Many of Yeats’ poems explore the theme of broken dreams, how does this one suggest the illusion of dreams and the dream of illusion?
‘The Stolen Child’ by W.B Yeats was published in one of Yeats’ very first collections of poems, the Crossways collection of 1889 when he was just 24 years old. This poem is said to have been written because Yeats’ brother died young. The main themes noted throughout this poem are that of the dream world and supernatural, which could be linked to his longing for escape from the world or Ireland. Also, the poem could be viewed as child abduction, (hence the phrase ‘The Stolen Child’ as the title) by the “faeries” who are evil and are luring the child into the world of dreams.
This is a poem that is narrated by a supernatural creature of Irish folklore, or faery, who attempts to lure a boy into leaving the human world around him. Yeats adapts an old Irish tradition where fairies steal human children and replace them with changelings. The poem utilises this myth and through it develops tension between the two worlds of the poem – the supernatural and the natural which therefore creates the illusion of dreams and the dream of illusion. The poem mentions dreamlike images of this illusion that the faeries have created to attempt to trick the boy into swapping his way into the alien world – this could be alluding to Yeats falling into this system in which he became fascinated with the occult and the afterlife as well as other supernatural worlds.
The final four lines of the first stanza closes in the rhythm and the rhyme of the poem, “To the waters and the wild // with a faery, hand in hand // For the world’s more full of weeping than you can understand” These last four lines of stanza’s one, two and three include irony as they are telling the child that they are in fact saving him from his own terrible world, when realistically they are cheating and deceiving him. This highlights the innocence and naivety the child has and highlights the illusion of dreams, and also the dream of illusion.
Throughout the third stanza the sibilance conjures up a sense of silliness and mischief. This therefore gives the idea of the faeries setting a trap and breaking the allusion of this dreamlike image for the child. However, this presents a very sinister ending to the poem where the boy unfortunately falls for the allusion of the dream and ends up losing of the warmth of his world – showing how easily a child can sometimes be lost in such dreaming.
However, there is also the warm reassuring imagery at the very beginning of the final verse. This can be seen as an illusion of the dream-like state of this world. The “warm hillside” can be seen as a reassuring image of the warm human world. It could be that Yeats is presenting a contrast between the human and faery world. The boy has been tricked into believing the dream of this world being exactly the same as the human world, however he may see a lake, sea, waterfall, stream and pool as beautiful or enchanting but he does not quite understand that they are no home like his world. Whereas his world may be more full of weeping than he can understand, it is his world.
The poem in itself is an illusion. However, the wonderful lyricism, and the almost enchantment in nature with the words being strong and romantic create a somewhat magical effect which gives the poem a sense of being something that is magical, ancient and different in its own ways. The poem can be seen as almost an excuse, perhaps a comfort for the parents as their child has disappeared, or even died – he has been lured to a negative view of life which is ‘full of weeping’ which also highlights the broken dreams which the child has endured and the ‘faerys’ whether their existence is true or not they have created a better world to lure the child from his world into a horrendous illusion.
Compare the style and theme of the poem with the realism and disillusion of September 1913, explore the differences.
Both ‘The Stolen Child’ and ‘September 1913’ are very compatible.They are both written in a ballad form. In ‘The Stolen Child’ it describes how a child is lured away from his own world into the dangerous world of the supernatural whereas in ‘September 1913’ it describes that he feels that “romantic Ireland is dead and gone”.
Both poems include four stanzas. However,‘The Stolen Child’ has stanzas of varying lengths showing the unstable ways of believing in the supernatural although in the poem they are doing good for the child. Where ‘September 1913′ has stanzas of the same length showing the ways of which Ireland should be not caught up in the Irish rebellion. Also, the rhythm and rhyme throughout ‘The Stolen Child’ gives the poem a magical atmosphere, where in ‘September 1913′ it gives a sharp and mocking tone, which shows Yeats is in fact mocking the Catholics who have prayed to God instead of fighting “God help us, could they save?”.
Both poems have repetition of a somewhat chorus and both surprisingly change in the last stanza. In ‘September 1913 it changes to′ “Romantic Ireland’s dead and gone, It’s with O’Leary in the grave” means that the people that gave their life in the revolution gave it away for nothing. It appears to highlight that Ireland should return to its ancient, mythical roots,which questions the beliefs of the Irish people that they were better off under British rule. Whereas, in ‘The Stolen Child’ the repetition of the phrase ‘the world is more full of weeping than he can understand.” This means that the child is incapable of understanding perhaps the reality of life. This phrase is ironic as the faeries throughout the poem try to lure the child away from the real world, where they ultimately are appearing to save the child, when realistically they are cheating and deceiving. This could relate to Britain teasing the Irish into believing the home rule is in fact good for them when realistically Ireland being returned to its old traits would be better for their independence.
Throughout ‘The Stolen Child’ there is a theme is of the occult. The lyricism is wonderful and enchanting, almost trying to turn away from this idea of the bleak reality. “To the waters and the wild with a faery, hand in hand” almost gives this idea of a magical landscape with enchanting sounds, the delicacy of the sound almost weaves a spell evoking a landscape and a world in a dream in which the faeries can enchant. “September 1913″ almost acts as a polar opposite in terms of the themes. It is a direct address to the Irish people and his readership, “What need you, being come to sense” is almost emphasising his anger and delivering a passionate, realistic address to the people of Ireland telling them what they have done wrong, using colloquialism such as “God help us, could they save?” to mock the Catholic population for being so lethargic in terms of getting involved in the campaign for home rule.
In ‘September 1913’ it does end with a message of hope through high romanticism that is telling the Irish that it is not too late to go back to their old ways. “They’re with O’Leary in the grave” is presenting a message of hope, to either become a hero or not – giving them the freedom of choice. However, in “The Stolen Child”, the poem almost ends with a message of negativity, and the child being so far in the ‘dream’ that it’s too late and unfortunately no longer has the choice.
The Room of Requirement. 