Science Fiction Cradlesong: an Analysis
Clive Staples Lewis- better known as C. S. Lewis- is the author of the well-known fiction series, Narnia, as well as the lesser-known “Science Fiction Cradlesong”, which he published in 1964. Before his philosophical works, Lewis was a man in search of God. Despite his “such highly regarded works of fantasy” (Belmonte), C. S. Lewis was a rather logical man. In fact, according to the BBC, “He knew that his position was confused. In Surprised by Joy he likens the following process to being hunted down by God, or even being defeated by him in a game of chess” (BBC, Biography - Conversion). With his fanciful worlds and rich allegories, Lewis’s literature can be found in many Christian bookstores. C. S. Lewis was a genius spinning tales with hints and secrets of his faith, and it was evident in “Science Fiction Cradlesong” as it related space travel to Heaven.
Researching for this poem proved difficult as not many - if any - good sources analyzed it. However, a simple Q and A website had a view-changing suggestion. An anonymous user simply said that the poem was philosophical. I always thought of the poem in a metaphorical and physical sense. That comment changed my views on the poem and allowed me analyze “Science Fiction Cradlesong” deeply and gain a whole new understanding.
The first stanza gives a picture of man’s futile attempts to touch the sky and stars:
By and by Man will try
To get out into the sky,
Sailing far beyond the air
From Down and Here to Up and There.
Stars and sky, sky and stars
Make us feel the prison bars. (Lewis. Lines 1-6)
This stanza describes three different meanings at once; the physical, metaphysical, and philosophical. The physical aspect of this stanza is simply the fact that man cannot truly touch outer space because we need atmosphere to live. However, if one pries deeper into the words and thoughts behind them- they would find that there are two other meanings to these verses. The second meaning is the metaphysical. Instead of sky and stars, insert a goal. Often man makes personal goals… many of which might not ever be met. Why? Mankind has many flaws and imitations and fears. One’s goals my never be met because of the prison bars of anxieties and human limitations. The third meaning requires plenty of digging and thought as it lies just below the metaphysical. These stanzas state that man tries to find many ways to Heaven. Whether it be works, possessions, or status, man tries to use these to get to Heaven. It won’t work. Humanity is trapped by the prison bars of their own sinful nature. This stanza gives a feeling of hopelessness. It gives a feeling of reaching out to grasp hope, but never quite getting there.
The second stanza is an assumption. What if we get there? What if we get past earth’s atmosphere? The stanza reads,
Suppose it done. Now we ride
Closed in steel, up there, outside
Through our port-holes see the vast
Heaven-scape go rushing past.
Shall we? All that meets the eye
Is sky and stars, stars and sky. (Lewis. Lines 7-12)
The literal meaning states that if man breaks earth’s pull and makes it to space we would still be trapped in a space ship. We could watch through windows. We can be tempted to touch, but never will. Man still needs atmosphere. Metaphorically if we look at goals before we meet them we are there at the goal but trapped in the ship of our mind. On the philosophical sense it asks us to suppose the above mentioned ways to Heaven worked. It wouldn’t be satisfying. It wouldn’t be real. We’d be able to see but not touch because those ways are illegitimate. Heaven is untouchable by earthly ways.
The next stanza shows acceptance that we won’t reach the stars, that those goals sometimes can’t be met, that Heaven cannot be reached by human means.
Points of light with black between
Hang like a painted scene
Motionless, no nearer there
Than on Earth, everywhere
Equidistant from our ship.
Heaven has given us the slip. (Lewis. Lines 13-18)
At this point the poem’s speaker is the voice of an earthly being stating that we were meant to stay where we’re at and to be complacent. No matter how hard we try- whether to touch the stars, reach high goals, or gain access to Heaven- we will be unsuccessful and that’s ok. When man enters space he must be in a space ship or suit. Man is forbidden to directly touch the entity that is space lest he dies. Heaven and large goals stay far away from us no matter how hard and far we run. “Heaven has given us the slip.”
The final stanza is a closing statement to a lullaby; meant to lull those who listen to sleep. The speaker seems to coo these words softly:
Hush, be still. Outer space
Is a concept, not a place.
Try no more. Where we are
Never can be sky or star.
From prison, in a prison, we fly;
There's no way into the sky. (Lewis. Lines 19-24)
This final stanza serves two purposes. It can soothe some to sleep or wake others up. It says space, our lofty goals and dreams, and Heaven are simply concepts of the mind. The speaker tells us gently to go to sleep and be still. We’re all in a prison whether it be a spaceship and spacesuit, our own minds and bodies, or our shortcomings of simply being human. This stanza may lull many into complacency. However it may hold something a bit more alarming.
I believe “Science Fiction Cradlesong” is more than it seems in more ways than stated above. Knowing how C. S. Lewis writes and what he believes, I feel like this poem was not designed to sound as if he’s speaking. The speaker is rather wicked. His whole purpose is to sing softly to fools and tell them that it is ok to not try. Heaven is impossible. Stars are out of our reach. Dreams are to be forgotten. Sleep is acceptable and even encouraged. C. S. Lewis was a devout Christian who was strongly rooted in his beliefs at the time he published this poem. Why would he say such things? Well, as most artworks, “Science Fiction Cradlesong can be taken many, many ways. In the way I chose to take it with the knowledge I have of philosophy and of C. S. Lewis I believe this poem is a warning. It’s peaceful and complacent but it also sounds hopeless. C. S. Lewis used the speaker to warn of the false teachings that works can get one into Heaven and there is, therefore, no way into Heaven. C. S. Lewis firmly believed that Jesus Christ was the only way to Heaven. He made the speaker to disagree with him and show the other side of the argument. The speaker is also used to warn against complacency. It is horribly boring and hopeless to just sleep and not try in life. Instead of a lullaby, this poem was used as a wake-up call to show the dangers of becoming pleased with where one is at and staying in one place.






Works Cited

BBC. “The Religious Beliefs of C. S. Louis”. BBC UK, 6 Aug. 2009, accessed 24 Oct. 2016
http://www.bbc.co.uk/religion/relig.....slewis_1.shtml
Belmonte, Kevin. “Who is C. S. Lewis?”. C. S. Lewis.org, accessed 24 Oct. 2016
www.cslewis.org/resource/cslewis/

Lewis, Clive Staples. "Science Fiction Cradlesong."
www.poemhunter.com/poem/science-fic.....ce-fiction-cradlesong/









This is an analysis essay I am writing for college. Feel free to further discussion! All I ask is to be polite