The Conqueror Worm

The Conqueror Worm

Lo! 'tis a gala night
Within the lonesome latter years!
An angel throng, bewinged, bedight
In veils, and drowned in tears,
Sit in a theatre, to see
A play of hopes and fears,
While the orchestra breathes fitfully
The music of the spheres.

Mimes, in the form of God on high,
Mutter and mumble low,
And hither and thither fly-
Mere puppets they, who come and go
At bidding of vast formless things
That shift the scenery to and fro,
Flapping from out their Condor wings
Invisible Woe!

That motley drama- oh, be sure
It shall not be forgot!
With its Phantom chased for evermore,
By a crowd that seize it not,
Through a circle that ever returneth in
To the self-same spot,
And much of Madness, and more of Sin,
And Horror the soul of the plot.

But see, amid the mimic rout
A crawling shape intrude!
A blood-red thing that writhes from out
The scenic solitude!
It writhes!- it writhes!- with mortal pangs
The mimes become its food,
And seraphs sob at vermin fangs
In human gore imbued.

Out- out are the lights- out all!
And, over each quivering form,
The curtain, a funeral pall,
Comes down with the rush of a storm,
While the angels, all pallid and wan,
Uprising, unveiling, affirm
That the play is the tragedy, 'Man,'
And its hero the Conqueror Worm.

The Conqueror Worm by Edgar Allan Poe, like many of his works, is a dark piece which talks about mortality and death. The poem begins with a somber mood, stating that the angels are drowned in tears. The whole poem is about the play that is being performed on stage. The plays actors are mimes or puppets and symbolize humanity. They are being led around and controlled by an invisible force. These could refer to the supernatural forces or to forces such as God or the angels. The forces seem to be able to get the mimes to do what they want, treating them as mere puppets. The puppets seem to be running in a circle, trying to find the puller of their strings, but they go nowhere, ending up in running in a circle that never comes back to the same spot, i.e they die. The Conqueror Worm then takes the stage and eats all the mimes. The angels weep and call it a tragedy, stating that the Worm is the hero of the play.

The play talks about the complete lack of control men have over their own existence. The supernatural forces control his actions and even when he tries to confront the person ‘pulling the strings’ he isn’t able to, and dies trying. Even his death is not in his own hands as the Conqueror Worm comes and devours everything when it is hungry, stating that death could come at anytime, and that no one will be able to escape it. The poem state’s that mans existence is full of sin and madness and that fear is the base element always present.