C.S. LEWIS AND THE CONVERSION OF THE AENEAS STORY IN THE "RANSOM TRILOGY"

Many readers of C. S. Lewis’s writing consider his science fiction trilogy an odd divergence from his expected repertoire. Though Lewis’ "Ransom Trilogy" proves distinctive among his works, the books grow from the same deep roots in classical and medieval literary traditions that inform his other writings. Drawing from Virgil, Dante, and Arthurian legend to structure his narrative, Lewis unites ancient myth and modern fiction in order to illumine Classical stories with Christian faith. This thesis considers how Lewis’s science fiction draws on the features of secondary epic and its attendant meanings that appear in the Aeneid and in Arthurian stories. Ultimately, Lewis models how contemporary writers can make old stories live anew.