Family and community
The first experience of love that Lewis describes is the one that comes through the imagery of community and family. One is embedded in a network of community members who share a sacrificial bond of approval and favor. When one person in the network falls, the others rally to get him back on his feet, and this love is called "storge." He says that one can experience a spectrum of goodness through this imagery, and on the least end good of the spectrum, there is a field of shame and expectation. On the positive end of the spectrum, a sense of belonging and safety.
The imagery of rapport
The second imagery of love is the field of "philia" love, as in "Philadelphia," the city of brotherly love. This philia love is a love defined by the imagery of rapport. To be friends with someone is to share with them, to smile with them, to bear their burdens with them, and to be in a continual tension of affection with them. Although in modern days, this philia love is reduced to mere convenience and enjoyment, Lewis says that this love was considered the dominant love in many important ancient cultures.
Sexual intimacy
The erotic imagery of sex and intimacy comes as the third love, and the imagery is open-ended, because it draws one negatively toward potential partners. But, Lewis explains that the marriage contract is the proper venue for sexual erotic love, not because eros is evil or something, but because this kind of intimacy is extremely vulnerable, and to protect one's self, intimacy of this kind should be confined to commitment relationships (that's his point of view, at least). The erotic love has its full expression in the Greek Bacchant culture.
Existential revelation
The final quality of love is the existential conundrum of reality and our human need for love from God. This is a complicated idea, but basically, Lewis argues that its essential components are described in the gospel. He is interpreting the Bible as a revelation of divine love, because although God is wrathful and just, and although humans are evil, there is a love that extends (in Christian mythology) to even sinners and enemies of God. This unconditional love is the love whose imagery is life itself, says Lewis. We experience our thirst for divine "agape" love as a desire for meaning and fulfillment, as well as a feeling of dread and confusion about human death.
