The version of this poem used to create this study guide appears in: Yeats, William Butler. “The Stolen Child.” https://poets.org/poem/stolen-child.

Note that parenthetical citations within the guide refer to the lines of the poem from which the quotations are taken.

“The Stolen Child” is a 53-line poem that resembles ballad meter, written by Irish poet William Butler Yeats. Inspired by the fairies of Irish legend, the poem considers the loss of a human child to the temptations of the fairy world. With its musical sensibilities, it provides both a demonstration of the literary possibilities inherent in Irish culture and a conception of death inspired by magic and mysticism. Yeats began writing during a time of heightened nationalist fervor as Ireland sought to break away from English rule. Poems like “The Stolen Child” bucked the dominant literary trend of late-19th century Ireland that continued to seek inspiration in English history and folklore, thereby ushering in a new era of Irish letters. In addition to Irish nationalism, Yeats’s other chief interest at the time of the poem’s composition in the 1880s lay with the occult. He debated questions about the nature of the soul and life after death in the Dublin Hermetic Society and would soon join the Order of the Golden Dawn, a mystical cult. “The Stolen Child” is considered an important example of Yeats’s early work for its weaving together of these two strands of the poet’s passions. Holding a Nobel Prize in literature, Yeats is considered one of the greatest writers of the 20th century. “The Stolen Child” provides a window into the themes that powered his artistic and intellectual curiosity throughout a long and successful career.

The poem begins with fairies describing an island hideaway in Ireland, before calling to a child to come away with them and escape the sorrows of the human world. The fairies depict nighttime scenes of dancing and gaiety before repeating their call to the child. They share some of the tricks they play on other creatures in the wild and then echo their invitation one final time. They subsequently reveal that the child is indeed going away with them and leaving behind the comforts of his human life.