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





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.)





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





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