W.B. Yeats's poems and literary significance

Yeats' "The Stolen Child"

An Analysis of the Temptation to Flee Reality in Yeats' "The Stolen Child"

Yeats' "The Stolen Child" depicts a world in which fantasy and reality are in contention with one another. The conflict is between the sense of reality (barely perceptible and inundated by a flood of dreamlike perceptions) and the flight of fantasy. A parallel might be drawn between the poem and the social problem of addiction. If the poem on one level is about a child's escape/flight from reality into fantasy, it might also be said that the poem on a deeper level is about those who suffer from addiction are unable to face reality and must fly from it. Indeed, the imagery used by the fairy narrator evokes scenes comparable to states of inebriation or drunkenness. While fear and the ominous sense of death both appear to be underlying factors in the poem, this paper will show how Yeats' "The Stolen Child" may be read as a poem about the conflict of duty (in the world) and desire (represented by fantasy).

The fairies represent the world of fantasy, flight, fearlessness and freedom from suffering in the grown up world, which is described as having no answer for why it suffers. Society, which is only hinted at by the words "world" and "suffering," represents reality. Because the poem is narrated or sung by the representatives of the fantastic world, the perspective is one-sided and slanted or biased in favor of developing an appreciation for the fantastic realm of the fairies. Indeed, one locale after another is described in exciting detail, intimating that there is no end to the amount of fun to be had in fairy land -- as if, in fact, it is a place of eternal delight. By the end of the poem (and with the last haunting lines that signify the song has worked and that the child has accepted the invitation), it is clear that the addressee is being lured or tempted away from its home in the real world, where (so it is suggested) nothing waits but unanswerable grief. The conflict in the poem is buried beneath the repetition of verses (the refrain) and the constant barrage of vivid imagery and extraordinary depictions of an unending, magical life in a preternatural world.

That the poem's conflict suggests the much deeper societal conflict of man against world, responsibility, place -- or better, man against self -- can be observed in the very first word of the poem, "Where," typically used as an interrogative but here used as a relative pronoun. The effect is somewhat disorienting, as though the addressee were already under the spell of some intoxicating force (whether drug or drink) and was now perfectly susceptible to the temptation of permanent separation from life. Ironically, the fairies appeal to a kind of pastoral, traditional sentiment to lure the addressee (assumed to be a child if one goes the indication of the title -- but the child can also represent the immature longing in the adult addicted to escaping reality). The modern world offers no stimulant as capable of freeing the "child" as the fairies offer. Yet, the imagery invoked by the fairies is so full of contradiction that any sober mind should realize that what is sung of is a dream.

For example, the first line of the poem contrasts "dips" with "rocky highland" associating an image of lowness with highness and implying that the highland were actually stooping low. The next line continues the blurring of distinctions and identities with "Sleuth Wood in the lake": Here, the wood becomes water. The repetition of the "l" sound in "there lies a leafy island" allows the song-like poem to resonate with fantasy and simultaneously lull the hearer to sleep. The reference to "faery vats" could be used as evidence that the poem is really the fantastic dream of a drunkard who flees reality through vats of wine or alcohol. The refrain follows the reference to vats, and it evokes a new sound -- a kind of wailing, indicative of a kind of drunkness: "Come away, O -- " surely has the sound of wailing and bemoaning in it, as does the phrase "the waters and the wild." The "o" sounds, the "w" sounds and the repetition of the "l" sounds may all be sounds heard in a tavern where speech is slurred and groans are amplified. The final line of the refrain is the fairy's reason for luring the "child" away from its real world existence: "For the world's more full of weeping than you can understand." It is less a reason for running away than a fear tactic on the part of the fairy to lure the child into its realm of fantasy. The image invoked is that the "child" will be overwhelmed by the world and its sorrow if it dares to remain where it is.

But rather than explore the conflict, the fairy attempts to deflect it by inviting the "child" to run away from it. Indeed, while the poem on one level may be read as a simple fairy tale in which a child is stolen away be fairies, it may also be read on another level as a dark allegory for modern man's unwillingness to face conflict. The conflict is only observed in the refrain of the poem and then only in such a way that the addressee is intended to feel powerless and overwhelmed.

The fairy suggests that the only thing to do is to flee to Rosses, where they can dance. Again, the image of dancing invites comparison to a saloon or tavern. Further images of "mingling hands and mingling glances" invite comparison to a dance floor. The lines "To and fro we leap / And chase the frothy bubbles" combines dancing with what may easily be called the frothy foam of a glass of beer, even though such a reading is highly figurative and a literal reading compels the reader to assume that the bubbles belong to the sea foam.

The constant reference to water, however, provides more evidence of drunkenness, as though in the drunk's stupor his body is attempting to alert his mind of its need to relieve itself: "In pools among the rushes" and "That scarce could bathe a star" and "From ferns that drop their tears" and "Over the young streams." The idea of seeking for "slumbering trout" and "whispering in their ears" could give the impression of drunks passed out at the bar, while their neighbors tell their stories in their ear -- an idea that darkly suggests the deeper conflict of reality and fantasy, of sobriety and addiction, of man vs. man. Yet, the beautiful imagery is almost too innocent to apply such dark ideas to the poem.