Moon in art and literature

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This article is about the Moon as the subject of and inspiration for creative works. For the Moon in mythology and religion, see Moon (mythology).

The Moon has been the subject of many works of art and literature and the inspiration for countless others. It is a motif in the visual arts, the performing arts, poetry, prose and music.

The moon on the coat of arms of Grabow, Germany.


Contents

[edit] Art and popular culture

[edit] Literary

  • John Heywood's Proverbes (1546) commented that "The moon is made of a greene cheese", "greene" meaning "not aged", but was probably being sarcastic. [1]
  • In the Great Moon Hoax of 1835, a newspaper reporter concocted a series of stories purporting to describe the discovery of life on the Moon.
  • Roverandom by J.R.R. Tolkien was written in 1925 to console his son Michael, then four years old, for the loss of a beloved toy dog. In the story, the dog has flown to the Moon and had a whole series of amusing adventures there. The story was only published posthumously. In addition, Isil and the guidesman Tilion in J. R. R. Tolkien's fictional Middle-earth cosmology are based in Tolkien's familiarity with Norse and Gaelic myths of the moon.
  • Doctor Dolittle in the Moon (1928) was intended to be the last of Hugh Lofting's Doctor Dolittle books. The Doctor, with his unique ability to communicate with animals, arrived in the Moon on the back of a giant moth and finds a considerably different kind of fauna (for example, Moon insects are far bigger than the local birds), and more startlingly, intelligent plants whose language he learns (as he never did with earthly plants). He also meets the Moon's single human inhabitant, a prehistoric man who has grown into an enormous giant due to lunar foods and conditions (which soon happens to the doctor himself). But it is doubtful whether he would ever be allowed to return to Earth.
  • In C. S. Lewis's That Hideous Strength, the Moon (Sulva) is described as being home to a race of extreme eugenicists. On the near side, the elite caste seems to have dispensed with organic existence altogether, by some means never clearly described; the only holdouts against this trend are an embattled minority on the far side. The response of the characters to this state of affairs varies according to their status: Professor Filostrato, the dupe of the wicked N.I.C.E., considers the Sulvans "[a] great race, further advanced than we", while the Christian champion Elwin Ransom describes them as "an accursed people, full of pride and lust". The Sulvans thus underline the novel's central theme of Christian sexuality.
  • Goodnight Moon (1947) by Margaret Wise Brown, illustrated by Clement Hurd.
  • Winter Moon, a poem by Langston Hughes.
  • Moon Palace (1989) by Paul Auster, one of his best-known and most complicated novels.
  • Kidnapping of the Moon, a novel of Georgian author, Konstantine Gamsakhurdia.

[edit] Theatre

[edit] Music

[edit] Classical

  • The Moonlight Sonata (1801) by Ludwig van Beethoven is probably the most widely recognised classical piece commonly called by a lunar title, but the composer never connected it with the moon. The name by which the piece is commonly known is due to the critic Ludwig Rellstab's comparing the piece to the effect of moonlight on Lake Lucerne, several years after its composition.
  • Au Clair de Lune ("By The Light of The Moon") by Debussy approaches the fame of the Moonlight sonata. Debussy also wrote The Terrace for Moonlight.
  • Song to the Moon appears in Antonín Dvořák's opera Rusalka (1900).
  • An den Mond in einer Herbstnacht D.614, and several settings of An den Mond are among Franz Schubert's Lieder set poems with lunar subjects.
  • Pierrot Lunaire, a modernist work by Arnold Schoenberg, treats the subject of a moon-struck Pierrot.
  • Less widely known works include

[edit] Jazz

Many jazz standards have been inspired by the moon, some of the most notable examples are:

The Moon takes on several roles in the lyrics of these songs. In songs such as "Blue Moon", "No Moon at All", "Moonlight Serenade" and "Moonlight in Vermont", the Moon 'frames' or creates the atmosphere of romance that the protagonist finds themselves in.

The Moon is also viewed as an unobtainable object in songs such as "Reaching for the Moon", "I Wished on the Moon" and "Oh, You Crazy Moon", once again mirroring the situation of the protagonist.

Frank Sinatra recorded an entire album of songs written about the moon called Moonlight Sinatra, recalling the name of Beethoven's Moonlight Sonata. Six years earlier, Mel Tormé recorded Swingin' On the Moon, in a similar concept.

[edit] Pop and rock

[edit] Metal

[edit] Other

  • A Grand Day Out, a Wallace & Gromit short film, involves the main characters taking a day trip to the moon in a rocket that Wallace built. In the film, the moon is made of green cheese and is inhabited by what looks like an oven on skis.
  • the Clangers a popular animated series tells of the lives of pink sock-puppet mice living on a moon that looks very similar to our own.
  • Many cartoons have depicted the moon as being made of cheese.

[edit] Science fiction

[edit] Literature

[edit] Early stories

Lucian's Icaromenippus and True History, written in the second century AD, deal with imaginary voyages to the moon. The theme did not become popular until the seventeenth century, however, when the invention of the telescope hastened the popular acceptance of the concept of "a world in the Moon", that is, that the Moon was an inhabitable planet, which might be reached via some sort of aërial carriage. The concept of another world, close to our own and capable of looking down at it from a distance, provided ample scope for satirical comments on the manners of the Earthly world. Among the early stories dealing with this concept are:

[edit] First voyage

The first flight to the Moon was a popular topic of science fiction before the actual landing in 1969.

[edit] Robert A. Heinlein

Robert A. Heinlein wrote extensively, prolifically, and inter-connectedly about first voyages and colonization of the Moon, which he most often called Luna. [2] He also was involved with the films Destination Moon and Project Moonbase.

  • "Requiem" 1940. A lyrical story about Harriman, the man who financed the first Moon landing (see also "The Man Who Sold the Moon", below).
  • Rocket Ship Galileo 1947. A physicist and several prodigy teenagers convert a sub-orbital rocket ship to reach the moon where they are profoundly surprised and have to act quickly to deal with a malignant menace.
  • "Columbus Was a Dope", as Lyle Monroe, 1947. In a bar on the Moon, a chance encounter reveals both deep and practical attitudes about space exploration.
  • "The Long Watch" (aka "Rebellion on the Moon", 1948). An officer in charge of a nuclear arsenal on the Moon makes tough decisions.
  • "Gentlemen, Be Seated!", 1948. A dangerous leak develops in a lunar tunnel and the men devise a unique way to deal with it until a repair can be made.
  • "The Black Pits of Luna", 1948. A Boy Scout visits cities on the Moon.
  • "The Man Who Sold the Moon" is a 1949 short story first published in 1951. In this story, a prequel to "Requiem" (above), events revolve around a fictional first Moon landing in 1978.
  • "Nothing Ever Happens on the Moon", 1949.
  • The Rolling Stones 1952. The exceptional Stone family lives on the moon and after extensive background and preparation of their own ship they depart to tour and live in the Solar System.
  • "The Menace From Earth", 1957. A lunar teenage girl's romance is disrupted by a newcomer. Extensive descriptions, most noteworthy is the muscle-power flying in a huge sealed cavern.
  • "Searchlight", 1962. A short-short piece about a rescue on the Moon.
  • The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress (1966). In this Hugo Award winning novel, the moon is a penal colony, especially for political prisoners and their descendants. They revolt for independence from Earth-based governments. The novel discusses issues of sustainability, health, transportation, family organization and political governance.
  • The Cat Who Walks Through Walls 1985. About a third of the book takes place on a Free Luna that is a continuation of the Luna in The Moon is a Harsh Mistress (TMiaHM above). Free-enterprise is rampant Luna City is called L-City. Hazel Stone from The Rolling Stones and TMiaHM appears.
  • In passing:

[edit] Colonization

Human settlements on the Moon are found in many science fiction novels, short stories and films. Not all have the Moon colony itself as central to the plot.

  • Lost Paradise (1936) by C. L. Moore. This Northwest Smith story tells how the once-fertile Moon became an airless wasteland.
  • Earthlight (1955) by Arthur C. Clarke. A settlement on the Moon becomes caught in the crossfire of a war between Earth and a federation of Mars and Venus.
  • The Trouble With Tycho (1960) by Clifford D. Simak. A young lunar prospector seeks to find a lost expedition to the Moon.
  • A Fall of Moondust (1961) by Arthur C. Clarke. A lunar dust boat full of tourists sinks into a sea of Moon dust.
  • The Matthew Looney series of children's books by Jerome Beatty Jr (written 1961 - 1978) is an amusing set of stories about an inhabited Moon whose government is intent on invading the Earth.
  • The Lathe of Heaven (1971) by Ursula K. Le Guin. In one of the alternate realities in the novel lunar bases are established by 2002, only to be attacked by aliens from Aldebaran (who in another reality turn out to be benign).
  • The Gods Themselves 1973 by Isaac Asimov. The third section of the novel takes place in a Lunar settlement in the year 2100.
  • Inherit the Stars (1977) by James P. Hogan is the first book of the Minervan Experiment series. The Moon turns out to have previously orbited Minerva, a planet that exploded to form the asteroid belt 50,000 years ago.
  • Welcome to Moonbase (1987) by Ben Bova. A fictional history of a potential moonbase. ISBN 0-345-32859-0.
  • Lunar Descent by Allen Steele (1991) Set in 2024, the novel describes a base called Descartes Station.
  • Assemblers of Infinity (1993) by Kevin Anderson and Doug Beason. A lunar base and a mysterious structure are assembled on the far side of the Moon by tiny machines. ISBN 0-553-29921-2.
  • De Maan (1993) by Carl Koppeschaar (translated into English as Moon Handbook: A 21st-Century Travel Guide). A Dutch "travel guide" to the Moon. ISBN 1-56691-066-8.
  • Transmigration of Souls (1996) by William Barton. An expedition from a moon base discovers an alien base with technology that allows teleportation and time travel. ISBN 0-446-60167-5.
  • Ice (2002) by Shane Johnson. A fictional Apollo 19 mission takes a disastrous turn when the LM ascent engine fails to fire. The astronauts then set out on their own as far as their new heavy lunar rover will take them. Their exploration leads miraculously to an ancient--but still functioning--lunar base.
  • People Came From Earth by Stephen Baxter, printed in The Year's Best Science Fiction: Seventeenth Annual Collection.
  • In the novels A Fall of Moondust, Earthlight, Rendezvous with Rama, and 2001: A Space Odyssey,by Arthur C. Clarke, colonies of various sizes and functions exist on the moon -- some the size of cities
  • The Moonrise and Moonwar books by Ben Bova tell the story of a lunar base built by an American corporation, which eventually rebels against Earth control. The books form part of the "Grand Tour" series.
  • Moonfall by Jack McDevitt features a comet heading for a collision with the Moon just as the first base is being opened. ISBN 0-06-105036-9.
  • Byrd Land Six by Alastair Reynolds includes a Moon colony centered around mining helium 3.
  • In the Hyperion stories by Dan Simmons, the Moon is one of several hundred colonized celestial bodies; however, it is left almost entirely abandoned as 99% of the existing colonized planets are preferable to the moon.
  • Life As We Knew It (2006) by Susan Beth Pfeffer, a novel focusing on the effects of an asteroid colliding with the Moon and knocking its orbit closer to Earth.

[edit] Film

[edit] Television

  • Several episodes of the long-running British television series Doctor Who feature the Moon:
    • The Moonbase (1967). A four-part serial set in the year 2070, where a moonbase has been established to use a gravity-control device called the “Gravitron” to control the weather on Earth.
    • The Seeds of Death (1969). A base on the Moon is used as a relay station for T-Mat a powerful teleportation technology that has replaced all conventional forms of transport.
    • Silver Nemesis (1988). The Cybermen's Cyber-Fleet is in orbit around the moon when it is destroyed by the Nemesis statue.
    • Frontier in Space (1973). Features a penal colony on the Moon in the year 2540.
    • Smith and Jones (2007). The Judoon take London Hope Hospital to the moon as they have no rights over the Earth to arrest a Plasmavore.
  • Moonbase 3 (1973). Another British science fiction television show about a lunar base; aired only six episodes.
  • Two Gerry Anderson series featured moonbases:
    • UFO (1970). A moonbase is used as the launch site for interceptor spacecraft sent to destroy invading alien spaceships.
    • Space: 1999 (ITC Entertainment, 1975–1977). Featured "Moonbase Alpha" on a Moon that had been blasted out of its orbit by a nuclear explosion at phenomenal velocity. The opening episode indicates that the base coordinated nuclear waste disposal, spaceflight operations and training, and subsequent episodes suggest mining, surface surveys and exploration, indicating a versatile base for multiple use, overseen by an international organization on Earth, the "International Lunar Commission".
  • Star Cops (1987). The titular police force has its base of operations on the Moon.
  • Colonization of the Moon is mentioned several times in the Star Trek franchise.
    • Star Trek: Enterprise. The Moon has already been colonized in this series.
    • The Next Generation. The character Dr. Beverly Crusher was born in Copernicus City on the surface of the moon.
    • Deep Space Nine mentions settlements on the Moon called Tycho City, New Berlin, and Lunaport. It is also revealed that Earth's moon is referred to by its Latin name, Luna, probably to distinguish it from the thousands of moons throughout the universe. It is also revealed that living on the moon is seen by many humans as something of a novelty, as Jake Sisko uses the slang term Lunar schooner somewhat affectionately when he meets a girl from there.
  • In the second series of the comedy show The Mighty Boosh, The Moon appears for a short time during every episode, talking in an irrelevant and strange way.
  • The 1991 television movie Plymouth was about a fictional Maine town whose populace became the inhabitants of the first lunar colony. Astronaut Charles "Pete" Conrad played himself in a cameo.

Stargate: Continum: In the latter end of the second straight to DVD movie Col. Carter comments to O'Neill that they need to start talking about the New Moon Base

[edit] Animation

  • Sailor Moon. In this Japanese anime series, the Moon was once home to the Silver Millennium (Moon Kingdom in the dub). Eventually conflict destroyed the Kingdom and caused the Moon to take its current form. Usagi Tsukino (Serena in the dub) is a play on words for Moon Rabbit, tsuki no usagi.
  • Planetes (2003). A Japanese anime TV series set at a time when travel to the Moon has become an everyday occurrence.
  • Mobile Suit Gundam. Throughout most of this anime saga, the Moon has been extensively colonised, with underground cities built inside of the larger craters.
  • Exosquad. In this American military science fiction series, the Moon is the site of the fiercest battle between Terran and Neosapien forces. The victory achieved by the Terrans on the Moon soon leads to the liberation of Earth.
  • Futurama. By the year 3000, a theme park has been constructed on the moon inside a giant dome with an artificial atmosphere, and an artificial gravity.
  • Megas XLR. on one episode the Glorft attempt to convert the moon into a Missile. Coop also ends up Blowing half the moon up. (in the credits he's seen putting the moon back together)
  • Aqua Teen Hunger Force. Among the recurring characters are Mooninites, which hail from the moon.
  • Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann. The moon is used by the Anti-Spirals as the "Human Extermination System", and is designed to fall on the Earth once a million humans live on the surface. It is later discovered that the moon is actually one of Lord Genome's battleships.
  • Origin: Spirits of the Past. An anime movie set in Japan 300 years in the future. An apocalypse was brought about by extensive genetic engineering on trees, conducted at a research facility on Earth's moon, in order to produce trees capable of growing in harsh, arid conditions. The trees became conscious and spread to Earth in a fiery holocaust, wiping out most of modern civilization and fragmenting the moon.
  • The Tick. Supervillain Chairface Chippendale attempts to create the ultimate act of vandalism by writing his name on the moon's surface with a powerful laser. He is only able to write "CHA" before being thwarted by The Tick.

[edit] Computer and video games

  • Command & Conquer: Yuri's Revenge - In one of Soviet Campaign missions, the general was assigned to establish his base there in order to destroy Yuri's Lunar Command Center to prevent the Earth from falling under his psychic mind control.
  • Darius II (arcade game) - The moon is inhabited by enemy forces and underground bases players must confront on the fourth level.
  • Dead Moon - Aliens crash land on the moon and use it as their headquarters for invading Earth.
  • Descent – the main character (the Material Defender) has to clean the Solar System of infected PTMC mines, starting from the moon. Consequently, the first three levels of the game take place in an outpost, a sci-lab, and a military base on the moon.
  • Destroy All Humans! 2 - The final area of the game takes place on a Russian moon base called "Solaris".
  • Duke Nukem 3D - The second episode of the game, Lunar Apocalypse, takes place on a series of space stations that lead to the moon's surface.
  • Final Fantasy IV/II (U.S SNES version)- in the last part of the game the characters travel to the moon to confront the final boss.
  • Infinite Undiscovery - The main antagonist has enchained the moon in order to gain its power.
  • The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask - Link, the protagonist, must prevent the moon from crashing to Earth within 3 days.
  • Metal Black (video game) - After a massive alien invasion on Earth, the moon is overtaken by the aliens so as to involve it in their plot and its darkside sets the scene for the second level boss fight.
  • Military Madness – moon colonization wars exist between the Union and Xenon.
  • Moonbase – add-on for SimCity Classic to build a lunar colony rather than an earthbound city.
  • Moonbase Commander
  • Moon Patrol (Irem)
  • Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door - Mario must journey to the moon to recover a Crystal Star.
  • Star Control 2 – features a now uninhabited moon base.
  • Star Ocean: Till the End of Time – features a moonbase.
  • Sonic Adventure 2 - Dr. Robotnik destroyed half the moon with the eclipse cannon.
  • Strikers 1945 - In the original Japanese release of the game, players are rocketed towards the enemy's real headquarters situated on the moon's surface for the last two levels.
  • Terra Diver - In the future, the moon is one of many points of galactic resources utilised by companies on Earth and hosts a company owned outpost stationed on a nearby asteroid where the fourth boss awaits.
  • Tsukihime - Of the five 'paths' that the storyline may progress in, two are categorized as 'near side of the moon' paths and the remaining three unlockable ones as the 'far side of the moon' paths.
  • Touhou Project - In Imperishable Night, the two characters selected by the player must defeat Eirin Yagokoro and Kaguya Houraisan, two immortals from the moon, who have replaced the real moon with a fake one.

[edit] Comics

[edit] See also

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[edit] External links

[edit] References

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