Tips for Teaching Literary Analysis - Setting and Prince Caspian

Tips for Teaching Literary Analysis - Setting and Prince Caspian

As explained in a Narnia unit study, one of the key literary elements in any fictional work is setting. Simply put, setting is the location and the time in which a story takes place.

A story has at least one main location, but it can have more than one setting as the action and characters move from place to place. A story can take place over a short period of time (an afternoon, for example) or a long time (several years or even a lifetime). The author puts a story into a particular season or time in history to develop his story.

Setting is an important element in all stories. But how pivotal is setting in C.S. Lewis' The Chronicles of Narnia? It is, perhaps, his key literary element. Why? Because he has created an entire new world, Narnia, and opposing kingdoms as well, as a setting for his books. It is in those kingdoms that he shows us good triumphing over evil. It is in those settings that he places his fictional characters to face their challenges and expose their true natures, which you can read about in a Narnia unit study.

In general, to determine a setting for Prince Caspian, we ask ourselves questions like:

1. Where does the story take place (geography)?

2. When does the story take place (time in history, time of day, time of year, etc.)?

Let's think specifically about Prince Caspian, which I hope you've recently read with the help of a Narnia unit study. With that story in mind, answer the above questions to begin to describe the setting for the story.

Specifically, you might ask yourself: Where does Prince Caspian happen? Does the location change throughout the book? How important is the season to this story? Imagine the differences between the Pevensie's two worlds, England and Narnia, and their two calendars, English years and Narnian years. How would you describe Miraz's kingdom? Is there any significance that the Pevensies are familiar with war times (recall that the bombing of London was what put them on a train to Professor Kirke's country estate in the first place), that C.S. Lewis knew World Wars, and that Narnia is gripped by a civil war?

Answer these questions to describe the setting and you will have understood a major lesson in a Narnia unit study as it relates to Prince Caspian.

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Melanie Hexter is the author of The Chronicles of Narnia unit study, a LEMILOE Publishing "Winning at Literature" comprehensive literature-based unit study that provides teachers and home school parents with a step-by-step guide for teaching literary analysis while exploring the wonders of Narnia. To learn more about this study, visit www.NarniaUnitStudy.com.

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