Although the speaker’s story is being told from the present day ordinary world, most of it takes place in their memories of fairyland — here referred to as “Faërie” (Line 6). It’s a setting which draws on a range of classic folklore and fantasy, including the works of Tolkien, Lord Dunsany, Charles De Lint, and others. This world, a place “beyond the valley of the sun” (Line 36), is characterized by its natural landscape and its playful savagery. It represents a wild and unrestrained place that acts as a foil to the more domestic and ordered world of humanity. In this way it can also be seen as a metaphor for the creative mind, or the darker aspects of the psyche which often remain buried.