Below the thunders of the upper deep;
Far, far beneath in the abysmal sea,
His ancient, dreamless, uninvaded sleep
The Kraken sleepeth: faintest sunlights flee
About his shadowy sides: above him swell
Huge sponges of millenial growth and height;
And far away into the sickly light,
From many a wondrous grot and secret cell
Unnumber'd and enormous polypi
Winnow with giant arms the slumbering green.
There he hath lain for ages and will lie
Battening upon huge seaworms in his sleep,
Until the latter fire shall heat the deep;
Then once by man and angels to be seen,
In roaring he shall rise and on the surface die.
Alfred Lord Tennyson
The Kraken is perhaps one of the most famous sea monsters. Variously depicted as a giant squid, huge octopus and even a dragon, it has terrified sea faring peoples since legends first began. Origins of this creature may have derived from tales of sea creatures attacking boats thinking them large fish. Explorers have said that the Kraken is located in the region between the North Sea and the North Atlantic and is certainly well known amongst Scandinavian and even pre-Viking sailors.
The beast is alleged to guard the edge of the world and is probably a derivation from such mythological creatures as Nidhogg, the old Norse Sea Serpent that surrounds the seas of Midgard, meaning Earth.
However, over the last few years, exaggerated sailors tales can be verified as there have been numerous reports of specimens of gigantic octopi and squid caught by shipping boats, many creatures far out sizing the ships. It is plausible that such creatures are the off spring of a much larger specimen or specimens that reside deep beneath the icy waters of the North Atlantic and that encounters with such tremendous monsters could have been the inspiration of the Kraken.
Certainly Lovecraft was familiar with the story and legend behind the Kraken and possibly derived the essence for Cthulhu from it. The Kraken is a tremendously horrific image and its appearance is extremely repulsive. Psychologically, the Kraken, and indeed Cthulhu, may have represented Lovecrafts' fear ( or love ) of uncontrollable violent action, the sea certainly symbolises the primal sub-conscious psyche and the 'beast' that lurks deep within it is a clear metaphor for the 'beast' that lurks within the Human mind, constantly restrained ( Rlyeh ) yet when unleashed, capable of destructive and malign acts of chaos and violence.
Lovecraft was an intelligent man yet with a very temperamental mind, his famous quote:~
"There is only one things sure of in this world, and that is a strong, hairy arm"
suggests that he saw brute force as the only way of 'solving anything' in this world, maybe Cthulhu, his most famous creation, was itself, a metaphor for Lovecrafts darkest desires!
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