The Box of Delights and The Chronicles of Narnia

Abstract

The present paper will consider the influence of Masefield’s The Box of Delights on Lewis’ Chronicles of Narnia. Lewis himself openly acknowledged his admiration for and indebtedness to Masefield’s work, and the influence of the earlier novel is clearly evident on several occasions in the Chronicles. However, certain key differences in the two authors’ handling of similar themes and motifs reveal fundamental divergences in their attitudes to childhood and their vision of the function of children’s literature.