Lewis’s use of Allegory

Lewis is known as one of the greatest masters of allegory to ever live. It is therefore useful to know his creative process for any aspiring writer of allegory. He never wrote with the allegory in mind at first, but instead let a world develop around him. His allegory came with the characters, born in the worlds he was creating. According to Lewis, a good story cannot be written with the intent to write an allegory. All meaning is lost if the story is forgotten and allegory takes hold. I think that allegory has to find its way into the story, before the writer even knows it is there. Then one day he can wake up and see it on the already written page. He makes an edit here and there and PRESTO, the writer has an allegory and a good story to support it. Allegory is one of the most useful tools for making the world of a story similar to ours, for us to take meaning from it. This is why it is a wonderful art form and should be appreciated, especially in Lewis’s works.