Prince Caspian

Prince Caspian

• Genre: Fiction; children’s/middle-grade high fantasy
• Originally Published: 1958
• Reading Level/Interest: Lexile 870L; grades 5-9
• Structure/Length: 15 named and numbered chapters; approx. 238 pages; approx. 4 hours, 40 minutes on audio
• Protagonist and Central Conflict: This high-fantasy novel is the fourth in The Chronicles of Narnia series though it was the second published. The four Pevensie children, Peter, Susan, Lucy, and Edmund, return to Narnia and help Prince Caspian and his army try to regain his rightful place on the throne by overthrowing the prince’s murderous uncle, Miraz.
• Potential Sensitivity Issues: Violence; religious symbolism

C. S. (Clive Staples) Lewis, Author

• Bio: 1898-1963; born in Belfast, Ireland; educated by tutors and at boarding and preparatory schools, two in England; became an atheist at 15; attended University College, Oxford on scholarship; served in WWI; a fellow and tutor at Oxford University, where he knew J. R. R. Tolkien; served as Chair of Medieval and Renaissance English at Cambridge University; eventually returned to Christianity; author of over 30 works of fiction and nonfiction
• Other Works: Out of the Silent Planet (1938); The Lion, the Witch, and The Wardrobe (1950); The Screwtape Letters (1942); Mere Christianity (1943)

CENTRAL THEMES connected and noted throughout this Teaching Unit:

• The Process of Sin, Forgiveness, and Redemption
• The Triumph of Faith and Courage
• Spirituality and Humanity’s Relationship to Nature

STUDY OBJECTIVES: In accomplishing the components of this Unit, students will:

• Gain an understanding of the literary context of the novel in connection with Lewis’s use of various fantasy tropes.
• Study paired texts and other brief resources to make connections via the text’s theme of Spirituality and Humanity’s Relationship to Nature.
• Plan and create visual media that illustrates a significant moment in the arc of a character of students’ choosing.
• Analyze and evaluate plot and character details to draw conclusions in structured essay responses regarding the novel’s depiction of heroism and villainy.