Analysis of Prelude to Space

C.S. Lewis 1898 (Belfast) – 1963 (Oxford)



So Man, grown vigorous now,
     Holds himself ripe to breed,
     Daily devises how
     To ejaculate his seed
     And boldly fertilize
The black womb of the unconsenting skies.

Some now alive expect
     (I am told) to see the large,
     Steel member grow erect,
     Turgid with the fierce charge
     Of our whole planet's skill,
Courage, wealth, knowledge, concentrated will,

Straining with lust to stamp
     Our likeness on the abyss-
     Bombs, gallows, Belsen camp,
     Pox, polio, Thais' kiss
     Or Judas, Moloch's fires
And Torquemada's (sons resemble sires).

Shall we, when the grim shape
     Roars upward, dance and sing?
     Yes: if we honour rape,
     If we take pride to Ring
     So bountifully on space
The sperm of our long woes, our large disgrace.


Scheme ABABCC DEDEFF GHGHXX IJIJKK
Poetic Form
Metre 1111001 101111 100101 101011 01010 0111011 110101 1111101 110101 101011 1101101 101101001 101111 10101001 11011 11011 110110 0110101 111011 110101 11111 111111 1111 011101110101
Closest metre Iambic tetrameter
Characters 790
Words 121
Sentences 4
Stanzas 4
Stanza Lengths 6, 6, 6, 6
Lines Amount 24
Letters per line (avg) 23
Words per line (avg) 5
Letters per stanza (avg) 136
Words per stanza (avg) 30
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Submitted by MoonInworld on May 15, 2021

Modified on March 27, 2023

37 sec read
164

C.S. Lewis

Clive Staples Lewis was an Irish-born, British writer and lay theologian. He held academic positions in English literature at both Oxford University (Magdalen College, 1925–1954) and Cambridge University (Magdalene College, 1954–1963). He is best known for his works of fiction, especially The Screwtape Letters, The Chronicles of Narnia, and The Space Trilogy, and for his non-fiction Christian apologetics, such as Mere Christianity, Miracles, and The Problem of Pain. Lewis and fellow novelist J. R. R. Tolkien were close friends. They both served on the English faculty at Oxford University and were active in the informal Oxford literary group known as the Inklings.[1] According to Lewis's 1955 memoir Surprised by Joy, he was baptized in the Church of Ireland but fell away from his faith during adolescence. Lewis returned to Anglicanism at the age of 32, owing to the influence of Tolkien and other friends, and he became an "ordinary layman of the Church of England".[2] Lewis's faith profoundly affected his work, and his wartime radio broadcasts on the subject of Christianity brought him wide acclaim. Lewis wrote more than 30 books[3] which have been translated into more than 30 languages and have sold millions of copies. The books that make up The Chronicles of Narnia have sold the most and have been popularised on stage, TV, radio, and cinema. His philosophical writings are widely cited by Christian apologists from many denominations. In 1956, Lewis married American writer Joy Davidman; she died of cancer four years later at the age of 45. Lewis died on 22 November 1963 from kidney failure, one week before his 65th birthday. In 2013, on the 50th anniversary of his death, Lewis was honored with a memorial in Poets' Corner in Westminster Abbey. more…

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