These poems traverse a rich spectrum, from classic tales of heroic battles against monsters to modern alternatives narrated by monsters to depicting humans’ dark side as monstrous. They explore the dichotomy of good versus evil, courage, and resilience while delving into human nature’s darker facets— inner demons, real-life struggles, and the more violent aspects of humans’ evil tendencies.
Many of these poems draw on ancient myths to conjure mythical monsters, enhanced with nuanced imagery and chilling descriptions, taking readers on an intense supernatural journey. Some poems embody monsters within humans’ darker, dehumanized state, reflecting on wars, human violence, and the oppression of others. They confront humanity with their own monstrous existence, illustrating our dehumanized state as we continue to kill nature and other species for selfish reasons.
The poetry ranges from lighthearted fantasies with humorous undertones to chilling, eerie, dark narratives. Whether through an oracle-like voice or first-person narration from the monsters themselves, these poems create a compelling otherworldly space that captivates and unsettles, revealing the multifaceted dimensions of human nature.
‘The Kraken’ by Tennyson delves into the mysterious story of an ancient sea monster, predicting his rise to the sea’s surface only to die.
This poem conjures the harrowing mythical sea monster Kraken, whose earliest modern description can be traced to an 18th-century Norwegian travelogue. The Kraken is renowned as a fearsome gigantic monster that drags the ships to the depths of the sea. The speaker's ancient oracle-like voice creates an aura of darkness and mystique through imagery, describing Kraken as 'in the abysmal sea' and 'sickly light.' The monster's ancient presence is emphasized with 'huge sponges' and 'enormous polypi' growing 'on his side.' The creepy imagery, like he is 'Battening upon huge sea worms,' evokes horror while his end 'in roaring,' dying on the surface when the sea is heated by fire, adds to the mythical mystique.
A nonsense poem filled with wordplay, ‘Jabberwocky’ by Lewis Carroll tells the story of the hero’s quest to slay the Jabberwock.
'Jabberwocky' is a classic, adventurous tale of a monster slain by a hero within a nonsense yet amusing narrative. It describes the Jabberwock with typical mythical monstrous features, such as 'The jaws that bite, the claws that catch!' and 'eyes of flame.' The warning, 'Beware the Jabberwock, my son!' emphasizes the fearful nature of the monster surrounded by fellow precarious creatures like the Jubjub bird and Bandersnatch. Jabberwock attacks the hero like a ferocious beast— 'whiffling through the tulgey wood, / And burbled as it came!' Despite the fearsome description, the poem remains lighthearted, culminating in the triumph of good over evil.
‘Not my Best Side’ by U. A. Fanthorpe is a transformation of the dynamic between the characters in Uccello’s Saint George and the Dragon.
This poem reexamines and mocks the traditional roles attributed to monsters, heroes, and victims, offering a modern alternate perspective. The poem's first narrator, a wise monster (likely a dragon), questions the stereotypical portrayal of dragons as grotesque monsters while heroes are depicted as noble and attractive, joking why the hero 'Be so ostentatiously beardless, and ride / A horse with a deformed neck and square hoofs?.' Moreover, the damsel challenges the damsel-in-distress trope, suggesting a possible attraction to the dragon, painting the monster alternatively— 'He was / So nicely physical, with his claws / And lovely green skin, and that sexy tail.'
‘Windigo’ by Louise Erdrich depicts an eerie encounter between the mythical malevolent Windigo and a child.
In Native American mythology, Windigo is a malevolent spirit that possesses humans. The epigraph describes Windigo's monstrous attributes, calling it a 'flesh-eating, wintry demon' that possesses and transforms humans into monsters. Windigo's first-person narration addressing its victim, 'New one, I have come for you, child hide and lie still,' evokes chilling fear. However, the conclusion might suggest the triumph of good as Windigo, or likely the unpossessed human, carries the child back home, who has melted the monster's ice core and released the human, as mentioned in the epigraph.
You knew I was coming for you, little one, when the kettle jumped into the fire. Towels flapped on the hooks, and the dog crept off, groaning,
William Butler Yeats’s ‘The Second Coming’ delves into the hopeless atmosphere of post-World War I Europe through apocalyptic imagery.
The poem's post-war apocalyptic vision depicts a future where only the darker aspects of human nature survive, saying, 'The ceremony of innocence is drowned; / The best lack all conviction, while the worst / Are full of passionate intensity.' This monstrosity is manifested in the beast, a harrowing monster described as 'A shape with a lion body and the head of a man,' whose 'pitiless gaze' lacks human emotions like compassion and kindness. The 'shadows of the indignant desert birds' further emphasize darkness as this beast, instead of Jesus, approaches Bethlehem, signifying a grim, dehumanized era.
That twenty centuries of stony sleep
Were vexed to nightmare by a rocking cradle,
And what rough beast, its hour come round at last,
‘The Vampire’ by Conrad Aiken describes the coming of a great evil and the choices made by men in the midst of apocalyptic darkness.
The monster is manifested in the menacing figure of the vampire. She is a terrifying creature with ominous eyes and a mouth both sweet and poisonous, and she chills the joy and stills laughter around her. The poem's dreadful dreams of apocalyptic scenes: skies aflame, shuddering hills, dancing skeletons, and a blood-red moon emphasize the extent of her monstrosity. Eventually, darkness envelops all over, leading to blood-curdling horrors captured in the imagery of blood-dappled leaves, murdered fruit trees, and agonizing whispers and wails of pain.
She rose among us where we lay. She wept, we put our work away. She chilled our laughter, stilled our play; And spread a silence there.
‘All Hallows’ Eve’ by Tanning explores domestic abuse, depicting women’s struggle against ‘werewolf’ husbands.
This poem portrays abusive husbands as monsters, symbolized by the werewolf, embodying violence, exploitation, and oppression. The chilling imagery of violence representing domestic abuse illustrates the monstrosity of such abusive humans; for instance, the lines 'Hear bones crack and pulverize' and 'Lightning's thousand sulfur eyes' shock and present the intensity of oppression. The women try to tame the monsters and save themselves in uncertain ways, like trying 'lipstick shades to tranquilize,' underscores the lurking monstrosity behind the facade of 'normal' marriages.
E.E. Cummings’ ‘pity this busy monster, manunkind’ depicts progress’ destructive nature and how it has damaged humankind’s view of the world.
This poem's 'busy monster' is humanity drowned in its relentless, destructive drive for progress, creating a dehumanized 'world of made' having mere 'poor flesh,' contrasted with the 'world of born' having human values and meaning. This transformation shows human nature's dark side, where unbridled ambition recklessly destroys humanity and nature. The compounded word 'ultraomnipotence' highlights humanity's monstrous arrogance and overreach, whose devastating impacts the modern world faces.
‘A Rhyme for Halloween’ by Maurice Kilwein Guevara captures the macabre side of the fun Halloween holiday.
The poem transforms friendly Halloween imagery into unsettling figures, blending the mundane with the macabre. It depicts monsters like the candymaker, undertaker, skunk, moose, raccoon, and a dancing beast. The most sinister moment is when cemetery dogs bark at a ghostly figure emerging from the dark, with a moth flying from her mouth. The poem concludes with an ominous prediction—the arrival of the new year will bring both death and new appearances, deepening the sense of foreboding.
‘The Hag’ by Robert Herrick is short poem that imagines with haunting detail a witch’s emergence into the night.
The poem describes the hag and the devil riding together, creating a menacing aura. The hag uses natural elements as tools of torment, heightening the eerie atmosphere. Chilling details like 'ghost from the Tomb,' 'The Hag is astride,' etc., amplify the terror. The hag's monstrous presence is so terrifying and dominating that even other beasts do not— 'Dares now range the wood' when the hag is wreaking havoc 'At noone of Night.'
Christina Rossetti’s ‘Goblin Market,’ narrates the fantastical tale of Laura and Lizzie, delving into sin, redemption, and sisterhood.
The goblins are neither wholly men nor animals and have animalistic features, particularly animals' wild characteristics: cat faces, tails, and movements like rats or snails. When Lizzie seeks to save her sister, the goblins' malicious intent and monstrous nature are evident—they grunt, snarl, bark, hiss, and mew while violently assaulting her, forcing fruits on her, stamping on her, and even twitching her hair in a frenzied attempt to corrupt her. Despite the poem's lighthearted tone, the goblins' brutal actions show the monstrosity of these creatures.
‘Sonnet 114,’ also known as ‘Or whether doth my mind, being crowned with you,’ is a poem about how one speaker interprets the world. Everything he sees and experiences is filtered through images of the person he loves.
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