"The Stolen Child" is an 1889

poem Poetry (derived from the Greek ''poiesis'', "making"), also called verse, is a form of literature that uses aesthetic and often rhythmic qualities of language − such as phonaesthetics, sound symbolism, and metre − to evoke meanings in ...

William Butler Yeats William Butler Yeats (13 June 186528 January 1939) was an Irish poet, dramatist, writer and one of the foremost figures of 20th-century literature. He was a driving force behind the Irish Literary Revival and became a pillar of the Irish liter ...

, published in ''

The Wanderings of Oisin and Other Poems ''The Wanderings of Oisin and Other Poems'' was the first collection of poems by W. B. Yeats. It was published in 1889. In addition to the title poem, the last epic-scale poem that Yeats ever wrote, the book includes a number of short poems that ...

''.

Overview

The poem was written in 1886 and is considered to be one of Yeats's more notable early poems. The poem is based on Irish legend and concerns

faeries A fairy (also fay, fae, fey, fair folk, or faerie) is a type of mythical being or legendary creature found in the folklore of multiple European cultures (including Celtic, Slavic, Germanic, English, and French folklore), a form of spirit, o ...

beguiling a child to come away with them. Yeats had a great interest in

Irish mythology Irish mythology is the body of myths native to the island of Ireland. It was originally passed down orally in the prehistoric era, being part of ancient Celtic religion. Many myths were later written down in the early medieval era by Ch ...

about faeries resulting in his publication of ''Fairy and Folk Tales of the Irish Peasantry'' in 1888 and ''Fairy Folk Tales of Ireland'' in 1892. The poem reflects the early influence of Romantic literature and

Pre-Raphaelite The Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood (later known as the Pre-Raphaelites) was a group of English painters, poets, and art critics, founded in 1848 by William Holman Hunt, John Everett Millais, Dante Gabriel Rossetti, William Michael Rossetti, James ...

verse.

Publication history

The poem was first published in the '' Irish Monthly'' in December 1886. The poem was then published in a compilation of work by several Irish poets ''Poems and Ballads of Young Ireland'' in 1888 with several critics praising the poem. It was later published in his first book of poetry ''

'' as well as ''Fairy and Folk Tales of the Irish Peasantry''.

Musical adaptations

The poem was first set to music as his Op.38 by the English composer

Cyril Rootham Cyril Bradley Rootham (5 October 1875 – 18 March 1938) was an English composer, educator and organist. His work at Cambridge University made him an influential figure in English music life. A Fellow of St John's College, where he was also or ...

, originally for

SATB SATB is an initialism that describes the scoring of compositions for choirs, and also choirs (or consorts) of instruments. The initials are for the voice types: S for soprano, A for alto, T for tenor and B for bass. Choral music Four-part harm ...

voices and piano (1911) and then for SATB chorus and small orchestra (1912). The poem was also set to music and recorded by

Loreena McKennitt Loreena Isobel Irene McKennitt, (born February 17, 1957) is a Canadian singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and composer who writes, records, and performs world music with Celtic and Middle Eastern influences. McKennitt is known for her r ...

on her 1985 debut album ''

Elemental An elemental is a mythic being that is described in occult and alchemical works from around the time of the European Renaissance, and particularly elaborated in the 16th century works of Paracelsus. According to Paracelsus and his subsequent fo ...

'' and again on ''

Nights from the Alhambra ''Nights from the Alhambra'' is a live album and DVD from the Canadian singer, songwriter, accordionist, harpist, and pianist, Loreena McKennitt and is her first live concert DVD.folk rock Folk rock is a hybrid music genre that combines the elements of folk and rock music, which arose in the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom in the mid-1960s. In the U.S., folk rock emerged from the folk music revival. Performers s ...

group

The Waterboys The Waterboys are a folk rock band formed in Edinburgh in 1983 by Scottish musician Mike Scott. The band's membership, past and present, has been composed mainly of musicians from Scotland, Ireland, Wales and England. Mike Scott has remained ...

, appearing on their 1988 album ''

Fisherman's Blues ''Fisherman's Blues'' is a 1988 album by The Waterboys. The album marked a change in the band's sound, with them abandoning their earlier grandiose rock sound for a mixture of traditional Irish music, traditional Scottish music, country music, an ...

'', with portions of the poem spoken by Tomas Mac Eoin;

Heather Alexander Alexander James Adams (born November 8, 1962) is an American singer, musician and songwriter in the Celtic and World music genres. He blends mythical, fantasy, and traditional themes in performances, switching between instrumental fiddle and son ...

on her 1994 album ''Wanderlust''; and

Hamilton Camp Hamilton Camp (Born Robin S. Camp, 30 October 1934 – 2 October 2005) was a London-born actor and singer, who relocated to the United States with his family when he was a young child. He became an American folk singer during he 1960s, and ev ...

on his 2005 album ''Sweet Joy'' in the song "Celts". Another version, set to music and recorded on the Danny Ellis album '' 800 Voices'', was released in 2006. The poem was also set to music and recorded by Kate Price on her 1993 album ''The Time Between''. In 2012, Merrymouth, a folk band led by

Simon Fowler Simon Geoffrey Fowler (born 25 May 1965 in Meriden, Warwickshire) is an English singer and acoustic guitarist, best known as the frontman of Ocean Colour Scene. The Fanatics Simon Fowler commenced his music career as the lead singer and songwr ...

Ocean Colour Scene Ocean Colour Scene (often abbreviated to OCS) are an English rock band formed in Solihull in 1989. They have had five top 10 albums including a number one in 1997. They have also achieved seventeen top 40 singles and six top 10 singles to dat ...

recorded the poem set to a melody written by Fowler and music by Merrymouth (Fowler, Sealey, McNamara) for their debut album '' Simon Fowler's Merrymouth''. The American composer

Eric Whitacre Eric Edward Whitacre (born January2, 1970) is an American composer, conductor, and speaker best known for his choral music. In March2016, he was appointed as Los Angeles Master Chorale's first artist-in-residence at the Walt Disney Concert Hall ...

has also set this poem in a piece for

The King's Singers The King's Singers are a British a cappella vocal ensemble founded in 1968. They are named after King's College in Cambridge, England, where the group was formed by six choral scholars. In the United Kingdom, their popularity peaked in the 19 ...

and the

National Youth Choir of Great Britain The National Youth Choirs of Great Britain (NYCGB) is the family of choirs for outstanding young singers, and those with outstanding potential, in the United Kingdom. It comprises a total of five choirs for around 750 young people between the ages ...

. British composer and guitar virtuoso

Steve Hackett Stephen Richard Hackett (born 12 February 1950) is an English musician, singer, songwriter and record producer who gained prominence as the lead guitarist of the progressive rock band Genesis from 1971 to 1977. Hackett contributed to six Genesis ...

recorded a version of Yeats' poem under the title "Waters of the Wild" on his 2006 album ''Wild Orchids''. The poem has also been set to music by Norwegian composer

Marcus Paus Marcus Nicolay Paus (; born 14 October 1979) is a Norwegian composer and one of the most performed contemporary Scandinavian composers. As a classical contemporary composer he is noted as a representative of a reorientation toward tradition, tonal ...

, and was included on the Grammy-nominated album ''Kind'' (2010) by Ensemble 96; Stephen Eddins wrote that Paus's work is "sumptuously lyrical and magically wild, and ..beautifully captures the alluring mystery and danger and melancholy" of Yeats. Kirk McElhearn wrote that "it presents a sound-world that is astounding and moving."

In modern culture

This poem was written on the wall of the Wohnheim (employees' hostel) of Odenwald-Konserven in 1989, presumably by one of the Irish students working there. Keith Donohue's novel ''The Stolen Child'' (Nan A. Talese, 2006) was inspired by the poem. The refrain is prominently featured in Steven Spielberg's film ''

A.I. Artificial Intelligence ''A.I. Artificial Intelligence'' (also known as ''A.I.'') is a 2001 American science fiction film directed by Steven Spielberg. The screenplay by Spielberg and screen story by Ian Watson were based on the 1969 short story "Supertoys Last All ...

''. The poem is also featured in the television series ''

Torchwood ''Torchwood'' is a British science fiction television programme created by Russell T Davies. A spin-off of the 2005 revival of ''Doctor Who'', it aired from 2006 to 2011. The show shifted its broadcast channel each series to reflect its growin ...

'' episode " Small Worlds", being spoken by a fairy who steals a young girl. The novel ''

Dies the Fire ''Dies the Fire'' is a 2004 alternate history and post-apocalyptic novel written by S. M. Stirling. It is the first installment of the ''Emberverse'' series and is a spin-off from S. M. Stirling's ''Nantucket'' series in which the Massachusetts ...

'' also incorporates the poem into elements of Wiccan rituals. An Irish dance show called ''The Prophecy'' is based upon the poem. It is performed by Scottish-based compan
Siamsoir Irish Dancers
and has won an award for the Best Dance and Theatre act at the world's largest Robert Burns festival, The Big Burns Supper in Dumfries. The refrain is featured in the 2014 movie ''

Song of the Sea The Song of the Sea ( he, שירת הים, ''Shirat HaYam'', also known as ''Az Yashir Moshe'' and Song of Moses, or ''Mi Chamocha'') is a poem that appears in the Book of Exodus of the Hebrew Bible, at . It is followed in verses 20 and 21 by a ...

'', which is based largely on Celtic mythology. The novella "The World More Full of Weeping" by Robert Wiersema references this poem. The novel "Shutter Man" by

Richard Montanari Richard Montanari is an American crime writer who debuted with his novel ''Deviant Way'', published by Simon & Schuster, in 1995. It won the Online Mystery Award (OLMA) for Best First Mystery. He has since published seven more novels, which are ...

references the last stanza of the poem. The poem is referenced in the novel "The Lost Book of the White" by Cassandra Clare. In chapter 10. On the television show '' The Finder'', the line "Come away, O human child" is seen inscribed on Eloise Jade Knox's headstone in episode 10, ''The Conversation''. American hard rock band

The Sword The Sword was an American heavy metal band from Austin, Texas. Formed in 2003, the band was composed of vocalist and guitarist John D. Cronise, guitarist Kyle Shutt, bassist Bryan Richie and drummer Santiago "Jimmy" Vela III for most of its t ...

, in the liner notes from their debut album ''

Age of Winters ''Age of Winters'' is the debut album by American heavy metal band The Sword, released in the United States on February 14, 2006. The Japanese edition, released by record label Toy's Factory, contains three bonus tracks recorded live at the CBGB ...

'', quotes the refrain of the poem, among artwork of trees and faeries. In the 2020 movie Comes Away directed by Brenda Chapman, it is used in both prologue and epilogue of the movie.

References

Literature

* R. F. Foster, ''W. B. Yeats: a Life'',

Oxford University Press Oxford University Press (OUP) is the university press of the University of Oxford. It is the largest university press in the world, and its printing history dates back to the 1480s. Having been officially granted the legal right to print books ...

1998 pages 56, 75-76 * Richard J Finneran (ed) ''Yeats: An Annual of Critical and Textual Studies XII, 1994'' pages 91–92 * Michael Bell, ''Literature, Modernism and Myth: Belief and Responsibility in the Twentieth Centuries'' pages 44–59 * David Ben-Merre, ''Falling into Silence: Giorgio Agamben at the End of the Poem''MOSAIC 2012 pages 89–104 * Terence Brown, ''The Life of W.B. Yeats'' Blackwell Publishing 2001 pages 9, 19, 66 * William A. Dumbletone, ''Ireland: Life and Land in Literature'' SUNY Press 1994 Pages 93–95, 129, 135-138

External links

Top 100 Irish Poems: The Stolen Child, By W. B. Yeats
{{DEFAULTSORT:Stolen Child, The 1886 poems Poetry by W. B. Yeats The Waterboys songs