in England, Lewis was memorialized on the 50th anniversary of his death with a stone in the floor of Poets’ Corner in Westminster Abbey.37 Chiseled on the stone is one of his most quoted sentences: “I believe in Christianity as I believe that the Sun has risen not only because I see it but because by it I see everything else.”38 The thousands who congregated there on November 22, 2013, heard former Archbishop of Canterbury, the Right Reverend Rowan Williams, deliver a memorial sermon focused on Lewis’s skilled use of language.39
In addition to his book sales, Lewis’s popularity as a communicator is further evidenced by his continued focal point as a subject of reading groups and Lewis societies. If you want to join a Lewis reading group, there is probably one near you. By one count more than 500 Lewis societies exist in the U.S.40 The C. S. Lewis Society that meets in Oxford during term time will welcome you, should you happen to be in Oxford on a Tuesday—the day the Inklings, the famed literary group, would meet at The Eagle and Child pub just a few doors from where the Lewis Society meets in the St. Giles area of Oxford. The book C. S. Lewis & His Circle is a collection of essays presented to the society over the years, including several by people who knew Lewis well.41 Google “C. S. Lewis” and you will find numerous websites, such as Into the Wardrobe, that feature his works and provide a virtual Lewis society. Both the stage play Shadowlands and the 1993 movie chronicle the intriguing love story between Lewis and the woman he married (twice),42 Joy Davidman, bringing the Lewis-Davidman story to millions. Several of Lewis’s Narnia Chronicles (The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe; The Voyage of the Dawn ←6 | 7→Treader; Prince Caspian; and The Silver Chair) have been made into movies (with varying critical acclaim). Yet The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe set box office records when it debuted in 2005; with world-wide box office receipts of more than one billion dollars, it is the highest grossing Christian-themed movie ever made. More Narnia movies are in the works, as well as a movie chronicling the friendship of Lewis and Tolkien.43
Students are eager to learn from Lewis’s ideas. One of the most popular courses at Harvard University, taught by Dr. Armand Nicholi, examines the dramatically contrasting life philosophies of Lewis and Psychologist Sigmund Freud. Nicholi’s best-selling book A Question of God and the nationally broadcast PBS special and DVD of the same name brought an examination of Lewis’s ideas to millions of readers and viewers.44 The creatively conceived play Freud’s Last Session imagines a conversation between Lewis and Freud in 1939—late in Freud’s life and just when Lewis was coming into his own as a writer. The crackling dialogue may be fiction (although there are direct quotations from both men’s writings), but the play is a riveting and insightful drama that enjoyed positive reviews and broke box office records in New York and several U.S. national tours. The Most Reluctant Convert, a one-man play about Lewis’s conversion starring Max McClean as Lewis, toured the U.S. and appeared on Broadway in New York to packed houses for months. Lewis’s ideas and his life story continue to generate interest in various forms—from traditional academic classes to Broadway performances.
What additional evidence documents Lewis’s popularity? His readers’ responses. In his book An Experiment in Criticism, Lewis suggests that among the best ways to assess a literary work is to consider the impact the work has on those who read it. The impact of Lewis’s own body of written and spoken communication, based on the responses of his readers, has been significant. Lewis’s work has inspired institutes, societies, and artistic projects. Three C. S. Lewis academic institutes specifically feature his work and champion his legacy. The C. S. Lewis Foundation, based in Redlands, California, which owns Lewis’s home, The Kilns, in Oxford, is actively working to establish a C. S. Lewis liberal arts college. The proposed college would be based on a Great Books foundation to mirror Lewis’s wide-ranging knowledge in and application of the liberal arts and sciences.
And finally, C. S. Lewis has become a ubiquitous presence in American pulpits. In summarizing Lewis’s impact, one could argue that he is the third most quoted person in Sunday morning sermons, right behind Jesus and the Apostle Paul. Given his continued popularity, it is worthwhile to investigate his communication strategies that contribute to his popularity.
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C. S. Lewis earned his living teaching, writing and speaking: He was a professional communicator. The study of words and meaning was central to Lewis’s professional life. Not only do C. S. Lewis’s books remain popular, but he also enjoys a formidable professional reputation. He was and remains a respected scholar and literary historian. Literary scholar Doris Myers argues that Lewis should be recognized for his expertise primarily as a literary scholar, concluding, “It is literary craftsmanship, after all, that will ensure for Lewis a permanent place in the canon.”45 As a literary scholar, Lewis was interested in the nature of language and how to use language effectively to connect with readers and listeners. As a Christian apologist, he was renowned for his rhetorical prowess. Lewis, who liked to talk, wrote in a letter to E. M. Butler, “I am also an Irishman and a congenital rhetorician.”46 That even in this lighthearted comment he identified himself as a rhetorician is notable. It was integral to his identify.
C. S. Lewis’s intellect is reflected in his highly-lauded professional achievements. He was one of the few people in the twentieth century to win a triple first at Oxford University, comparable to being Summa Cum Laude (with highest honors) in Latin and Greek (Classical Honor Mods), philosophy (called “Greats”), and English literature. His 1922 first degree in Classics included two curricular elements, the first part consisting of Latin and Greek and the second part, “Greats,” focusing on philosophy. His second degree, just one year later in 1923, in English language and literature, was the most practical; it enhanced his employability as a tutor. Language and literature were to remain the focus of his academic work for the rest of his life. His scholarly books The Allegory of Love, A Preface to Paradise Lost, English Literature in the Sixteenth Century: Excluding Drama, and The Discarded Image remain required reading in graduate English literature programs. Lewis was clearly a scholar interested in the rhetorical impact of words and their meaning.
Lewis was prolific. He wrote or contributed to 37 books during his lifetime (with several books and essays published after his death).47 He also wrote dozens of essays, many first delivered as lectures, that are also still in print.48 If you go into a bookstore and ask where most authors’ books may be found, you will be directed to a specific shelf or department. But go into a contemporary bookstore and ask, “Where are books by C. S. Lewis?” and you will be directed to several different shelves. His Narnia books can be found in the children’s section, his Ransom trilogy (Out of the Silent Planet, Perelandra [recently performed as an opera], and That Hideous Strength) are housed in science fiction. His academic ←8 | 9→works are often found in the literary criticism section. Of course, several books are housed in the theology or Christian section. His novel Till We Have Faces is in fiction and literature. His published poetry books, including the book originally published under the pseudonym Clive Hamilton, are found in the poetry section. Although The Abolition of Man is often found in the Religion section, given
