Editing Saunders Lewis (section)

==Literary legacy==
His literary works include [[stage play]]s, poetry, novels and essays. He wrote mostly in Welsh, but he also wrote some works in English. By the time of his death in 1985 some rated him as amongst the most celebrated of Welsh writers.

Lewis was above all a [[dramatist]]. His notable plays include ''{{lang|cy|Blodeuwedd}}'' (The woman of flowers) (1923–25, revised 1948), ''{{lang|cy|[[Buchedd Garmon]]}}'' (The life of [[Germanus of Auxerre|St. Germain]]) (radio play, 1936), ''{{lang|cy|[[Siwan (play)|Siwan]]}}'' (1956), ''{{lang|cy|Gymerwch chi sigarét?}}'' (Will you have a cigarette?) (1956), ''{{lang|cy|Brad}}'' (Treachery) (1958), ''Esther'' (1960), and ''{{lang|cy|Cymru fydd}}'' (Tomorrow's Wales) (1967). His plays drew upon a wide range of material and covered a range of subject matter including [[Welsh mythology]] and [[Welsh history|history]], as well as the [[Christian Bible]], although he also wrote plays set in contemporary Wales.

Lewis also translated [[Samuel Beckett]]'s ''{{lang|fr|[[En attendant Godot]]}}'' from French into Welsh. 

Lewis' use of poetic forms in the [[Welsh language]] included both the use of the traditional [[Cerdd dafod|24 strict metre]]s in [[cynghanedd]] such as [[cywydd]]au and [[awdl]]au as well as the [[Sicilian School]]'s [[sonnet]] form, "a variety of other rhyming stanzas", and "full breathed [[free verse]]", which were derived from poetry in other languages.<ref>Translated by Joseph P. Clancy (1993), ''Saunders Lewis: Selected Poems'', [[University of Wales]] Press. Pages ''ix-x''.</ref>

Following his conversion to the [[Catholic Church in Wales|Catholic Church]], Lewis also wrote many works of [[Christian poetry]] inspired by his new faith. These included poems about the [[Real Presence]] in the [[Blessed Sacrament]], a poem that sympathetically describes [[Saint Joseph]]'s crisis of faith, about the traumatic but purgatorial sense of loss experienced by Saint [[Mary Magdalen]] after the [[Crucifixion of Jesus Christ]], and about attending the [[Tridentine Mass]] on [[Christmas Day]].<ref>Translated by Joseph P. Clancy (1993), ''Saunders Lewis: Selected Poems'', [[University of Wales]] Press. Page ''ix''.</ref>

Lewis wrote the [[libretto]] for [[Arwel Hughes]]'s opera ''{{lang|cy|Serch yw'r doctor}}'' (Love's the doctor), based on [[Molière]]'s ''{{lang|fr|[[L'Amour médecin]]}}'' (first performance 1960 by [[Welsh National Opera]]).<ref>{{cite web|title=Serch yw'r Doctor (Love's the Doctor)|url=http://operadata.stanford.edu/catalog/10114788|work=Opening Night! Opera & Oratorio Premieres|publisher=Stanford University Library|access-date=16 May 2014}}</ref>

He published two novels, ''[[Monica (Saunders Lewis)|Monica]]'' (1930) and ''{{lang|cy|Merch Gwern Hywel}}'' (The daughter of Gwern Hywel) (1964) and two collections of poems as well as numerous articles and essays in various newspapers, magazines and journals. These articles have been collected into volumes including: ''{{lang|cy|Canlyn Arthur}}'' (Following Arthur) (1938), ''{{lang|cy|Ysgrifau dydd Mercher}}'' (Wednesday essays) (1945), ''{{lang|cy|Meistri'r canrifoedd}}'' (Masters of the centuries) (1973), ''{{lang|cy|Meistri a'u crefft}}'' (Masters and their craft) (1981) and ''{{lang|cy|Ati ŵyr ifainc}}'' (Go to it, young men) (1986).