Analysis of Prelude to Space
Clive Staples Lewis 1898 (Clive Staples Lewis 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 | 798 |
Words | 123 |
Sentences | 5 |
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 on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 37 sec read
- 93 Views
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"Prelude to Space" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 19 May 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/6956/prelude-to-space>.
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