Lewis on Excellence & Quality in Literature & Art
From Christianity and Literature, pp 1,2.
Lewis reflects on supposed "Christian" literature and art. He doesn't pontificate on the "literary value" that "written by Christians for Christians" but rather a "Christian approach to literature."
"The rules for writing a good passion play or a good devotional lyric are simply the rules for writing tragedy or lyric in general: success in sacred literature depends on the same qualitys of structure, suspense, variety, diction, and the like which secure success in secular literature.
...I question whether the badness of a really bad hymn can ordinarily be so irrelevant to devotion as the badness of a bad devotional picture. Because the hymn uses words, its badness will, to some degree, consist in confused or erroneous thought or unworthy sentiment."
Lewis reflects on supposed "Christian" literature and art. He doesn't pontificate on the "literary value" that "written by Christians for Christians" but rather a "Christian approach to literature."
"The rules for writing a good passion play or a good devotional lyric are simply the rules for writing tragedy or lyric in general: success in sacred literature depends on the same qualitys of structure, suspense, variety, diction, and the like which secure success in secular literature.
...I question whether the badness of a really bad hymn can ordinarily be so irrelevant to devotion as the badness of a bad devotional picture. Because the hymn uses words, its badness will, to some degree, consist in confused or erroneous thought or unworthy sentiment."
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