Every reader who loves The Chronicles of Narnia knows how much richness is hidden in the first book, The Magician’s Nephew. One of the most powerful and unforgettable moments in the novel is the creation of Narnia, when Aslan sings the world into being — a scene that reveals much about C. S. Lewis’s vision of the universe.
In this article, I will share a personal reflection on the remarkable teaching potential of this section of the novel. For teachers, The Magician’s Nephew offers an extraordinary range of opportunities for classroom discussion and literary exploration. If you are considering introducing this book into your curriculum, you may find it helpful to read this article — THE MAGICIAN’S NEPHEW THEMES — where I explore why it can be such a meaningful novel to teach in middle school.
The Creation of Narnia in The Magician’s Nephew (Chapters 8–9)
After witnessing the desolation of Charn and the moral arrogance of the White Witch, Digory and Polly suddenly find themselves present at the birth of an entirely new world. What they experience is not a violent explosion or a chaotic beginning, but something far more unexpected: a song.
C. S. Lewis imagines the creation of Narnia as an act of music.
At first the children hear a distant voice singing in the darkness. Gradually the song grows stronger, and with it the world begins to take shape. Stars appear in the sky. The landscape emerges from the darkness. Trees rise from the ground. Animals awaken.
Creation unfolds not through force, but through harmony.
In the darkness something was happening at last. A voice had begun to sing. It was very far away and Digory found it hard to decide from what direction it was coming. Sometimes it seemed to come from all directions at once. Sometimes he almost thought it was coming out of the earth beneath them. Its lower notes were deep enough to be the voice of the earth herself. There were no words. There was hardly even a tune. But it was, beyond comparison, the most beautiful noise he had ever heard. It was so beautiful he could hardly bear it.
[…]
Then two wonders happened at the same moment. One was that the voice was suddenly joined by other voices; more voices than you could possibly count. They were in harmony with it, but far higher up the scale: cold, tingling, silvery voices. The second wonder was that the blackness overhead, all at once, was blazing with stars.
They didn’t come out gently one by one, as they do on a summer evening. One moment there had been nothing but darkness; next moment a thousand, thousand points of light leaped out – single stars, constellations, and planets, brighter and bigger than any in our world. There were no clouds.
[…]
‘Glory be!’ said the Cabby. ‘I’d ha’ been a better man all my life if I’d known there were things like this.’
The Voice on the earth was now louder and more triumphant; but the voices in the sky, after singing loudly with it for a time, began to get fainter. And now something else was happening. Far away, and down near the horizon, the sky began to turn grey. A light wind, very fresh, began to stir. The sky, in that one place, grew slowly and steadily paler. You could see shapes of hills standing up dark against it. All the time the Voice went on singing. There was soon light enough for them to see one another’s faces. The new sun, behind them, was sending out its first rays upon them. At the same moment a voice said, ‘Now we can begin to see!’ They were the first words spoken by any human voice in that world for a hundred years.
This moment reveals something essential about Lewis’s vision of reality: the world itself is rooted in meaning, order, and beauty.
Let’s now take a closer look at the key elements of this extraordinary creation.
Creation Through Song: Why Aslan Sings the World into Being
In Lewis’s description, Aslan does not build Narnia piece by piece. He sings it into existence.
The image recalls ancient traditions in which the universe originates from sound or word. In the Biblical Book of Genesis, God creates the world through speech: “Let there be light.” (Gen 1). In Lewis’s story, however, the creative act becomes musical: Aslan’s song gives life to the world.
Music is an especially fitting metaphor for creation because it combines structure and freedom. A melody follows a pattern, yet it remains dynamic and alive. In the same way, the world of Narnia is ordered but vibrant, full of movement and possibility. Lewis therefore suggests that the universe is not merely constructed like a machine: it is composed like a piece of music.
The world that emerges from Aslan’s song will not remain perfect. Soon suffering, death, and destruction will enter it. Yet Lewis reminds us that goodness lies at its very origin. For students, this insight can open surprisingly deep reflections. The scene invites them to ask a question that goes far beyond the novel itself:
- What do you believe lies at the origin of the world?
- Does reality ultimately emerge from goodness, or from pure chance?
Some of the most meaningful classroom conversations I have ever experienced began with questions like these.
Language, Listening, and Understanding in Narnia
Soon after the world comes into being, another remarkable event occurs: the animals begin to speak.
This moment reflects Lewis’s lifelong fascination with language — a passion that appears throughout both his fiction and his essays. In this respect, he shared a deep intellectual affinity with his friend J.R.R. Tolkien, who, before becoming famous as a novelist, was a professor of philology at Oxford. Both writers were also members of the literary circle known as The Inklings.
The gift of language marks an important turning point in the novel. After the animals receive the ability to speak, not all the characters present in Narnia can understand them. Digory, Polly, and the Cabby — and later the Cabby’s wife — can fully understand the animals and converse with them. The White Witch and Uncle Andrew, however, hear only meaningless animal noises.
The scene is written with a touch of humor, especially in Uncle Andrew’s reaction. Yet behind the comic effect lies a deeper idea: true language — the language that allows us to encounter the real meaning of things — belongs to those who are willing to listen, to receive it with wonder and responsibility.
This is made strikingly concrete in Uncle Andrew’s experience:
“Now the trouble about trying to make yourself stupider than you really are is that you very often succeed. Uncle Andrew did. He soon did hear nothing but roaring in Aslan’s song.”
Although fully capable of hearing the beauty and meaning of Aslan’s song, Uncle Andrew rejects it because it challenges him with thoughts and feelings he does not wish to face. His deliberate refusal transforms potential understanding into actual ignorance. Lewis suggests that comprehension is not simply a matter of ability, but of openness and willingness: true understanding requires attention, humility, and the courage to engage with what challenges us.
The White Witch, similarly, does not understand the animals. She uses language manipulatively, treating words as mere tools to achieve her own goals (for a deeper look at her conception of power, you can see this article). In this way, both Uncle Andrew and the White Witch become deaf not only to the animals’ voices, but also — in a deeper sense — to Aslan’s song itself.
In my classroom, this passage has sparked some of the most thoughtful discussions. Students notice immediately how Uncle Andrew blocks himself from understanding, and we talk about how refusing to listen can limit what we see and feel. Time and again, these conversations lead students to realize that in Narnia — and in life — our willingness to listen is what allows us to truly understand.
Imagination and Meaning in C. S. Lewis
The creation of Narnia is also a moment of awakening for the young protagonists.
Up to this point, Digory and Polly have experienced strange and sometimes frightening adventures. They have traveled between worlds, encountered dangerous magic, and witnessed the ruins of Charn. But the birth of Narnia introduces them to something entirely different: a vision of goodness and beauty that invites trust.
Lewis uses the magical and imaginative dimension of the story as a vehicle for meaning, goodness, and beauty — realities that the protagonists had not encountered in such pure form in their ordinary world. This narrative choice reflects a conviction Lewis expressed explicitly in his essays on fantasy literature. As he famously wrote:
“For me, reason is the natural organ of truth; but imagination is the organ of meaning.”
Imagination, therefore, is not an escape from reality. Instead, it becomes a way of entering more deeply into reality.
Year after year, I have watched my students recognize themselves in this insight. For them, imagination still feels deeply connected to real experience — a powerful way of expressing truths about life and human relationships.
And every time I find myself wondering: when do adults begin to lose this awareness? When does imagination stop being seen as a path toward meaning and become reduced to a mere distraction from “real life”? Fortunately, Lewis invites us to recover a more authentic perspective.
Teaching the Creation of Narnia in the Classroom
The creation of Narnia in The Magician’s Nephew remains one of the most powerful scenes in all of Narnian literature. For teachers working with the novel, this scene offers great opportunities for reflection and discussion. Students often notice the beauty of the scene immediately, but exploring its deeper meaning can lead to powerful conversations.
Some questions worth exploring include:
- Why do you think Lewis chooses music as the creative force of the universe?
- How do different characters react to Aslan’s song, and what do these reactions reveal about them?
- Why are some characters able to understand the animals while others hear only meaningless sounds?
- What might Lewis be suggesting about the relationship between humility, listening, and knowledge?
- Why do you think the Cabby responds to the scene with gratitude and wonder?
Ultimately, the creation of Narnia reminds readers that wonder is not childish. In many ways, it is the beginning of understanding.
What moments or discussions resonated most with your students?
And if you have taught this novel in your classroom, I would love to hear about your experience.
Happy teaching — and happy reading!
Chiara
Continue Exploring The Magician’s Nephew
If you’re excited to bring this novel into your classroom but don’t have time to plan and prepare everything from scratch, I’ve got you covered! Check out the comprehensive bundle of resources I created for this novel — it’s packed with ready-to-use activities and materials. You can find it on TPT here:
To make the most of the bundle, I also wrote a step-by-step guide showing exactly how these resources can be used in the classroom to spark discussion, creativity, and critical thinking. Don’t miss it! Read it here.
