Enchantment and Understanding in Philip Pullman’s His Dark Materials: Advancing Cognition Through Literature

Abstract

This article explores the relationship between enchantment and understanding in children’s literature, where literary enchantment is not only an experience in which words entrance and mesmerize, eradicating the boundaries of ordinary perception, but also one that advances the reader’s cognition. Focusing on Philip Pullman’s His Dark Materials, I demonstrate how Pullman facilitates Lyra’s, as well as the reader’s, enchantment, and how enchantment serves as the catalyst for intellectual engagement, in and beyond the trilogy. Ultimately, as classrooms continue to emphasize informational texts, I argue that highlighting how literature advances students’ cognition—often in ways that transcend what state assessments currently measure—is a necessary addition to schools’ information-based reading efforts. The genre of children’s literature is replete with texts that facilitate both reading for pleasure and reading for understanding, and when combined with illuminative instruction, these works are irreplaceable tools for pushing students’ thinking, in and beyond the classroom.