C.S. Lewis at University College
University College is C.S. Lewis’s Oxford college as an undergraduate and tutor in philosophy. Hoping for an academic career, the just eighteen-year-old Lewis first arrives in Oxford for a scholarship examination on 4 December 1916, which takes place in the hall of Oriel College. Although he is not happy with his performance, he receives a letter from University College two weeks later, awarding him the second of three scholarships in Classics. He needs to be accepted by an Oxford college to attend University. Acceptance by a college suggests that acceptance by the University, through an examination called ‘Responsions’, will be a mere formality. On 20 and 21 March 1917, Lewis takes Responsions and then returns home to Belfast for a month. Not altogether surprisingly, he fails the mathematics part of the exam. Nevertheless, he gets permission to go into residence at University College if he takes the exam again and passes all subjects. In June, he retakes the exam but fails again. This might have been the end of his academic career if it had not been for the First World War (1914–1918). On 8 June 1917, Lewis joins the British Army. He is billeted in Keble College to be trained as an officer. Following his training course, he arrives at the Western Front in France on 29 November 1917, his nineteenth birthday. On 15 April 1918, he is wounded during the Battle of Arras. He therefore returns to England and recovers there until the end of the war. After the war, the examination is waived for those who served in the army, and Lewis may start his studies.
Classics
After the war, C.S. Lewis returns to University College in January 1919. He starts reading Classical Honour Moderations, an examination in Latin and Greek meant to prepare for the Final Honour School, the study of ancient history and philosophy, called ‘Greats’. He performs brilliantly in his studies and takes a First Class degree in Classic Honour Moderations in March 1920. On 24 May 1921, he wins the Chancellor’s English Essay Prize with an essay on ‘Optimism’. He is invited to read aloud a section of his essay at the university’s annual ceremony at which honorary degrees are conferred, conducted in Oxford’s Sheldonian Theatre. In June 1922, Lewis sits for the Greats examination. On 4 August, it is announced that he has been awarded First Class Honours, and he takes his B.A. the following day.
English
After graduating, the twenty-three-year-old C.S. Lewis thinks about his future and the possibility of staying in Oxford. He prefers an academic career in philosophy. In an attempt to gain a fellowship at Magdalen College, he starts working on a dissertation on ‘The Hegemony of the Moral Value’ in July 1922. He finishes his dissertation at the end of September. At the same time, he sits for the competitive exams for the Magdalen fellowship. In October, he learns that the fellowship has been given to Henry Price (1899–1984), a Welsh student at New College. Lewis is advised to stay in Oxford for one more year to take a degree in English Literature. It is a newly instituted degree, as the Oxford Honours School of English Language and Literature is deeply committed to language study. Lewis follows the advice and starts reading on 13 October 1922. The course heavily focuses on texts written before 1500, composed in Old and Middle English. Although the course normally requires over two years, Lewis takes his finals in June 1923. After his oral examination on 10 July, he is awarded another First Class Honours degree.
Society’s
At University College, C.S. Lewis is involved in the college society known as the Martlets. Founded in 1892, the society is a literary gathering at which scholars and younger fellows present papers on specific authors or genres. Lewis is appointed secretary in January 1919 and elected president in October. Over the years, he presents several papers at the society’s gatherings. At the beginning of 1923, Lewis begins to attend another literary discussion group compromising students who have been specially selected for the honours by their tutors. The group is hosted by the Merton Professor of English Literature George Gorden (1881–1942). The group meets weekly in an upstairs room of the Examination Schools on the High Street or Gordon’s home. Here, Lewis first meets Nevill Coghill (1899–1980), a fellow student who becomes a close friend and later colleague in the Oxford English Faculty.
Tutor
Hoping for an academic position in philosophy in Oxford, C.S. Lewis applies for a fellowship at Exeter College in April 1923 and St John’s College in January 1924. On 29 February, a vacancy is announced for a fellowship in philosophy at Trinity College. Lewis applies, but on 7 June, he is informed that he has not been elected, and the fellowship is given again to Henry Prince. Meanwhile, Lewis is offered a temporary job as a tutor and lecturer in philosophy at University College. In May 1924, he is offered a one-year appointment to replace his former tutor in philosophy, E.F. Carritt (1876–1964), during the academic year 1924–1925. Lewis accepts, and during the year, he conducts tutorials and gives lectures on ‘The Moral Good – Its Place among the Values’. During term time, he lives in Room 5 on Staircase XII of Radcliffe Quad. With no prospects of further employment at University College and in philosophy, Lewis applies for a fellowship in English Language and Literature at Magdalen College in Oxford in April 1925. Since he could teach both English and philosophy, it turns out that he is the preferred candidate, and he is elected on 20 May 1925. At Magdalen College, C.S. Lewis holds a fellowship in English Language and Literature from June 1925 to December 1954. In 1959, University College elects Lewis an Honorary Fellow.
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Sources
Walter Hooper, C.S. Lewis. Companion & Guide
Simon Horobin, C.S. Lewis’s Oxford
Jeffrey Schultz & John West, The C.S. Lewis Readers’ Encyclopedia
Photo by University College Oxford