Abstract
Inspired by his studies in Classical, Medieval, and Renaissance literature, C. S. Lewis incorporated echoes of Virgil in his fiction, especially in katabatic journeys. In his scholarship, he identified Virgil's Aeneid as "secondary epic" which contains the Christian-like theme of vocation in the face of transition. Traces of this theme are evident in Lewis's fiction, expressed through mythical katabatic imagery. Katabasis, for Lewis, appears as a Pagan pattern fulfilled in Christ and experienced by His disciples through conversion. Lewis's characters, though ordinary people, must learn to accept divinely given vocations which then propel them into katabatic sequences that inspire belief and change. This essay explores katabasis in three of Lewis's novels--The Pilgrim's Regress, The Silver Chair, and Till We Have Faces--to analyze how their respective protagonists exercise vocation in their own transitional underworld journeys, as compared to the model of Virgil's Aeneas.
Degree
MA
College and Department
Humanities; English
Rights
https://lib.byu.edu/about/copyright/
BYU ScholarsArchive Citation
Young, Henry, ""I've Just Re-Read the Aeneid Again": Virgil's Thematic Influence as Depicted in Katabatic Journeys in the Fiction of C. S. Lewis" (2026). Theses and Dissertations. 11324.
https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/etd/11324
Date Submitted
2026-06-12
Document Type
Thesis
Permanent Link
https://arks.lib.byu.edu/ark:/34234/q2ee3a4fe6
Keywords
C. S. Lewis, Virgil, Aeneid, katabasis, myth, Christianity, vocation
Language
english