The Fairies in
The Stolen Child- WB Yeats

In the initial stanza of the poem, WB Yeats creates the surroundings of the fairies as a mythical and secluded environment with idyllic natural features. The 'dips of the rocky highland' and the 'leafy island' create this image of the fairies being mysterious and in a sense secretive creatures hidden within the depths of Country Sligo. A sense of freedom is created by the vivid descriptions of the setting correlates to the idea of the fairies being youthful and able to live how they want, unlike people in the real world.

The key phrase ''Come away, O human child…For the worlds full of weeping that you can understand' is repeated in the last four lines of each stanza, changing to 'For he comes' in the final stanza when the child has joined the fairies. Varying interpretations of this can alter the perspective taken of the fairies personalities. On the one hand, it can be perceived as the fairies being more evil than good; they could be tempting the child to unknowingly be lead to his death. However, I believe the fairies are aiding the child and trying to protect him. The world being 'more full of weeping than you can understand' suggests that world is full of evils of which no one can understand, in particular a young child. The fairies are trying to do the lesser of two evils and save him from that life, allowing to live freely like they do. This creates the idea of the fairies being far more empathetic creatures than initially perceived, however the element of them being mischief still remains, emphasised by the phrase being repeated. Even though they are trying to help the child, they are doing so by luring him in a tempting manor, trying to persuade him with the 'waters and the wild', tempting the child into a life without restrictions and regulations.

The initial alternate rhyming scheme in the first 4 lines of the first 3 stanzas creates the feeling of calm and serenity, before changing into differing schemes. All of these initial sections describe the idyllic and natural setting in which the fairies inhabit and portray the freedom the fairies have. The contrast between the first and last 4 lines correlates to the idea of the difference between how the fairies life and the way reality is. Reality is full of evil and suffering, unlike how the fairies life. Yeats creates this fairies to be youthful and vibrant creatures that live in an unrestricted society, and they want the child to be a part of that; the contrast in rhyming schemes compliment and support this idea.

One of the key images used throughout the poem reference to water. 'Sleuth wood in lake' ,'wave of moonlights' (although not with regards to water itself) and 'the wondering water gushes' amidst other examples all refer to the idea of water. This could be potentially be interpreted as symbolic, with the idea of water again, correlating to the idea of the freedom that the fairies possess. Yeats creates this image for the reader of these fairies youthful and unrestricted personas, and in a way a life that many children would desire…one of independence and safety from the hardship of reality especially during the Victorian period.

How my research helped

The research done about the Celtic Twilight movement and the Irish myths about fairies allowed to me to understand Yeats reasons for creating the fairies in the way he did further. Reading the poem prior to research without any knowledge of the Irish mythology behind it would initially have lead me to have more sterotypical view about the fairies personalities. However, the research allowed me to understand the variety that there are and the way the fairies can behave in connection to what category they fit in. The mainly kind/uncharitable divide presented in Irish mythology allowed be to evaluate and interpret the poem more openly as to what kind of fairies I thought Yeats had primarily created for this poem.