Planet Narnia

The Seven Heavens in the Imagination of C. S. Lewis

Michael Ward (Rev. Dr., Rev. Dr., Blackfriars Hall, Oxford)

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English

Oxford University Press
27 May 2010

Literature, Poetry & Criticism; Literary studies: classical, early & medieval; Literary studies: from c 1900 -; Literary studies: fiction, novelists & prose writers; Children's literature studies: general; Myth & legend told as fiction

"For over half a century, scholars have laboured to show that C. S. Lewis's famed but apparently disorganised Chronicles of Narnia have an underlying symbolic coherence, pointing to such possible unifying themes as the seven sacraments, the seven deadly sins, and the seven books of Spenser's Faerie Queene. None of these explanations has won general acceptance and the structure of Narnia's symbolism has remained a mystery.

Michael Ward has finally solved the enigma. In Planet Narnia he demonstrates that medieval cosmology, a subject which fascinated Lewis throughout his life, provides the imaginative key to the seven novels. Drawing on the whole range of Lewis's writings (including previously unpublished drafts of the Chronicles), Ward reveals how the Narnia stories were designed to express the characteristics of the seven medieval planets - - Jupiter, Mars, Sol, Luna, Mercury, Venus, and Saturn - - planets which Lewis described as ""spiritual symbols of permanent value"" and ""especially worthwhile in our own generation"". Using these seven symbols, Lewis secretly constructed the Chronicles so that in each book the plot-line, the ornamental details, and, most important, the portrayal of the Christ-figure of Aslan, all serve to communicate the governing planetary personality. The cosmological theme of each Chronicle is what Lewis called 'the kappa element in romance', the atmospheric essence of a story, everywhere present but nowhere explicit. The reader inhabits this atmosphere and thus imaginatively gains connaître knowledge of the spiritual character which the tale was created to embody.

Planet Narnia is a ground-breaking study that will provoke a major revaluation not only of the Chronicles, but of Lewis's whole literary and theological outlook. Ward uncovers a much subtler writer and thinker than has previously been recognized, whose central interests were hiddenness, immanence, and knowledge by acquaintance."

By: Michael Ward (Rev. Dr. Rev. Dr. Blackfriars Hall Oxford)
Imprint: Oxford University Press
Country of Publication: United States
Dimensions: Height: 152mm, Width: 231mm, Spine: 23mm
Weight: 593g
ISBN: 9780199738700
ISBN 10: 019973870X
Publication Date: 27 May 2010
Audience: College/higher education , Further / Higher Education
Format: Paperback
Publisher's Status: Active

Preface Chapter One - Silence Chapter Two - The Planets Chapter Three - Jupiter Chapter Four - Mars Chapter Five - Sol Chapter Six - Luna Chapter Seven - Mercury Chapter Eight - Venus Chapter Nine - Saturn Chapter Ten - Primum Mobile Chapter Eleven - The Music of the Spheres Chapter Twelve - Coda List of Abbreviations Notes Bibliography General Index Biblical Index

Reviews for Planet Narnia: The Seven Heavens in the Imagination of C. S. Lewis

The whole book is so engagingly written, and so illuminating about medieval symbolism in general. * Nicholas Lezard, The Guardian * If Ward is wrong, his is the most beautiful mistake in modern literary criticism. But I don't think he is wrong. * Daniel Hannan, The Telegraph.co.uk * Wards thesis is taut and compelling, and requires intelligent engagement: this isnt a book to dabble in while half-listening to the cricket. But it is the best book Ive read since well, since at least this one. * Daniel Hannan, The Telegrapg.co.uk *