# Lullaby explained — Poetry

> Chapter companion for Poetry by C. S. Lewis.

## What happens

A lyrical, dreamlike chapter describing a tower where three maidens spin night and day, transforming into swans at evening to fly around the woods singing a lullaby.

## Themes in this chapter

### Illusion vs. Reality

The transformation of maidens into swans and the enchanted tower blur the line between the real and the fantastical.

### Mortality and Transience

The spinning 'both night and day until the stars do pass away' evokes the endless yet fleeting nature of time and existence.

## Key lines

> Lullaby! Lullaby! There’s a tower strong and high Built of oak and brick and stone, Stands before a wood alone.

A lullaby describes a solitary tower made of oak, brick, and stone standing at the edge of a forest.

_Opening lines establish the setting and lullaby form._

> And maidens three are living there All in the upper chamber fair, Hung with silver, hung with pall, And stories painted on the wall.

Three maidens dwell in a beautifully decorated upper room with silver hangings and painted murals.

_Introduces the three maidens and their ornate chamber._

> But every night at evèning. The window open wide they fling, And one of them says a word they know And out as three white swans they go.

Each evening, they open the window and, at a secret word, transform into white swans and fly out.

_Describes the nightly transformation and flight of the maidens._

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/poetry_3_se/chapters/xxxviii-lullaby
- Book: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/poetry_3_se
- All chapters: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/poetry_3_se/chapters