Tuesday, July 15, 2008

Fairy III - Literature


Hi hi sisters ...... yeah yeah I know, just the title is boring enough to warrant a yawn. But I really really love these quotes from some fairy tales and poems. Hehe, my feelings won't be hurt if you just skip the words and enjoy the artworks. Okkkkk, even if you skip the artworks, I can't tell anyway. Hope you enjoy :)

As much as I admire the allure of fairy art illustration and thoroughly embrace its visual sensation than plain linguistic representation, I do feel literature plays a more significant role in preserving the legend of fairy and fantasy. From ancient Greek epic poet Homer to the greatest English playwright William Shakespeare to Nobel prize winner Irish poet W.B. Yeats, fairy is depicted as innocent, joyous and a source of wisdom. The very thought of fairies bestows a sense of hope, a sense of escape from the harsh reality of human burden and conflicts.




Perhaps it is the same impression when we immerse ourselves in the deep contemplation of Yong Joon. We do feel that sense of peacefulness and warmth, in a safe haven that is embraced by his kindness and beauty. An ideal world where there is no judgement nor prejudice, where love needs no reason.

Let’s enjoy the charm of some fairy literature composed by the greatest scholars in history :





William Shakespeare was regarded as the greatest genius in the English language. His works included numerous famous plays, sonnets and narrative poems; among them Romeo and Juliet, MacBeth, A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Up until today, these plays are continually being adopted and performed in famous theatres around the world.

The iron Tongue of midnight hath told twelve;
Lovers to bed;
‘tis almost fairy time.
~ A Midsummer Night’s Dream, William Shakespeare 1564-1616

Hand in hand, with fairy grace,
Will we sing, and bless this place
~ William Shakespeare, A Midsummer Night’s dream




Sir James Matthew Barrie was the Scottish novelist and dramatist who created the famous character Peter Pan and Tinkerbell. His sentimental and nostalgic depiction of ‘the boy who refused to grow up’ was a welcome to the harsh reality of industrialized 19th century England.

When the first baby laughed for the first time,
the laugh broke into a 1000 pieces and they all went skipping about,
and that was the beginning of the fairies
~ Peter Pan, J.M. Barrie 1860-1937

Now when every new baby is born,
its first laugh becomes a fairy.
So there ought to be a fairy for every boy or girl
~ James Matthew Barrie 1860-1937



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On Beauty :

Wherever the 3 magical trees oaks, ash and thorn grow together
is a place where fairies gather,
and the space between 2 oaks offers an entrance to fairyland
~ Cicely Mary Barker 1895-1973

The fairy poet takes a sheet of moonbeam, silver white;
His ink is dew from daisies sweet,
His pen a point of light.
~ Alfred Joyce Kilmer 1886-1918

"Where round the bed,
whence Achelous springs,
That wat'ry Fairies dance in mazy rings."
~ Homer (Iliad, B. xxiv. 617.)


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On Wisdom :

In the morning of life came the good fairy with her basket and said :
"here are gifts. Ask one, leave the others.
And be wary, choose wisely; oh, choose wisely!
For only one of them is valuable."
The gifts were five : Fame, Love, Riches, Pleasure, Death.
~ The Five Boons of Life, Mark Twain 1835-1910

The fairies went from the world, dear,
Because men’s hearts grew cold :
And only the eyes of children see
What is hidden from the old
~ Kathleen Foyle, "The Little Good People, Folk Tales of Ireland" 1949

Deaf folk hear the fairies
However soft their song;
'Tis we lose the honey sound
Amid the clamor all around
That beats the whole day long.
~ Rose Amy Fyleman 1877-1957


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William Butler Yeats was one the most influential scholar in 20th century literature. The Irish poet and dramatist received a Nobel Prize in Literature for his inspired poetry and plays, reflecting his mystical interests in spiritualism and Irish folklore. Yeats was known as a ‘symbolic’ poet, famed for his use of allusive imagery and symbolic structures to present a deeper meaning. Can you see the symbolism in these 2 extracts?

On Freedom :

She came into the Land of Faery,
where nobody gets old and godly and grave,
where nobody gets old and crafty and wise,
where nobody gets old and bitter of tongue.
~ William Butler Yeats, "The Land of Heart's Desire," 1894

"Come faeries, take me out of this dull world,
for I would ride with you upon the wind
and dance upon the mountains like a flame."
~ W.B. Yeats 1865-1939


References :

1. A Complete Guide to Faeries & Magical Beings, Cassandra Eason, Judy Piatkus (Publishers) Ltd., 2001
2. Faeries, Brian Froud and Alan Lee, Harry N. Abrams, Inc. Publishers, New York, 1978
3. The Book of Faeries, Francis Melville, Barron’s Educational Series, Inc., 2002
4. The Little People - Stories of Fairies, Pixies, and other Small Folk, Neil Philip, Harry N. Abrams, Inc., 2002
5. The World of Fairies, Gossamer Penwyche, Sterling Publishing Co., Inc, New York, 2001


Next ......... Fairy - Aura

13 comments:

bbmag said...

thanks much much for this... the pairing of the pics is just lovely :)

p.s. yeats is one of my fave poets :p

gosijo said...

Such a beautiful post, Jaime!

Thanks so much for sharing your discoveries linking the arts to the "young man with a pure and beautiful heart" (quote from Oh Kwang Rok as translated by cloud nine).

Anonymous said...

Hi Chinggu!

I agree with both bb & Jo Onni. Such beautiful fairy pics paired with HRH's flawless beauty. LOve the ones from JM Barrie. Very true!

Love, Judy

jaime said...

Hi hi princess,

I remember you like these blue monochromatic artworks, like the ones I've done in the Photographic series on Cyanotype.
I think monochrome shows off his silhouette the best too :)

Thanks for reading! Please take care!

love ... Jaime

jaime said...

My dear gosijo,

I am so thankful that Yong Joon still possess this precious 'young and innocent' quality, which in turn draws the same out from us too.

You know I am more of a 'visual' than 'plain text' person, I have to struggle to express properly in words. However, I am deeply moved by the words of these poets. They painted such wonderful scenes of fairies with their pens. Thank you for writing me a comment, as always, I appreciate this so much.

Please take care!

love ..... Jaime

jaime said...

Hi Hi chinggu,

I agree with you, I smile everytime when I read JM Barrie's words on the birth of babies and fairies. Isn't it wonderful to know there is a guardian angel and also a fairy godmother for every child?

Now, if only fairy godmother can take care of all the daily chores of a child, and the guardian angel can tell the kids to do their homework, then we mothers are free to go shopping and lunching with our galfriends everyday, hahaha!
Well, just a thought :) I guess I have to return to my glorious housework again. You have fun too, ok? Please take care!

love .... Jaime

Anonymous said...

Congratulations Jaime, for your artistic and literary rendition of the Fairy as Magician, actually part of Carl Jung's four archetypes. The Fairy or Fairy Godmother provides magical help to the Cinderella (male or female)icon. The glass slipper myth is repeated thrice in Winter Sonata, when Bae Yong Joon fits in the shoes to Choi Ji Woo sitting on top of a high school wall, then during the wedding gown fitting, then with a child in the airport. It is often used in Korean TV drama and movies like in Stairway to Heaven and Princess Hours.
You have done well with what we might call mediation or appropriation of fairy icon with Bae Yong Joon, rather than just a link. Thanks for the beautiful phenomenological experience you provide us.
Dr. Josephine Pasricha

flowerbossa said...

Dear jaime,

Thank you for taking me out of this hot evening ... the pictures are enchanting and so are the poems you introduced to us.

May your dream tonight be a happy one .... or be prepared for the tricks Puck may play on you ^^

love,
flowerbossa

jaime said...

Dear Josephine,

Thank you for visiting and sharing your thoughts on this subject here. Your kind words provide great encouragement to me.

As I am learning too in the process of writing about the subject of fairies, sometimes I even wonder why I have the nerve to do these series. I think both drawing and writing are expression of one's emotions. When we have such wonderful inspiration like Yong Joon, we are motivated to learn and put forth our best effort. The result may not be perfect, but I have already gained my reward during the creation process. I hope you don't mind my rambling :)

Have a nice day/evening!

love ..... Jaime

jaime said...

Hi Dear flowerbossa,

It's nice of you to drop by and leave me a comment. I am glad you find the pictures and poems enchanting. I enjoy reading them over and over again.

Hehe, you're right. With my luck, the dream that I'll have is probably more of a 'trick' from Puck than a 'treat' from HRH! I hope you will have a sweet 'Midsummer Night's dream' too!

love .... Jaime

SELEN said...

Hi Jaime,I live in Vietnam ,this is the first time I visit your blog.When I find Bae Yong joon 's new.Your blog 's very interesting and I like it very much.But,now many newspaper talk about love story between Bae Yong Joon and Lee Sa Gang.Can you tell me some new from your country about thí new.Thanks.I'm very happy when I see your blog,I think I will have 1 friend.I hope I can see you soon .

Anonymous said...

Bay Yong Joon dated Lee Sagang when he was in his early thirties and she was in her early twenties for about six months. Bae acknowledged this in public. This was before he became the Hallyu star that he is now, before Hotelier and Winter Sonata. According to stories, he was so busy with his drama series that he could not even think of marriage, while Lee Sagang was going to London to study film direction. So nothing happened. Recently, Lee Sagang is back from London, she has made of video of a photographic exhibit that includes Bae Yong Joon's pictures and other top Korean stars. She also visited him in the hospital during his recent injury and took a photo of Bae advertising the photo exhibit -- his hands holding the poster and hospital pyjamas seen. It was published in her website, then taken out after a day, after it caused so much controversy.
In an old interview, Bae has acknowledged that his ideal female is Annette Bening, the "thinking man's sex symbol". I think there is no comparison between Annette Bening and Lee Sagang, even if Bae Yong Joon is comparable to Bening's mate -- the idol of the baby boomers, Warren Beatty. Josephine

jaime said...

Hi Han,

Welcome to my little home. Hehe, wonder how you find your way here, it's pretty remote, you know? Maybe through bb's blog, soompi or quilt?

Ha, thank you Josephine for your info about Lee Sagang. I guess the interests started from that recent news article about her directorial work, right? Han, if you like to read more about LSG, I think I remember reading soompi and liezle's blog recently about her. Please check their sites out, especially soompi, there are a lot of Bae news, information and sisters sharing the joy of being BYJ fans.

If you are wondering about Yong Joon, I remember he said it once before : he never looks back on a past relationship, so maybe that's how he likes to leave it? Hehe, what do I know anyway?

Thanks for dropping me a comment!

regards ..... Jaime