☝️ Key Points
- The song 'Lullaby' by 'The Cure' is a metaphorical depiction of fears and nightmares in which the main character is haunted by a spider-like creature.
- The intense fear and paranoia of the main character is portrayed through the description of the eerie spider creature and its pursuit of the trembling 'victim'.
- 'And suddenly a movement in the corner of the room' enhances the feeling of fear and horror, leaving the main character helpless against the 'Spiderman' who 'will have his dinner tonight'.
- In the next verse, it is shown how the 'Spiderman' gets closer and fuels the main character's fear. 'Be still, be quiet, be now my precious boy' shows a kind of sadistic delight of the 'Spiderman' in the suffering of the main character.
- The ongoing fear and suffering of the main character is portrayed through lines like 'And I feel like I'm being eaten by a thousand million trembling furry holes' and 'And I know I'll wake up in the trembling cold in the morning', which show that the main character's fears and nightmares continue even after waking up.
Interpretation
The song 'Lullaby' by
The Cure is a metaphorical portrayal of fears and nightmares. The main character, the 'Spiderman', is not the well-known superhero, but rather a spider-like creature that haunts the singer in his nightmares.
The 'candy stripe legs' and the 'creeping through the shadow of the evening sun' paint the picture of a creepy, spider-like being. It searches for its 'victim trembling in bed', reflecting the intense fear and paranoia often experienced in nightmares.
The line 'And suddenly a movement in the corner of the room' reinforces the feeling of fear and terror that the main character feels. She feels helpless as she realizes that the 'Spiderman' will have her 'for dinner tonight'.
The next verse shows how the 'Spiderman' closes in and fuels the main character's fear. The 'Be still, be calm, be now my precious boy' shows a kind of sadistic pleasure of the 'Spiderman' in the suffering of the main character.
The lines 'And I feel like I'm being eaten by a thousand million trembling furry holes' and 'And I know I'll wake up in the shivering cold in the morning' show the ongoing fear and suffering of the main character, even after waking up from the nightmare.
Overall, 'Lullaby' can be interpreted as an allegorical portrayal of fears and nightmares that haunt one even in wakefulness and leave one helpless and trapped in a state of ongoing fear and paranoia.