Visions and Beliefs in the West of Ireland [Hardcover]

W. B. Yeats (Author), Lady Gregory (Author, Compiler)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 1976 | ISBN-10: 077051412X | ISBN-13: 978-0770514129 | Edition: 2

The Sidhe cannot make themselves visible to all. They are shape-changers; they can grow small or grow large, they can take what shape they choose; they appear as men or women wearing clothes of many colours, of today or of some old forgotten fashion, or they are seen as bird or beast, or as a barrel or a flock of wool. They go by us in a cloud of dust; they are as many as the blades of grass. They are everywhere; their home is in the forths, the lisses, the ancient round grass-grown mounds. There are thorn-bushes they gather near and protect; if they have a mind for a house like our own they will build it up in a moment. They will remake a stone castle, battered by Cromwell's men if it takes their fancy, filling it with noise and lights. Their own country is Tir-nan-Og--the Country of the Young. It is under the ground or under the sea, or it may not be far from any of us. As to their food, they will use common things left for them on the hearth or outside the threshold, cold potatoes it may be, or a cup of water or of milk. But for their feasts they choose the best of all sorts, taking it from the solid world, leaving some worthless likeness in its place; when they rob the potatoes from the ridges the diggers find but rottenness and decay, they take the strength from the meat in the pot, so that when put on the plates it does not nourish. They will not touch salt; there is danger to them in it. They will go to good cellars to bring away the wine...

--This text refers to the Kindle Edition edition.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

About the Author:

"Lady Gregory... nee Isabella Augusta Persse, was an Irish dramatist and folklorist. With William Butler Yeats and others, she co-founded the Irish Literary Theatre and the Abbey Theatre, and wrote numerous short works for both companies. She also produced a number of books of retellings of stories from Irish mythology. Born into a class that identified closely with British rule, her conversion to cultural nationalism, as evidenced in these writings, was emblematic of many of the changes to occur in Ireland during her lifetime.

Lady Gregory is mainly remembered for her work behind Irish Literary Revival. Her home at Coole Park, County Galway served as an important meeting place for leading Revival figures, and her early work as a member of the board of the Abbey was at least as important for the theatre's development as her creative writings. Her motto, taken from Aristotle, was 'To think like a wise man, but to express oneself like the common people.'" (Quote from wikipedia.org) --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 365 pages
• Publisher: Canada Pub Corp; 2 edition (June 1976)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 077051412X
• ISBN-13: 978-0770514129
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #10,233,932 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

19 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars "All Around Us, As Thick As The Grass", May 12, 2000

By 

J. E. Barnes - See all my reviews

This review is from: Visions & Beliefs in the West of Ireland (Paperback)

A rustic, wonderfully no-frills collection of anecdotes and 'stories-heard' concerning fairy beliefs and fairy doings gathered at the turn of the 20th Century by Lady Augusta Gregory (with the assistance of William Butler Yeats), Visions & Beliefs In The West Of Ireland (1920) will appeal directly to students of folklore, fairylore, anthropology, psychology, and religion. It will also be of interest to the casual reader, who may be surprised to learn how prevalent the belief in fairies was in rural areas of the British Isles, and how seriously this belief was taken; and not two or three hundred years ago, but a hundred years ago. Though far less common today, the fairy faith still thrives throughout the world, as several articles in the New York Times and the Wall Street Journal recently made clear.

Charming and colorful without being in the least sentimental, Visions & Beliefs In The West of Ireland is required reading for anyone seriously interested in the supernatural or Irish cultural history. The fairies described here vary in appearance, but in most cases are more akin to the image of the Christian angel than to the 'flower fairy' or garden gnome of modern popular imagination. Never winged, only sometimes small or short, and often the size of an average man or larger, the beings observed in these recountings (or perceived but unseen "all around us, as thick as the grass," as one man says) steal milk, kidnap babies, haunt roads, wells, and shorelines, prefer human women to act as midwives for their newborns, and require human participation to play their games and fight their wars.

Who or what is the Fool of the Fort? Why May and June are the most dangerous months of the year? How does one free one's self from enchantment if pixie-led? What happens on May Day's Eve? How does one recognize a fairy doctor? Are babies perceived as changelings in fact sick or deformed children? This volume addresses these questions and a hundred more.

As a vision-based collection of folklore, and of fact as the rural people perceived it, this book deserves the highest praise for its purity of style, method, and intention. The more imagination the reader has, the more the book, with its incredible descriptions, will expand in mind and memory.