Notes on Dymer

A version of this essay appears in C. S. Lewis: A Reader's Encyclopedia (1998) published by Zondervan. Only students taking English 401: C. S. Lewis: The Legacy of His Poetic Impulse at Montreat College have permission to use material from the essay.

Notes on Dymer

Dymer is Lewis' most important poem, both because of the effort he put in to writing it and because of its ambitious narrative. Though even he judged it harshly, it deserves a careful reading; it is his supreme effort at writing narrative poetry, that kind of poetry by which he hoped to achieve poetic acclaim. Seeing himself in the tradition of Homer, Malory, Spenser, the Pearl Poet, Milton, Shelley, Wordsworth, and Tennyson, Lewis longed to write a significant, sustained piece of narrative poetry.

We know from his diary that he worked on various prose versions of Dymer as early as 1916 when he was just seventeen and living with his tutor, W. T. Kirkpatrick; this version has not survived, but was entitled The Redemption of Ask. The version that we have was begun in 1922 and completed in 1925. Published in 1926, seven years after Spirits in Bondage, Dymer continues on with several themes of Spirits in Bondage, though it attempts to break new ground as well.

Critics have for the most part avoided Dymer; some who have worked on the poem offer momentary insights but often fail to provide an intelligible or objective reading of the poem. For instance, Richard Hodgens admits to disliking narrative poetry, so we are not surprised to find him saying "modern as I am, I cannot adopt a fighting attitude on behalf of Lewis's narrative poems in particular. I must admit that I have not enjoyed reading the poems as much as I have enjoyed reading almost all of his fiction or, in fact, almost all of his prose" (3). Chad Walsh is more helpful in identifying three themes: that a totalitarian utopia or a lawless anarchy are equally undesirable; the renunciation of wishful thinking; and the perils of the occult. However, he sees no coherence: "All in all, the various themes twisting through Dymer are loosely connected indeed" (46). Micheal Slack offers a potentially fruitful reading by noting the connection between the search for joy (Sehnsucht) in Dymer and Platonic Eros, but his essay is not comprehensive nor systematic; we are left with a peculiarly fragmented view of the poem.

By far the best piece of writing on Dymer is George Sayer's essay "C. S. Lewis's Dymer." Sayer offers the most comprehensive analysis of the poem to date, and he presents helpful background information. For example, he notes the philosophical influences working on Lewis when he was writing the poem. Crucial, however, is his unified reading. According to Sayer, "the main subject of Dymer . . . is without doubt the temptation of fantasies--fantasies of love, lust, and power" (97). Unlike other critics, Sayer then attempts a thoughtful analysis of the entire poem, rather than focusing upon some obscure idea or theme. His essay is must reading for anyone interested in a helpful interpretation of Dymer. On final critical reading worthy of note is the essay by Patrick Murphy. While not as helpful as Sayer because Murphy is too wedded to reader-response theory, he is to be commended for urging readers to give Dymer a fair reading "as a poem, separate unto itself, and not as a comparative adjunct to whatever else one finds most dear written by Lewis" (The Poetic Fantastic 65).

Two other insights on Dymer are noteworthy, both found in the text of Narrative Poems. Walter Hooper's "Preface" offers little commentary on Dymer, but it does offer some bibliographical background and attempts to put the poem in the context of the other poems printed in the book. More important is Lewis' own "Preface by the Author to the 1950 Edition." Although we must be careful to accept an author's discussion of his own work (the intentional or authorial fallacy), readers are well advised to read this piece carefully, particularly since Lewis, by 1950 a seasoned Christian, felt compelled to permit this poetic child of his pagan youth to be re-issued. Moreover, in the preface he provides a summary of the important ideas influencing him when he was composing the poem.

Summary of Dymer

Canto I

Dymer, a nineteen year old student living in a repressed, constrained, totalitarian state, stimulated by Nature's fecundity, rebels against his situation ummary of Dymer, murders his teacher in class, and escapes to Nature. There, he strips off his clothes and wanders about in a mad desire for desire. In a forest clearing he discovers and enters a castle.

Canto II

Inside he finds great beauty, further exciting his desire. After admiring his naked reflection in a great mirror, he dresses himself in rich clothing he finds nearby. Haughty and yet guilty at the same time, he eats and drinks at a rich banquet table; the result is that he is further stimulated to fulfill his lust for desire. Passing through a low curtain, he enters a dark room where an unidentified girl slips into his arms and fulfills his sexual desires.

Canto III

The morning after, still never having seen her face, he gets up and goes outside to enjoy the morning. When he decides to return to his beloved, all ways into the castle are blocked by a hideously ugly old hag. He tries to reason with the old hag, threatens her, boasts of his might, and finally throws himself against her in an effort to pass. He is struck senseless and stumbles away, broken, humbled, crushed.

Canto IV

Dymer wanders about during an awful tempest, distraught over his loss. He hears someone groaning and discovers a man whose hands and feet have been cut off; from this man Dymer learns that his personal rebellion had led to a social rebellion in his city headed by someone named Bran. Following Dymer's example, Bran led the rebels against the city's loyalists and a savage battle took place. Before he dies, the mutilated man curses Dymer.

Canto V

Dymer runs away in horror and falls into a nightmarish sleep; when he awakens, he cries out in his loneliness, feeling even more guilt for his past. He curses his fate, defends his actions, and tries to shift the blame to someone other than himself. He contemplates death but then changes his mind after seeing a sunrise and continues his wanderings. Descending into a wild ravine with luscious undergrowth, he tumbles down in exhaustion; he dreams again, hears a bird singing, and awakens encouraged.

Canto VI

Reconciled with himself, he hears a lark and searches for food. In a house he meets a magician; while they eat Dymer tells his story. The magician offers to help Dymer control his dreams; though Dymer refuses, the magician tells him the only way to re-discover his beloved is through dreams. Dymer believes his only hope of seeing her is through repentance; the magician belittles him for such morality and convinces Dymer to drink from his cup of dreams.

Canto VII

The magician joins Dymer in drinking. While Dymer dreams are somewhat unsettling, the magician's dreams are fantastic and take him to the verge of madness. Dymer awakens and relates his dream of meeting his beloved; although he was initially enchanted by her in his dream, he came to see that the beloved of his dream was actually himself. He was in love with his own lust. The magician, descending into total madness, pulls out a gun and gives Dymer a terrrible wound as he flees from the magician's house.

Canto VIII

When he becomes conscious, Dymer feels sharp pain in his side from his wound. Turning, he sees what he thinks is his beloved. She won't give her name but does say she understands his pain. In their conversation he learns that she is simply his desire for desire; she became what he wanted. He laments his lost love, longing for human affection. His soul dialogues with his body momentarily before he drags himself to a tower in a graveyard.

Canto IX

A great wind begins to blow and he meets an angelic guardian. Dymer offers to join the guardian but is rebuffed since he is mortal. The guardian tells him of a fabulous monster and his parentage. As he listens to the story, Dymer realizes that the monster is the off-spring of his sexual encounter with the unidentified girl. Confronting his own son in battle, Dymer is killed. After his death, Nature appears to be reborn and his son becomes a god.

Bibliography on Dymer and Narrative Poems

Brown, Carol Ann. "Three Roads: A Comment on 'The Queen of Drum.'" Bulletin

of the New York C. S. Lewis Society 7, no. 78 (April 1976): 14.

Hodgens, Richard. "Notes on Narrative Poems." Bulletin of the New York C. S.

Lewis Society 7, no. 78 (April 1976): 1-14.

Hooper, Walter. "Preface." Narrative Poems. New York: Harcourt Brace

Jovanovich, 1969.

Kawano, Roland. "C. S. Lewis and 'The Nameless Isle': A Metaphor of Major

Change." Bulletin of the New York C. S. Lewis Society 15, no. 173

(March, 1984): 1-4.

Lewis, C. S. "Preface by the Author to the 1950 Edition [of Dymer]." In Narrative

Poems. Ed. Walter Hooper. New York: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, 1969.

Murphy, Patrick. "C. S. Lewis's Dymer: Once More with Hesitation." Bulletin of

the New York C. S. Lewis Society 17, no. 200 (June 1986): 1-8. Rept. in

The Poetic Fantastic: Studies in an Evolving Genre. Eds. Patrick Murphy

and Vernon Hyles. Westport, Connecticut: Greenwood Press, 1989.

Purcell, James. "Narrative Poems." Bulletin of the New York C. S. Lewis Society.

2, no. 38 (November 1972): 2-3.

Sayer, George. "C. S. Lewis's Dymer." In Seven: An Anglo-American Literary

Review. Vol 1. Ed. Barbara Reyolds, et. al. Cambridge: Heffers Printers, 1980.

Slack, Michael. "Sehnsucht and the Platonic Eros in Dymer." Bulletin of the New York

C. S. Lewis Society. 11, no. 130 (August 1980): 3-7.

Walsh, Chad. The Literary Legacy of C. S. Lewis. New York: Harcourt Brace

Jovanovich, 1979.