Surprised by Joy
{{Short description|Partial autobiography about the author's conversion to Christianity by C.S. Lewis}}
{{About|a book by C. S. Lewis|the 19th-century poem that inspired the book's title|William Wordsworth}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}}
{{Infobox book
| name = Surprised by Joy: The Shape of My Early Life
| title_orig =
| translator =
| image = File:Surprised By Joy C.S. Lewis First Edition.jpg
| caption = First edition (UK)
| author = C. S. Lewis
| illustrator =
| cover_artist =
| country = United Kingdom
| language = English
| series =
| subject =
| genre = Autobiography
| publisher = Geoffrey Bles (UK)
Harcourt Brace (US)
| release_date = 1955
| english_release_date =
| media_type = Paperback
| pages = 252
| isbn =
| oclc = 28289338
| preceded_by =
| followed_by =
}}
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.{{cite web |url=http://cslewis.drzeus.net/bio/ |title=An Outline of the Life of C. S. Lewis |author= |website=Into the Wardrobe – a C. S. Lewis website |access-date=2018-05-31 }}
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."Surprised by Joy
Contrary to assumptions, the title of Surprised by Joy had not been conceived as a tribute to the American poet and writer Joy Gresham, although Gresham had come into Lewis's life during the course of the book's writing and had assisted in editing its final draft. After Joy became Lewis' unexpected wife two years after the memoir's publication. several of Lewis's friends and contemporaries were quick to notice the coincidence, frequently remarking that Lewis had really been "Surprised by Joy".{{cite book |last1=Lancelyn Green |first1=Roger |author1-link=Roger Lancelyn Green |last2=Hooper |first2=Walter |author2-link=Walter Hooper |year=2002 |title=C.S.Lewis: A Biography |page=330 |publisher=HarperCollins |location=London |isbn=0-00-628164-8}}
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
- {{FadedPage|id=20150220|name=Surprised by Joy: The shape of my early life}}
- [http://www.samizdat.qc.ca/arts/lit/PDFs/SurprisedbyJoy_CSL.pdf Surprised by Joy]. (Canadian public domain Ebook)
- [http://www.lewisiana.nl/sbjquotes Notes on Quotations & Allusions in Surprised by Joy]
- [http://www.lewisiana.nl/sbjindex Index to authors and works quoted in Surprised by Joy]
{{C. S. Lewis}}
Category:1955 non-fiction books
Category:Irish autobiographies