Analysis of 'The Stolen Child' by W. B. Yeats 

I've loved this poem for much of my life. Not being an academic, I've always had my own understanding of it's meaning which, I must say, departs from your understanding considerably. Poetry speaks it's truth to the individual, and I understand the temptation to stand back from The Stolen Child and analyze it to pieces, and in the process render it lifeless. The faery is calling the child back to the real world. The human world is a construct of beliefs almost entirely based on fear and greed. Defining as we do, categorizing as we do, distancing ourselves form the vary fountain of our being and in the process ruining nearly everything we touch. If there is anything sinister about this poem, it's the sinister weeping world, weeping at the results of it's own folly and self destruction, weeping as it experiences wrenching self pity. Yes, come away oh human child, to the waters and the wild. Leave the weeping world to it's demise, brought about by it's own hand. It's too much for any human child to understand, no matter our age.

He's talking about the inevitable heartbreaking loss that all children experience within themselves when they move into adulthood. He's talking about how they want to remain children, how they're not ready, and how the perceived violence of the adult world makes them want to walk away into the water and the wild, and, actually, its safety. How does she not know of Yeats's involvement with magic?

This poem is not about the transition from childhood to adulthood as so many comments are saying. The human child goes FROM a bad world "full of weeping", society that an adult has full view of, and INTO the fairy world. So it's about the RETURN to innocence, not the loss of it.

Far off by furthest Rosses Thankyou very much Ms Dempster. You have covered alot of albeit a very academic overview of the poem. My degree alas is not in English, however being Irish qualifies me to see possibly were others cannot. Please dont take this as being smug. We have a saying in Ireland 'away with the fairies' were applications can be used for daydreaming in thought but moreover the term is used to describe madness, further achieved in the poem by the repetitive use of the word 'weeping'. The water in Irish folk lore is a place called Tir Na Nog, the land of eternal youth directley pointed to: 'Far off by furthest Rosses we foot it all the night' with a capital R being the Rosses in Sligo, by the sea aka Tir Na Nog. The leafy Island is Inisfree, again in Sligo can be seen at the bottom of Glen Carr (lough Gill) looking out towards Rosses point. I think the reference of 'Human child' is of the human race and not a boy as suggested, rather if one lives in grief he grows old and looses his youth (innocence) with the realities and pains of weepng and grief, were if he turns his back on the realities of weeping he tricks himself into madness, in step the faery folk. So, to keep his innocence some trickery of the other world brings him into moonlit madness. The slumbering trout while asleep is aware he may caught, the fairies I suppose whisper to his ear the threat of capture. For here he comes, yes the achievement of capture by willingness is quite a frightening prospect, in weeping do we stay in reality or escape into denial and into the world of the fairy with the promise of eternal youth? In short, I think its the transition of youth into manhood with either madness from weeping as a reality or leaving this realm into Tir Na Nog as an alternative reality are but our only choices. As the legend goes, if you enter Tir Na Nog, you never come back. I also think that James Clarence Mangan (an other great Irish poet) was a source of much inspiration to Yeates and his very public demise into madness may have been a strong influence in this poems flavour. Please respond

Thank you very much for a fantastic analysis. I would argue that, in Ireland "a changeling" used to mean a stillbirth or a cot death. Parents' would wake and find their child replaced by what they would have believed to be an Homunculus. The Faeries' represented the agents of change (before Catholicism) to another, older, realm. This grief is where the impersonal nature of the latter part of the poem came from as the parent tried to come to terms with the loss of a child. I would be interested to know alternative opinions!

There might be a more sinister and perhaps more straightforward reading that would turn on the phrase "reddest stolen cherries". The redness certainly makes the cherries seem fresher and more enticing, but red is also the color of the cheeks of young children, and the matter that both are stolen (and that the cherries are the only other object in the poem described as being stolen, other than children) leaves the poem almost insisting for an association. And the association works both ways, because in associating cherries with children, you also associate children with cherries, i.e. as food, presumably for the consumption of these "fairies". The allure of the fairy world is a seductive allure, and I see the sinister (in fact, the monstrous) seeping through the superficial, seductive gladness of that world throughout the whole of the poem. The title itself refers to an abducted child. The very first stanza already presents the world as incomprehensibly sorrowful. In short, I don't see the tension between the attractiveness of a"fairy world" and its sinister aspect. If anything, the antithesis being drawn is between he beauty of the land (firmly situated in real Ireland) and the evils pervading it. Extrapolating slightly, I see perhaps an ambivalent rendering of the mind and character of the traditional Irish peasant, who is connected to the splendor of nature, but at the same time is immersed in perils, both real and imagined.

At my Aunts wake my mother recited this hypnotic & timeless poem which remains and changes with age. I learned it in school but never really appricated its beauty till I got older. Thank you...

An impressive and detailed analysis of this poem. Thank you for your insights. I understand the poem to mean that the child is stolen away from safety and home comforts to the waters and the wild, isolated and away from everything and everyone he's known. A chilling final stanza.

One interpretation I read was that the child has already been stolen; the 'world' has stolen the child's innocence and imagination, and the faeries simply wish to retrieve it.

Excellent analysis. Interesting to hear explained how this poem manages to have such a grip on me. Looks so simple on the surface yet is so cleverly constructed. Takes a lot of skill to achieve that.

"reddest stolen cherries" refer to the loss of innocence when reaching sexual adulthood. The whole poem is a metaphor of stolen innocence as we grow to be adults, professor. Greetings from Egypt.

You set my sails on a poetic journey that has led me to Byzantium. Many thanks. Richard. 68 years old. Canada.

Glencar Lake (Lock Ghleann A’ Chairthe) is located north of Sligo in County Leitrim. Fed by Glencar Waterfall, it remains pristine and full of brown trout to this day. There are also remains of two early crannogs (man-made) island forts. In the 6th century, Saint Osnat, the sister of Saint Molaise of Devenish, founded a church here. “ Ghlean A’ Charthe” is Irish for “glen” or “valley of the rock”. This may have referred to a megalithic structure located near where the church of St. Osnat was first built. In 1886 when Yeats just 20 he wrote this poem while visiting Glencar.

I wish you were my teacher! This is so useful and deserves more views, thank you for the upload.

You have really opened this poem up to us. Please do some more. Thanks.

Thank you. I have always been fascinated by the faery world and discovered Yeats' poem through The Waterboys' version set to haunting music with Tomás McKeown reading the stanzas while Mike Scott sings the 'chorus'. I have many stories about it, but you don't need them all here. Point is, I was reluctant to hear an analysis in case it spoilt what I gain from listening to the poem, visiting the Glencar waterfall and lough, etc. However, I found this kind of added to my appreciation. I like Ken Thompson's input too. When we visited in 2003, I was pleased to understand about The Rosses and the surrounds. I relate to the world being full of weeping. An Irish friend whose new, young wife died of an accidental overdose, and who had a great feeling for this poem, had the 'chorus' tattooed in a spiral on his right chest.

I just love this analysis! Absolutely brilliant! :)

I love this poem and I love your analysis ! x

Like many have already mentioned - very helpful for my AS level studies! I would definitely recommend this video to anyone who is also studying at sixth form or has an interest in poetry (or more specifically, Yeats) and would like to broaden their literary knowledge! Thank you! :)

Thank you very much for taking the time to make this, it's a fantastic revision source

When I hear this poem, and it's agricultural and rural references, I think of the changing seasons and the harvest. While I don't know what time of year calves are born, a lot of the other imagery calls the harvest to mind. Berries and cherries are mid-summer to autumn crops, blackberries especially coming late in the season. In autumn the mice move indoors from the now-barren fields, and autumn is the time when hot drinks like tea become a comfort. It's moving from the prosperous and comfortable summer to the harsh and cold winter. With the transition to winter also comes the transition from light into darkness and from life into death, not to mention the transition from the physical to the spiritual. When this child ventures out into the spiritual world, he dies. He will forever live in the summer; the rhythms and comforts of life will pass him by. If summer is for adventures, winter is for the comforts of home. He went out to have summer adventures, and he will have them forever more, never to come home. The water theme only reinforces this, as it is a well-known gateway to other worlds and a common cause of death. I think this child drowned.

Thank you very much for your help. The whole video is amazing...I very much appreciate that parts of the poem are visible when you comment on them..

Great analysis. I was always intrigued by the last line. "...the world's more full of weeping than he can understand." I took this to mean the human cannot fathom all the suffering of the world. I also took it to mean that the child will never comprehend how his absence from the human realm will cause suffering. The child was in connection with cows and whoever it was making the tea that gave him peace. Now he has lost connection with the human realm and it is a loss to humanity.

This is so helpful! I wish you had done analysis for all of his poems

Thank you for an interesting analysis!

I wish you made more of these! Very helpful thank you

Absolutely fantastic for revision. Thank you thank you thank you.

Great study. In this time of child trafficking and Epstien et al, there is a chilling relevance - written at the age of 20, Yeats really shows his greatness.

Totally stumbled across your video after a couple of glasses of wine and some reminiscing to a Waterboys soundtrack. Very interesting. Thank you. :)

that was so clear so detailed so helpful , i thank you when i first read i thought what am i going to do ???? AGAIN THANK YOU

You fueled a interest in poetry I always meant to but never did. "while they sleep uneasy" Personally I have a crush on you. Your accent, your tidy beauty. Richard in Canada.

Thank you for this detailed analysis! Greetings from Sicily

Thanks! This is so helpful and detailed!

Thankyou so so much! I am currently re-taking my English AS level (which I originally got a B on and am aiming for an A) whilst also revising for A2 lit and don't have the teaching for AS and unfortunately and stupidly lost my notes from last year. So thankyou so much for these very helpful videos! :)

I love this poem. Thanks for sharing your insightful analysis! You're an excellent teacher. Is it just me or is there an allusion to Beethoven's famous fate motif in the line "For here he comes, the human child"? Whether deliberate or accidental, for me it certainly emphasises the inevitability of the child's seduction.

Do you believe he is writing about the Celtic Otherworld from ancient Irish Mythology?

Thank you! A very useful video, lots of useful information

Thank you Ms Dempster.

Thank you very much. It is truly helpful.

Excellent, thank you so much.

Fantastic! Do you review writing work for authors? Really love this! Well done!

amazing thank you so much for this help!

This was so so helpful but could you please give me some ideas on how Yeats criticises Ireland in this poem??

Actually really useful, thanks.

Nice!! Thanks for the Good work

please do more analysis's of Yeats' poem's!

Did anyone else hear the fairy bells in the background at the begining when she's speaking, or is there something wrong with the sound, interesting, but a bit strange

I really enjoyed this analysis. One thought in modern times, could the poem also be interpreted to be about addiction? There is enticement, there is a transition into another world that will inevitably lead to a loss of the creature comforts of a typical home. While I don't think this was the author's intent, I could see how one could argue this perspective.

Wonderful

could you please do all the selective poems! especially 'Leda and the swan' because many teachers believe that will come up

Good work....great detailed explanation From Pakistan 👍🇵🇰

thank you so much

beautiful poem and beautiful glencar on leitrim sligo border

Thanks, very helpful for AS Eng Lit!

Thank you mam.

Thankyou! :D

I love the way they talk ooo ..ooooo oooooo ---- Phoebe buffay

Why have uh not explained the third stanza in detail?

When is next vid :-)

Only around for a short celebration time!Celebrate WB Yeats 2015 with us. #yeats2015 teespring.com/150yearsyeats?#pid=2&cid=2397&sid=front

Very helpful but could you perhaps comment on how one could analyse the loss of innocence in this poem

The poem needs no analysis. It is what it is to each individual and stirs the emotions of everyone in a different way. Analysis and dissection of such a work as much as it is "normal" I always feel takes away from the magic that is conjured up from the imagination of the individual. The real beauty of such a work is what is stirred up from inside and from the emotion that is derived for each individual person in a way that is personal for them. Who can say that such analysis and opinions are correct from the educated and critical mob. Enjoy this work for what it is . Personally to me, this brings inner peace and the albeit non existent mystical sanctuary where all life's troubles are left behind. Perhaps this is a vision of life after death. Who can say? There are no right or wrong answers for what is inspired from the imagination.

Never lose the magic and mysticism of youth. I'm afraid one usually does. It can't survive in reality. Take the fairy's hand.

Do more do it

I have pondered for many years if I could ever fall in love again? Now I know.

There are actual historic-era criminal reports of native Irish families feeling defeated to the fate of their changeling, leaving their infants near sacred groves or springs hoping their true children would be returned. Some modern folklorists believe that changeling stories were cultural memories of native peoples who were driven into hiding by invaders. They suggest baby swapping had actually occurred - natives would exchange their own sickly children for the healthy children of the occupying invader to ensure survival. This was also a way occupying cultures further demonized the native cultures and justified occupation.

i wish you could do this over without the ear shattering racket in the background. I guess its birds or crickets. i don't know. in nature they are nice. but through a speak or earphones they are distracting and painful and damned impossible to tune out.

J

Playoffs! What Playoffs!!! You kidding me playoffs!! Playoffs!!

In case people are still active on this thread, I wanted to comment that as a ballad singer, this poem is terrible. The meter and rhyme just don't work between verses. I write about it here: www.folklounge.org/2018/02/the-stolen-rhyme/

You have no clue what the poem is about!?!?! Are you kidding me?!? The poem is about how beautiful the world is to a child and yet at the same time how sad and evil it is. It’s a warning to children despite how beautiful and like a fantasy a fairy 🧚‍♂️ tale the world is it’s is more full of sadness pain evil and weeping than you can understand. In the end the child is not taken away by the fairy’s the child no longer sees the world as a fairy tale so his innocence is lost. My god you are so off track?!?

You have misinterpreted this poem and have no understanding of mysticism, especially in an Irish context.

Whoa!..... too sterile and too methodical/analytical for such a beautiful poem... Mr Yeats had a love of Ireland and its mystical world of folklore and our ancient culture it's not about stanzas it's about the ancient beliefs of the ancient Irish people and how they believed in the power of the fairies and of their fears ...

She hasn't had children at that point. Watch them be tempted by the fairies that want to lead them away. If you could paraphrase Yeats like this, then he wouldn't have needed to write this poem. Ignore the analysis; read the poem and feel the loss, and the pull to the water and the wild. Remember it somehow in your soul. Yeats was a member of the Golden Dawn, and was a big advocate of automatic writing and ceremonial magic at times in his life. This poem is not some freak thing that is outside of that. It is totally within that scope, yet this analysis ignores all of that vision, as though we could decode it by robotics. Sorry, but no, we can't.

Love it... Thank you.