This thesis explores the relationship between seventeenth-century literary and
philosophical representations of life on the moon, and the development of the telescope.
Existing criticism has generally examined either the telescope or the literature. This thesis
contributes to knowledge by, firstly, providing an in-depth textual comparison which
proposes the publication of Galileo’s Sidereus Nuncius (1610) as a point of significant
change; and, secondly, by examining the complexity of the telescope’s relationship with
these moon-life representations.
Focusing initially on the characteristics of European depictions of life on the moon, this
study draws a distinction between those published before Sidereus Nuncius, such as
Plutarch’s Concerning the Face which Appears in the Orb of the Moon (c. 1st century AD)
and Lyly’s Endimion (1591), and those published later, such as Godwin’s The Man in the
Moone (1638) and Huygens’s Cosmotheoros (1698). The later texts present the moon as
a material, geographical location, and lunar beings as increasingly human-like. Growing
elements of exploration and empirical realism are also demonstrated. The focus then
narrows to English representations in order to investigate the factors which contributed
to their distinctive nature in this period. Aside from Godwin, texts by Donne, Jonson,
Burton, Wilkins, Butler, Behn and Settle are examined. Potential influence from Galileo’s
telescopic work is considered alongside travel, literature, social change, and evolving
attitudes to natural philosophy. The development of the telescope during the
seventeenth century is then investigated by examining the influencing factors of
exploration and conflict, the growth of experimentalism, astronomical practice, and the
cultural imagination. This includes a study of the engagement of six natural philosophers,
including Robert Hooke and Isaac Newton, with the concept of life on the moon.
The research concludes that depictions of life on the moon enjoyed a truly mutual
relationship with the telescope between the publication of Sidereus Nuncius and the end
of the seventeenth century. Despite the relatively short lifespan of this complex bond,
both elements became deeply embedded within the English cultural imagination and
were not only responsible for the ways in which they each developed during this period,
but also instrumental in a changing perception of the universe.