Into the Wardrobe

I wonder why the names for planets with medieval origins were chosen instead of the traditional Roman ones. Didn't Lewis also have a fondness for Greek and Roman mythology? How about Aphrodite for Venus, Hermes for Mercury, Ares for Mars. I don't think the names Malacandra, Perelandra, and Thulcandra were very familiar to modern readers-- couldn't they identify more easily with the Greek and Roman names that we use today than with what the inhabitants called these worlds? Unless, perhaps Lewis thought that the strange terminology would give the stories a more exterrestrial quality. However, the names had apparently had a connection to medieval Earth.

Larry W.

One of the points of the story of Out of the Silent Planet, as in any tale-telling, is to keep the reader intrigued and guessing. So, purely from the reader being as puzzled as ransom is, it was important for the planet not to have a recognisable name. (It would also have seemed unlikely that the people of the planet would have used Latin names for their or any other planet, either, inwithin the logic orf the tale or within general reason).

However, Lewis does empahasise that the essence of the planets is that recognised in the ancient classical world. At Meldilorn he sees a representationm of the solar system and notices the orb nearest the son has a hermaphroditic figure blowing a horn, and the next planet is represented by breasts, whereas earth has its representation gouged out. So each of the spirits of the planets, the archons or oyérsu, represent their classical values. This comes home to earth, literally, in That Hideous Strength, when, as each of the archons descended, the community of St Anne’s becomes ‘infected’ by their presence, arguing when Malacandra descends for example, and becoming jovial when Glund comes. And of course, there is an orgy at the end under the influence of Perelandra—very aphrodisiac!

I know Lewis's poetry is not real popular, but if you are interested in this subject, he has a great poem called "The Planets." He uses the English names but stays within the geocentric paradigm of the Medieval period. Thus (since earth is the center of the universe), the Moon is the first planet, followed by Mercury, Venus, the Sun, Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn.

In the poem, he describes the characteristics of each planet. Of Mercury, for instance, he writes

The spark of speech from spirit's tinder,
Lord of language! He leads forever
The spangle of splendour, sports that mingle
Sound with senses, in subtle pattern,
Words in wedlock, and wedding also
Of things with thought . . .

The poem is highly aliterative, as you can see. It is a good one read as a explanatory gloss on the scene in That Hideous Strength where the planets descend on St. Anne's. If you recall, when Mercury comes in they start to be subtle and witty with their language, since Mercury was the god and power behind language.

The poem can be found in the Poems edited by Walter Hooper. Lewis's poetry is challenging to read but highly rewarding.

Wow, I don't really know much about poetry, but that really puts me in mind of the Song of Albion (the song within the books) --not the content of the poem (segment) but the heart of it, the feel, and the cadence. I like it--I think I'm gonna go look up the rest!

There are two collections of Lewis' poetry-- Poems and Spirits in Bondage. One of my favorites is "The Future of Forestry" from Poems. Here are a few lines: "How will the legend of trees /Feel, when the last tree falls in England?/ When the concrete spreads and the town conquers the country's heart... So shall a homeless time. though dimly / Catch from afar (for the soul is watchful) / A sight of tree-delighted Eden."

Lewis poetry was overshadowed by his much greater prose, but I think it is helpful to understand his verse to gain insights of his personal thoughts, which will make reading his other books a richer experience. Besides "The Planets", "In Praise of Solid People", "The Star Bath", and "The Meteorite" are poems with celestial references which make good companions for the space trilogy.

Larry W.

Yes, as Larry says, the poems are often good glosses and commentaries that help us understand the fiction better. Sometimes the poetry is his thought condensed and made very tangible and clear.