Do yourself a favor and read Planet Narnia: The Seven Heavens in the Imagination of C.S. Lewis, by Michael Ward. It's an amazing book that will end up being a classic work of literary criticism/appreciation, if it isn't already. Dr. Ward even invented/discovered a new literary word/term to describe the underlying tone/feel/atmosphere of a story. (Could I just have put any more slashes in two sentences?) I'm not telling you what the new word is because I want you to get this book and discover it for yourself.
When you go to read the Chronicles of Narnia again, you'll see them through new eyes, and read them with a much greater depth of understanding than you ever did before.
Janet and I went to hear Dr. Ward at Seattle Pacific University late last year. It was an outstanding lecture, and the book has been absolutely eye-opening. You can listen to the lecture here:
(in the Q&A about an hour into it, I asked a question about dragons in Narnia, esp in The Voyage of the Dawn Treader)
Check out Dr. Ward's website at http://www.planetnarnia.com/ Buy the book and mark it up. It'll be a great legacy to leave your children and your children's children for many generations.
Evidently the BBC is doing a documentary film on Michael Ward's incredible discovery and is airing it around Easter in Great Britain
Enjoy your springtime book!
Chip
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or wait 6 months or so and read a different less 'scholarly' version of the book coming out- "The Narnia Code"
ReplyDeleteis that really what it's called? I'm afraid I'm a little bummed about that...kinda cheesy. Ah well!
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