By Tristen Geesey
Fairies are real!
Well in present day this concept does not get very far but if you were living back in Elizabeth England then you would think this true. While digging up some research we have Minor White Latham who discussed fairies back in 16th century. In her findings she came across, “Joseph Ritson, in the first modern critical investigation and discussion of the fairies of England, found no difference between the fairies of Shakespeare and those of native tradition, but represented, as features characteristic of all English fairies…” (1). It turns out many writers and poets wrote about fairies but they were not made up. They stem from the beliefs people of the time already held. Yet Fairies are not what someone might imagine now as cute tiny humans with wings. A definition of fairies was written up by Dr. Johnson and he explained them as, “Fabled being supposed to appear in a diminutive Human form, and to dance in the meadows, and reward cleanliness in houses.” London, 1866 ed (Latham, 1). They are creatures of nature and nature in 16th century was already idealized. There is this magical joy that came from those who lived in the city and they liked to fantasies about life out in the rural areas.
“We are talking about “traditional fairies of rural belief, a race of English and Elizabethan spirits, indigenous to the country and the century from the fields and forests of England …” (Latham, 24). These fairies were the same size as any other human. Even in Shakespeare’s “A Midsummer Night Dream” the fairies were always portrayed as being regular sized. The idea of them being small didn’t come around till much later.
This widespread belief appears to be the same as those who believe in “Big Foot”. Never seen except by those who have these magical encounters. There were two strong concepts back in 16th century of what fairies were. First there is, “fairs as the souls of dead men” and the other is, “fairies were of a nature “middle between Heaven and Hell” and reigned in a third kingdom from both, was frequently held” (46, Latham). There is this great under tone of religion here that fairs ruled over middle Earth which also shows itself in many other writing of the time and plays. If you were able to encounter a fairy it was believed, “mortals made witches by fairies who appeared to them and invested them with their power” (Latham, 29). They were hard to classify as some claimed to see them as ghosts but others thought them living breathing trouble makers. In “A Midsummer’s Night Dream” we have Oberon and Puck who perform all of the tricks in the play. They are mischievous but not evil. They were also seen as very beautiful and even though people in 16th century were afraid if they came in contact the beauty of them made humans unable to run away.
In another article written by Farah Karim-Cooper it was also believed, “The attribution of infant abduction to fairies was a commonplace in medieval and Elizabethan fairy mythology. The changeling child was sometimes substituted for a newborn baby who had not been looked after properly: as a punishment to the neglectful parents, fairies would leave behind a child who was deformed”. This is seen in “A Midsummer’s Night Dream” as the Fairy Queen has her own changeling which is what makes Oberon jealous. Fairies helps keep humans in line by punishing them for their bad behaviors. Yet as Latham showed fairies as being more mischievous and playful Cooper shows the other side. Cooper claims, “…fairies had traditionally been linked with crime, sexual indiscretion and even violence. Shakespeare, who seems also to have been the first to miniaturise them, deliberately refashioned fairies to deliver them from their traditionally sinister associations”. So even though fairies came from real folklore Shakespeare decided to take them and shine a more graceful light. The reason for this shift is because, “…a desire to join the chorus of voices in praise of Queen Elizabeth I, who is frequently identified as Titania…” (Cooper). So depending on the age you were in 16th century you either believed fairies to be evil or you were part of the new wave which started to idealize them.
Overall, Fairies were not a new concept when Shakespeare wrote his plays. The myth was already living strong but people’s attitude towards them became less fearful of their evil ways and starting rejoicing in the comic trouble they created.
Work Cited
Bettmann, A fairy scene from Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Act II, Scene I. January 01, 1900
Cooper-Karim-, Farah. “Fairies Re-Fashioned in A Midsummer Night’s Dream.” The British Library, The British Library, 11 Dec. 2015. <www.bl.uk/shakespeare/articles/fairies-re- fashioned-in-a-midsummer-nights- dream>
Landseer Edwin , Scene from A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Titania and Bottom (1848)
Latham, Minor White. The Elizabethan fairies: the fairies of folklore and the fairies of Shakespeare. No. 9. Columbia University Press, 1930. <https://digital.case.edu/downloads/8337p3633>
Shakespeare Comes Alive! 