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

Robert Boenig (Texas A&M University)
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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 some of its premises, it still offers its reader insightful and valuable…

3560 words

Citation: Boenig, Robert. "The Allegory of Love: A Study in Medieval Tradition". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 15 July 2008 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=12300, accessed 29 March 2024.]

12300 The Allegory of Love: A Study in Medieval Tradition 3 Historical context notes are intended to give basic and preliminary information on a topic. In some cases they will be expanded into longer entries as the Literary Encyclopedia evolves.

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