“
Medusa of the Skies” by Clark Ashton Smith
Like a worm-fretted visage from the tomb,
The moon unswathes her hollow, shrunken head,
Launching such light as foulders on the dead
From pallid skies more death-like than the gloom.
Under her beams the breasted lands assume
Dead hues, and charnel shapes unceremented;
And shadows that towering sepulchers might shed
Move livid as the shadows on dials of doom.
On hills like tumuli, and waters mute,
A whiteness steals as of a world made still
When reptant Death at last rears absolute—
An earth now frozen by malefice of eyes
Aeonian dooms and realm-deep rigors fill—
The gaze of that Medusa of the skies.
Clark Ashton Smith, an American poet, sculptor, and painter was born in 1893, and died in 1961 in California. He is well known as the author of fantasy, horror and science fiction. In his early career, he published much poetry and during his middle-age, he spent more time writing fictions. By the end of his life, his interest in writing shifted to creating sculptures. Although he was poor for most of his life and suffered from mental diseases, he was a self-educated intellectual being. One of his numerous works is “Medusa of the Skies” which was written in 1912.
The poem is composed of two stanzas; the first one consists of eight lines and the second one with six lines. The rhyme scheme is ABBAABBA in the first stanza. In the second stanza, rhyme scheme is ABACBC. There are also words that sound identical. For example, “steals” and “still” in line 10 have similar sound in the beginning of each word which is “st” sound. Both “dooms” and “realm” have a consonant sound of “m” in line 13. These repetitions of sounds create rhythm of the poem.
“The Medusa of the Skies” is about the world where female monster exists. Like a face of an irritated worm from the tomb (line 1), the empty, shrunken moon appears (line2) shining the light on the dead world (line3) from the pale sky which looks very gloomy (line 4). Under its light, the people on the land assume (line 5) that they are going to die (line 6). The moon creates shadows of graves (line 7) and moves livid as the shadows on dials of destruction (line 8). Hills look like tombs, water is silent (line 9), and whiteness steals as of a world made still (line 10). When crawling death comes close to the earth (line 11), everything stops moving by evil eyes of Medusa (line 12). The Medusas watches the eternal destiny and harshness in her territory from the skies (line 13 and 14).
The significant symbols in the poem are (1) tomb, sepulchers, and tumuli; (2) moon; (3) light and shadow; (4) whiteness, pallid, and dead hues; (5) water; (6) earth and skies; (7) Medusa, and eyes.
The author uses many words that give images of place of burial and death such as “tomb,” “sepulchers,” and “tumuli.” According to the Dictionary of Symbolism, the tomb represents the imprisonment of the soul within the body.
The main symbol in the first stanza is the “moon.” According to the Dictionary of Symbolism, the moon is a feminine symbol; it is actually referred to “her” instead of “his” in the poem. The moon often represents the area between the conscious and the unconscious or mind. It also symbolizes the soul and the subject’s capacity for reflection. In the second line, the hollow, shrunken moon might represent the decline of life or death. It lights the lands which seem to be dead or miserable.
According to the Dictionary of Symbolism, “light” is the source of goodness and the ultimate reality. It represents enormous energy, creative force and optimism. On the other hand, “shadow” is usually a symbol of a person’s soul. According to Jungian psychology, the shadow is a “part of the unconscious mind consisting of repressed weaknesses and instincts”(Wikipedia). The term “shadow” was used twice in the poem. It connects to dark side of the moon and contrasts the “light” of the moon.
Colors are also important symbols throughout the poem. The author describes the skies as “pallid” meaning pale or colorless. By definition, it also means “lacking in vitality.” Therefore, pallid skies might be related to powerlessness or even death. “Dead hues” also gives images of darkness and death. By contrast, the author used “whiteness” which usually symbolizes life, love, innocence, and purification according to the Dictionary of Symbolism. According to the Dictionary of Symbolism, “water” often corresponds to life, and birth. Its main quality is fluidity therefore, water represents change.
“Earth” represents a foundation for life and nourishment according to the Dictionary of Symbolism. It includes all the living things and nature. The “frozen earth” might indicate it is dead. “Sky” symbolizes eternity. It is the residence of the gods and is omnipotence.
Another important symbol in the poem is Medusa. She is an evil being who has snake hairs and destructive power; whoever sees her face directly would be turned into a stone. In the poem, she watches the dying world through her “eyes.” According to the Dictionary of Symbolism, eyes represent clairvoyance, omniscience, and a gateway into the soul.
The basic mood of the poem is very gloomy. This is evident in those repeated words such as “doom” and “death.” The author uses specific words like “tomb,” “charnel,” “sepulchers,” and “tumuli” to create vivid expressions of someone’s death. The tone of the poem seems to be not just sadness but terrifying.
“Medusa of the Skies” is a poem about death. In second stanza, when the world faces the death, everything stops; water becomes silence which means it does not flow, and the earth is frozen meaning it stops moving. The author uses “moon” as a metaphor to describe “Medusa.” The title tells us that the medusa is in the sky, where the moon is also located. Moreover, since the moon was referred to “her,” it actually represents Medusa. According to the legend, Medusa turned people into stone, which means death. People could not avoid nor overcome her destructive power. Smith is trying to tell us that everyone is going to die at some point of their lives and it is unavoidable. In line 5, the moon lights on “lands” which refers to the whole universe, not just one country. This implies that all death is universal fate that all people afraid of. Moreover, “Aeonian dooms” means that death is eternal destiny of people. Smith believes that once people die, they can not be brought back to life.
In terms of punctuation, it is interesting that Smith used dashes (—) in the second stanza twice, one in line 11 and the other in line 13. According the Wikipedia, “em dash” which the author used in his poem is used when the speaker of the poem is interrupted or becomes too emotional to continue. Both line 11 and 13 convey the critical moment of life when the death comes close and become eternal destiny of people. This suggests that the author felt very depressed to wrap up his thought in those lines. I could imagine that Clark Asthon Smith thought seriously about death and also his own future.
Works Cited
Cirlot, J.E. a Dictionary of Symbols. Trans. Jack Sage. New York: Philosophical Library.
1962. Dictionary of Symbolism. University of Michigan Fantasy and Science Fiction Website. 2001.6 Aug. 2004
“Clark Ashton Smith.” Wikipedia. Web. Mar. 2010.
“Dash” Wikipedia. Web. Mar. 2010.
“Explicating a Poem and Symbolism.” Course homepage. 11 Mar. 1999. Hunter Coll.
Reading and Writing Center. Mar. 2010.
Marks, Tracy. “Medusa in Greek Mythology.” Torrey’s Muses. 21 Nov. 2006.
Pearson, Boyd. “The Sanctum of Clark Ashton Smith.” The Eldritch Dark. July 1997.
CASianna. Mar. 2010.
