The Hosting of the Sidhe
The Hosting of the Sidhe - meaning Summary
Otherworldly Host Summons Mortals
Yeats' poem depicts the Sidhe, an otherworldly host sweeping from ancient Irish hills and calling mortals to depart. The supernatural procession disrupts human life, coming between people and their actions or hopes and luring them away with urgency and beauty. The repeated names and imagery emphasize motion, loss of earthly grounding, and the seductive, dangerous pull of the fairy realm that separates listeners from ordinary fate.
Read Complete AnalysesThe host is riding from Knocknarea And over the grave of Clooth-na-Bare; Caoilte tossing his burning hair, And Niamh calling Away, come away: Empty your heart of its mortal dream. The winds awaken, the leaves whirl round, Our cheeks are pale, our hair is unbound, Our breasts are heaving our eyes are agleam, Our arms are waving our lips are apart; And if any gaze on our rushing band, We come between him and the deed of his hand, We come between him and the hope of his heart. The host is rushing 'twixt night and day, And where is there hope or deed as fair? Caoilte tossing his burning hair, And Niamh calling Away, come away.
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