Sea Voyages, Storytelling, and Children’s Literature

This Course Seminar is available upon request for groups of 7-12 Attendees. The seminar is taught by Dr. Mark Tarpley and is taught in four 1.5 hr. live-online sessions. Please email us at hello@forgottenlighthouse.com for additional information.

Overview: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader by C. S. Lewis takes its place among a number of other great sea voyage stories dating back to antiquity. Such beloved stories that have taken center stage within Christian education historically include such classics as The Odyssey and The Aeneid. Within the Christian era, one of the most beloved sea voyages that deeply influenced C. S. Lewis’ The Voyage of the Dawn Treader is The Voyage of St. Brendan. This story tells of the sea voyage of an Irish monastic saint who voyaged to the Isle of the Blessed. In The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, a similar journey is set forth for children as Prince Caspian, Edmund, Lucy, and Eustace along with their other companions set out on their own journey to the very end of the world.

This Course Seminar is packed with opportunity for educators to grow in their craft of teaching and understanding of literature. Lewis’ work not only exemplifies beauty through the use of the English language – something hard to come by today – but also presents deep allusions and character formation within the story rooted in classical forms of literature. Even more, Lewis offers a deep critique of the modern, secular world in a way that comes alive not only for older children who may be reading the story, but also high school age students and adults alike. Join Dr. Mark Tarpley as he unpacks the riches of this story in light of the treasury of the Patristic literary tradition.