Since it was first published, C.S. Lewis’s series for children, The Chronicles of Narnia, has gained worldwide acclaim. However, the ideas contained within the Chronicles’ pages are far from average storybook fare. In the seventh and final book, The Last Battle, Lewis introduces the concept of Shadowlands: that this physical world is only a reflection of actual reality, and that Heaven will be the fulfillment and perfection of the good we see on earth. This idea is powerful and inspiring on its own, however, as the reader’s literary experience grows, new depths of meaning to this idea appear. His oft-repeated statement, “It’s all in Plato,” sheds light on the origins of the philosophy behind the concept of Shadowlands. On the basis of a passage in Plato’s Republic, C.S. Lewis constructed a profound view of reality in this world and the next.
