
- The Problem of Pain (1940)
- A Preface to Paradise Lost (1942)
- The Abolition of Man (1943)
- Miracles (1947)
- The Weight of Glory and Other Addresses (1949/1980)
- Mere Christianity (1952)
- Surprised by Joy (1955)
- Reflections on the Psalms (1958)
- The Four Loves (1960)
- Studies in Words (1960)
- The World's Last Night and Other Essays (1960)
- An Experiment in Criticism (1961)
- A Grief Observed (1961)
- They Asked for a Paper (1962)
- Selections from Layamon's Brut (1963)
- Letters to Malcolm (1964)
- The Discarded Image (1964)
- Of Other Worlds (1966)
- God in the Dock (1970–1971)
- Joy Davidman (wife)
- Douglas Gresham (stepson)
- Warren Lewis (brother)
- The Kilns
- Lewis's trilemma
- The Inklings
- Language and Human Nature
- CS Lewis Nature Reserve
- Shadowlands (1985 film)
- Shadowlands (1989 play)
- Shadowlands (1993 film)
- The Most Reluctant Convert (2021 film)
- Freud's Last Session (2023 film)