Children’s literature as a genre is unique in that it is one of few whose audience defines it. Within the genre we find examples of fantasy, science fiction, and historical fiction, but all fall under a single umbrella, united by the age of its readers. This complicates defining the genre, made even more complex by the fact that children are a moving target; they are not destined to remain children forever. As a result, children’s literature is one that can never be static; a new generation is constantly growing into it as another grows too old for it. As a result, the genre itself must adapt just as quickly to account for its changing demographic.
Authors of children’s literature not only negotiate the diverse goals of entertainment, but must also appeal to childish appetites, and juggle educational aims. By contrast, children read for pleasure and for the plot, as opposed to the technical brilliance or academic benefits of the text. Young families tend to read together at bedtime, meaning that the stories children are hearing are what occupies their dreams at night; their books become their fantasies. Therefore, when discussing children’s literature and its allusions and references, we must keep in mind that we are looking at it through the eyes of both an adult and child: the author and reader.
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For children growing up in the UK, the story of Barrie’s novel Peter and Wendy (1911) is one we have heard countless times. A story of adventure, challenge, and a faraway world we can only dream of visiting: it provides the perfect backdrop against which a child’s imagination may run wild.
The character of Peter Pan is one which has sparked curiosity, a fantastical boy who takes normal children on the adventure of a lifetime. When looked at through a classical lens, however, he parallels Hermes, the Greek messenger god. Peter, therefore, serves both as a sign of the persistence of mythical thinking in the twentieth century and, simultaneously, as a marker of the space where myth has given way to modern fairy-tale in what is Britain’s most beloved tale.
Furthermore, looking at the role of Hermes in Book 24 of Homer’s Iliad, we see him take on a role akin that of a guide in leading Priam to Achilles’ camp, a journey that would otherwise have been certain death as the Trojan king enters the enemy camp. This can be compared to the role Peter Pan takes in taking Wendy and her siblings to Neverland and protecting them from the evil plans of Captain Hook. In these cases, both Peter Pan and Hermes function as the magical protectors of those they lead, and in doing so change their lives: Hermes ensures that Priam can take his son, Hector’s, body back to Troy to give him the funeral he deserves, and Peter takes the Darling family on the adventure of a lifetime to experience a world and society entirely unlike their own.
In JM Barrie’s Peter Pan, then, we see the classical world shining through in the form of its influence on Barrie’s characterisation of Peter Pan. Though the novel makes no explicit reference to the classical world, the characters that we see repeatedly in classical myth are shown to make a distinct impact on the characters and the lasting impact they have on the reader.
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Following Barrie’s Peter and Wendy, and the First World War that came three years after, we reach Reuben Wells’ novel With Caesar’s Legions (1923). The novel tells the story of two young friends joining Caesar’s army together and recounts the Gallic war from their perspective. The point of view of individual soldiers is one we do not often hear from in the ancient world, so this novel fills in the gaps for young readers as they question what life was like for young Roman boys their age.
After World War One, while Europe faced the loss of a generation of young men who had died in the war, America faced a different reality after having a shorter and less traumatic experience of the war. As a result, American fiction continued to embrace the adventure of war. Wells’ novel itself follows this trend and glorify war and the camaraderie of fighting alongside friends, like the emphasis on the ‘pals battalions’ formed during World War One.
Wells’ use of the expressions “citizen-soldiers” and “rights of the people” in his novel is reminiscent of both the Roman Republic and the foundational values of the United States. Wells uses the parallel between Rome and America to remind his young readers of the American ideals, using the classical world as a vehicle to reinforce American values as they leave World War One behind; he compares his country to one of the greatest civilisations in human history and uses that comparison to instil patriotic values into the next generation
Moreover, Wells’ novel shows war to cement lifelong friendships in boys through the example of his main characters Titus and Julius, which may suggest that fighting for one’s country is a constant desire for boys and something that unites them across time and place. Wells uses Titus and Julius’ desire to fight for their land to connect with America’s young boys who never saw the true horrors of the First World War in Europe to encourage them to see the beauty in war as pacifist sentiments grew. Wells uses the classical world not as Barrie does in Peter and Wendy –to entertain the young reader – but rather to glorify 1920s America.
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The popular comic series Asterix – originally published in 1960s France – also takes its inspiration from the Roman conquest of Gaul under Caesar. Asterix, the series’ primary hero, is the comic-strip offspring of the legendary Gallic leader Vercingetorix, who rose to fame for his ability to bring together the Celtic tribes of Gaul against Caesar’s formidable army. While this is the same conflict Wells addresses in With Caesar’s Legion, Asterix focuses on the less discussed perspective: the Gauls.
Julius Caesar gives a first-hand account of the Gallic War in his Comentarii de Bello Gallico, in which he narrates Vercingetorix’s ceremonial surrender to the Romans at the Battle of Alesia. It can be argued that Caesar exaggerates Vercingetorix’s greatness in a bid for self-glorification. The presentation of Asterix reflects this: an unbeatable warrior from Gaul who can beat any enemy that comes this way. The key difference, however, is that while in his account Caesar presents himself as the conqueror of Vercingetorix, in the Asterix comic series he is a laughable character, who Asterix and Obelix continue defeating. Because of this, Goscinny and Uderzo seem to place an emphasis on the greatness of the Gauls, the ancestors of France.
The characterisation of Julius Caesar himself is an interesting factor to point out;he becomes both a historical figure and fictional character. The comics feature his most famous phrases, including Asterix and the Roman Agent, which describes Caesar’s death in its opening pages. Caesar’s immortal words “et tu, Brute” feature in the comic, written as “et toi aussi, mon fils”. Similarly, Caesar’s famous words to the senate “veni, vidi, vici” feature in Asterix in Spain in the original language. This builds on the distance the authors create between Julius Caesar, the emperor of Rome who speaks in a language foreign to the comics’ audience and Asterix, who is shown to be a normal man from a Gallic village.
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Looking at the influence of the classical world chronologically allows us to see patterns in its presence in children’s literature. Between Wells’ With Caesar’s Legions and the publication of the Asterix comics, we see a shift towards the classical world becoming a direct subject. This comes at a time of global unrest, after the World Wars and during the Cold War. At a time of such political tension, it is natural to want to escape into a world from which we are far removed, and we see this reflected in the shift towards children’s stories set in a mythical past.
The natural question to ask next seems to be why we talk about children’s literature alongside the Classics, and why the ancients have such a marked influence on the genre. As the ancient world is taught less and less and is losing state funding, it runs a risk of becoming a subject which remains out of reach for those who cannot study Greek or Latin at school. This increasingly means that literature is a key means of fostering excitement about the classical world. Retelling the stories of the ancients that have been passed down for thousands of years preserves a tradition of storytelling that we can trace back to the oral tradition associated with epic poetry. It is how we can pass on the cultural heritage of the classical world to young readers and ensure that future generations are able to engage with the classical world as we have.
