Literary Analysis on Screwtape Letters by C.S. Lewis Essay Example
Literary Analysis:
The Screwtape Letters by C.S. Lewis
By Agatha Xaris Villa
A. Introduction & Rationale
It is said that among the major literary genres recognized today, the ‘novel’ is the most accessible to the majority of the readership. However, in terms of stylistic analysis, novels are the most difficult subjects to analyze. However, a trend that has been observed for the bulk of the twentieth-century is that literary criticism conducted on the genre of narrative texts (i.e. novels) have primarily focused on narrative point of view (Short, 1996, pg. 256) and this is not without cause.
Among the literary genres, the novel, prototypically, has the most complex narrative discourse structure. In contrast to the prototypical poem and play, the novel has at least three levels of discourse –the author-reader, character-character level, and the narrator-narratee level (Short, 1996, pg. 256-257). The complexity of the novel’s discourse structure is why it has the most number of viewpoints and why it is believed to be the most ideal literary form in which to study viewpoint (Short, 1996, pg. 257)
In light of this premise, I shall be attempting to objectively conduct a literary analysis on an extract taken from The Screwtape Letters (1942), the popular satire written by C.S. Lewis with a focus on point of view.
When I first read The Screwtape Letters, one of the aspects which I found most refreshingly original and creative about the text was the way in which this age-old story of “good VS evil” was presented by the author. While there are certainly other creative aspect in the text, C.S. Lewis’ creative manipulation of viewpoint is what I believe provides readers with that distinct sense of creativity and originality.
To support this thesis, I will be exploring viewpoint from both macro-level (describing the general discourse relations in the novel) and micro-level (giving an account of the linguistic indicators of viewpoint that show how
The Screwtape Letters by C.S. Lewis
By Agatha Xaris Villa
A. Introduction & Rationale
It is said that among the major literary genres recognized today, the ‘novel’ is the most accessible to the majority of the readership. However, in terms of stylistic analysis, novels are the most difficult subjects to analyze. However, a trend that has been observed for the bulk of the twentieth-century is that literary criticism conducted on the genre of narrative texts (i.e. novels) have primarily focused on narrative point of view (Short, 1996, pg. 256) and this is not without cause.
Among the literary genres, the novel, prototypically, has the most complex narrative discourse structure. In contrast to the prototypical poem and play, the novel has at least three levels of discourse –the author-reader, character-character level, and the narrator-narratee level (Short, 1996, pg. 256-257). The complexity of the novel’s discourse structure is why it has the most number of viewpoints and why it is believed to be the most ideal literary form in which to study viewpoint (Short, 1996, pg. 257)
In light of this premise, I shall be attempting to objectively conduct a literary analysis on an extract taken from The Screwtape Letters (1942), the popular satire written by C.S. Lewis with a focus on point of view.
When I first read The Screwtape Letters, one of the aspects which I found most refreshingly original and creative about the text was the way in which this age-old story of “good VS evil” was presented by the author. While there are certainly other creative aspect in the text, C.S. Lewis’ creative manipulation of viewpoint is what I believe provides readers with that distinct sense of creativity and originality.
To support this thesis, I will be exploring viewpoint from both macro-level (describing the general discourse relations in the novel) and micro-level (giving an account of the linguistic indicators of viewpoint that show how