Dymer

Dymer is C. S. Lewis' most important poetical work. Written in the tradition of Homer, Spenser, Milton, and Wordsworth. The book is about the temptation of the fantasies of love, lust, and power.

We follow Dymer from his birth in a totalitarian state, mockingly referred to as The Perfect City, through the events leading to his confronting a monster of his own making.

Dymer grows to the age of nineteen under the control of the state, then under the influence of spring and the sight of a songbird, he rises in his lecture-hall and murders the aged lecturer before his class, and leaves the stunned civilians behind as he wanders outside The City.

Dymer casts off his clothing along with civilization, wandering in the forests until he comes upon an empty mansion with food prepared. After dressing himself in fine clothing, and feasting alone at a banquet table, Dymer sleeps with an unseen female figure who comes to him in the darkness of the mansion. Upon awakening, Dymer steps outside of the palace and wanders blissfully in the woods. Returning to the palace in search of his lover, he finds every entry barred by a hideous old she-monster.

It begins to rain that night in the woods, and Dymer encounters yet another person he cannot see in the dark, this time a wounded man. This man also hails from The Perfect City, and tells Dymer of what happened in his absence, specifically that a revolutionary named Bran used Dymer's actions and name to instill violent protest in the citizens, who then went on to sack and raze the city. Dymer is dumbfounded at this information.

Dymer encounters his former lover from the mansion, but realizes she is monstrous. He flees as demons rise up to assault him. Dymer arrives at a cemetery where he encounters an angelic guardian who tells him of a horrible monster lurking about the country side. The monster was conceived by a union between a divine being and a mortal. Realizing that the beast is his own offspring, Dymer decides that he must face his own son in battle. Donning the guardian's armor, he prepares to fight the monster. The Epic conclusion is both unexpected and powerful.