Blog Entry 3: The Fairies by William Allingham

"The Fairies"

by: William Allingham (1824-1889)

P the airy mountain,

Down the rushy glen,

We daren't go a-hunting

For fear of little men;

Wee folk, good folk,

Trooping all together;

Green jacket, red cap,

And white owl's feather!

 

Down along the rocky shore

Some make their home,

They live on crispy pancakes

Of yellow tide-foam;

Some in the reeds

Of the black mountain lake,

With frogs for their watch-dogs,

All night awake.

High on the hill-top

The old King sits;

He is now so old and gray

He's nigh lost his wits.

With a bridge of white mist

Columbkill he crosses,

On his stately journeys

From Slieveleague to Rosses;

Or going up with music

On cold starry nights

To sup with the Queen

Of the gay Northern Lights.


They stole little Bridget

For seven years long;

When she came down again

Her friends were all gone.

They took her lightly back,

Between the night and morrow,

They thought that she was fast asleep,

But she was dead with sorrow.

They have kept her ever since

Deep within the lake,

On a bed of flag-leaves,

Watching till she wake.

 

By the craggy hill-side,

Through the mosses bare,

They have planted thorn-trees

For pleasure here and there.

If any man so daring

As dig them up in spite,

He shall find their sharpest thorns

In his bed at night.

          Up the airy mountain,
          Down the rushy glen,
          We daren't go a-hunting
          For fear of little men;
          Wee folk, good folk,
          Trooping all together;
          Green jacket, red cap,
          And white owl's feather!      




   "The Fairies" is a poem written by William Allingham. Allingham is an Irish poet. He published many books on poetry and "The Fairies" is one of his most famous ones. The poem seems simple, however, as I read it over a couple of times, it's actually more complex than it seems. I chose this poem because at first glance it seemed interesting and happy. I mean how dark could fairies be?

     In stanza 1 lines 3 and 4 it says "we daren't go a hunting for fear of little men;" it makes you fear the little people already and the poem just began. In stanza two he describes where the fairies live. He describes where they live as dark and airy like in stanza two line six he says "of the black mountain lake with frogs for their watch-dogs". it gives you a sense of how small these men really are. Obviously they are so small to even have a frog as a "watch-dog". In stanza 3 lines 1 through 4, he describes the king of the fairies as old. Stanza 3 line 3 he says "he is now so old and grey he nigh lost his wits" saying that he is not as on point as he used to be. In the same stanza lines 10 and 11, he says "On cold starry nights To sup with the Queen", you can almost picture the king and queen sitting together drinking in excess with evil, sinister grins. Stanza 4 is where it gets a little more darker, like in lines 1 and 2 "they stole little bridget for seven years long;". Also, in line 7 and 8 he says " they thought she was asleep but she was dead with sorrow". The words dead with sorrow have such a strong feeling to it. In stanza 5 lines 5 through 8 he makes it seem as though you better not mess with these little men "If any man so daring As dig them up in spite,

He shall find their sharpest thorns In his bed at night." He makes it seem like it's the Fairy Mafia. He paints a good picture with his words on how devious and mean these fairies are. Usually when you hear the word "Fairy" you think of cute little flying people like Tinkerbell.

     The poem itself is already vivid enough that you really don't have to think hard or look deep into the meaning. Allingham described the Fairies so well and simply made you feel from the start of the poem that they were not so good. He got to the point and let you know this poem was going to take a turn, like in stanza 1 line 1 and 2 he uses the words "airy" and "rushy" to describe the cold empty mountains where you would find the Fairies. Just by those two words you feel the darkness and mistiness of where they live. Again he uses the word "black" to also describe where the Fairies live in stanza 2 line 6. So the poet kept in theme with the darkness throughout the entire poem using these kind of words. Even describing the king he uses such words like old and grey like in stanza 3 lines 2 and 3. Then in stanza 4 you really feel the darkness of the poem when the fairies take bridget for seven years. Then it goes on to say that they took her lightly back and they thought she was sleeping but she was dead with sorrow. The key words here are asleep, dead, sorrow. If you can picture it in your mind you can vision bridget lying there lost, depressed almost grey as if she lost her soul. If this were a movie, to me this is where it would be tones of black and white. Then he goes on to say "They have kept her ever since Deep within the lake, On a bed of flag-leaves, Watching till she wake." its saying that they are hoping she comes back to life which to me is a little contradicting. Why would they want her awake if they are the ones who took her? Maybe they are not so bad, but then in stanza 5 it goes back to darkness. Like in lines 3 through 8 he talks about how the planted a thorn bush and if anyone takes it they will find the sharpest thorn in his bed. The word "sharpest" to me is the key word here. It's like they seriously want to hurt anyone who messes with them, like a punishment.

     Finally, this poem to me is all about dark evil fairies. The poet William Alingham painted an excellent picture with words to describe the fairies and the whole scenery. It was not difficult to understand them poem or what he was trying to explain because from the very first line to the last you understood these fairies were not to be messed with.

     




Try these links to find out more about William Allingham and his poetry.....Wikipedia