Blog Entry 4

         William Allingham was born March 19th 1824 in Ireland, his parents were of English descent. His mother died when he was only nine years old, a few years later his father sent him off to boarding school which made Allingham unhappy. He returned when his father became ill and worked at a bank where his father was already manager. He published his first book on poetry when in 1850, which was not successful. Throughout his life he published over 15 books that were successful. He worked as an editor from 1874-1879. He married Helen Paterson in 1974 who was 24 years younger than him. He died at the age of 64 on November 18th 1889. The opening lines from Allingham's poem The Fairies (Up the airy mountain/Down the rushy glen/We daren't go a-hunting/For fear of little men...) was quoted by the character of The Tinker near the beginning of the movie Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory, as well as in Mike Mignola's comic book short story Hellboy: The Corpse, plus the 1973 horror film Don't Look in the Basement. Several lines of the poem are quoted by Henry Flyte, a character in issue #65 of the Supergirl comic book, August 2011. (Wikipedia) “The Fairies” was written in 1950 (answer.com)
            The “Fairies” written by William Allingham is about wee little men army (4-6).They are little men who stole a little girl named Bridget and kept her for seven years(29-30.) They let her go but she goes back to find all her friends are gone so they take her back. (31-33). She was so devastated and dead with sadness, but the l-ittele men thought she was just sleeping, so they kept her deep in the lake (35-38). They are also very protective of their belongings. They will make you sleep with the thorns from their thorn trees, if you dare to dig them up (43-48). “The Fairies” is a poem about evil little fairies. The title makes you think that the poem is going to be about cute little fairies that sprinkle magical pixie dust on things. In Irish folklore Fairies were happy and painted the colors on the flowers and they worked along the side of Mother Nature (Mary). It seems Allingham took the original fairies folklore and gave it a twist. He makes you fear the little men “Up the airy mountain, Down the rushy glen, we daren’t go a-hunting For fear of little men” (1-4). He uses dark colors when describing where they live “Of the black mountain lake” (14). He gives the feel of cold and darkness.
         "The Fairies" is about little men who take a little girl for their own and who are very protective of where they live and their stuff. The poem itself is already vivid enough that it is almost self-explanatory. Allingham described the Fairies so well and he made you simply made you feel from the start of the poem that these little men were not good little men. The poem is very dark and Allingham was very good in describing it, using words like “black”(14), “gray”(19), “cold starry nights”(26) “dead with sorrow”(36) He got straight to the point and let you know this poem was going to have twist from the Irish folklore that he probably grew up with. The fairies seem more evil when they take little Bridget and keep her for seven years (29-30). They thought she was sleeping but she was actually dead with sorrow (35-36) Because she tried to return home but because so many years had passed no one was there, almost as if everyone had forgotten her. When they took her back she was so distraught from losing everything that she was lifeless. They kept her deep within the lake, on a bed of flag-leaves, watching til she wakes (37-40). You can also tell the Fairies are evil by what they will do to anyone who digs up their thorn-trees. “They have planted thorn-trees For pleasure here and there. If any man so daring As dig them up in spite, He shall find their sharpest thorns In his bed at night”(43-47). The Fairies would seriously hurt anyone who dares to mess with them. They want to hurt you enough that you don’t do it again but also keep you alive so you can warn people of them.
        Lastly, “The Fairies” is a very dark and scary poem to imagine. Allingham paints vivid pictures with his words. He makes you feel empathy for Bridget when she is taken and makes you fear taking down their Thorn-trees because they might come after you. “Up the airy mountain, Down the rushy glen, We daren’t go a-hunting For fear of little men” (1-4)
Those first four lines say it all.

Jung Typology test

Here are my results on the Jung Typology test....  

Your Type is ENFJ

Extraverted	Intuitive	Feeling	Judging
Strength of the preferences %
56	38	38	56

ENFJ type description by D.Keirsey
ENFJ Identify Your Career with Jung Career Indicator™ ENFJ Famous Personalities
ENFJ type description by J. Butt and M.M. Heiss




Qualitative analysis of your type formula
You are:

• moderately expressed extravert
  
• moderately expressed intuitive personality
  
• moderately expressed feeling personality
  
• moderately expressed judging personality

Blog Entry 3: The Fairies by William Allingham

"The Fairies"

by: William Allingham (1824-1889)

P the airy mountain,

Down the rushy glen,

We daren't go a-hunting

For fear of little men;

Wee folk, good folk,

Trooping all together;

Green jacket, red cap,

And white owl's feather!

 

Down along the rocky shore

Some make their home,

They live on crispy pancakes

Of yellow tide-foam;

Some in the reeds

Of the black mountain lake,

With frogs for their watch-dogs,

All night awake.

High on the hill-top

The old King sits;

He is now so old and gray

He's nigh lost his wits.

With a bridge of white mist

Columbkill he crosses,

On his stately journeys

From Slieveleague to Rosses;

Or going up with music

On cold starry nights

To sup with the Queen

Of the gay Northern Lights.


They stole little Bridget

For seven years long;

When she came down again

Her friends were all gone.

They took her lightly back,

Between the night and morrow,

They thought that she was fast asleep,

But she was dead with sorrow.

They have kept her ever since

Deep within the lake,

On a bed of flag-leaves,

Watching till she wake.

 

By the craggy hill-side,

Through the mosses bare,

They have planted thorn-trees

For pleasure here and there.

If any man so daring

As dig them up in spite,

He shall find their sharpest thorns

In his bed at night.

          Up the airy mountain,
          Down the rushy glen,
          We daren't go a-hunting
          For fear of little men;
          Wee folk, good folk,
          Trooping all together;
          Green jacket, red cap,
          And white owl's feather!      




   "The Fairies" is a poem written by William Allingham. Allingham is an Irish poet. He published many books on poetry and "The Fairies" is one of his most famous ones. The poem seems simple, however, as I read it over a couple of times, it's actually more complex than it seems. I chose this poem because at first glance it seemed interesting and happy. I mean how dark could fairies be?

     In stanza 1 lines 3 and 4 it says "we daren't go a hunting for fear of little men;" it makes you fear the little people already and the poem just began. In stanza two he describes where the fairies live. He describes where they live as dark and airy like in stanza two line six he says "of the black mountain lake with frogs for their watch-dogs". it gives you a sense of how small these men really are. Obviously they are so small to even have a frog as a "watch-dog". In stanza 3 lines 1 through 4, he describes the king of the fairies as old. Stanza 3 line 3 he says "he is now so old and grey he nigh lost his wits" saying that he is not as on point as he used to be. In the same stanza lines 10 and 11, he says "On cold starry nights To sup with the Queen", you can almost picture the king and queen sitting together drinking in excess with evil, sinister grins. Stanza 4 is where it gets a little more darker, like in lines 1 and 2 "they stole little bridget for seven years long;". Also, in line 7 and 8 he says " they thought she was asleep but she was dead with sorrow". The words dead with sorrow have such a strong feeling to it. In stanza 5 lines 5 through 8 he makes it seem as though you better not mess with these little men "If any man so daring As dig them up in spite,

He shall find their sharpest thorns In his bed at night." He makes it seem like it's the Fairy Mafia. He paints a good picture with his words on how devious and mean these fairies are. Usually when you hear the word "Fairy" you think of cute little flying people like Tinkerbell.

     The poem itself is already vivid enough that you really don't have to think hard or look deep into the meaning. Allingham described the Fairies so well and simply made you feel from the start of the poem that they were not so good. He got to the point and let you know this poem was going to take a turn, like in stanza 1 line 1 and 2 he uses the words "airy" and "rushy" to describe the cold empty mountains where you would find the Fairies. Just by those two words you feel the darkness and mistiness of where they live. Again he uses the word "black" to also describe where the Fairies live in stanza 2 line 6. So the poet kept in theme with the darkness throughout the entire poem using these kind of words. Even describing the king he uses such words like old and grey like in stanza 3 lines 2 and 3. Then in stanza 4 you really feel the darkness of the poem when the fairies take bridget for seven years. Then it goes on to say that they took her lightly back and they thought she was sleeping but she was dead with sorrow. The key words here are asleep, dead, sorrow. If you can picture it in your mind you can vision bridget lying there lost, depressed almost grey as if she lost her soul. If this were a movie, to me this is where it would be tones of black and white. Then he goes on to say "They have kept her ever since Deep within the lake, On a bed of flag-leaves, Watching till she wake." its saying that they are hoping she comes back to life which to me is a little contradicting. Why would they want her awake if they are the ones who took her? Maybe they are not so bad, but then in stanza 5 it goes back to darkness. Like in lines 3 through 8 he talks about how the planted a thorn bush and if anyone takes it they will find the sharpest thorn in his bed. The word "sharpest" to me is the key word here. It's like they seriously want to hurt anyone who messes with them, like a punishment.

     Finally, this poem to me is all about dark evil fairies. The poet William Alingham painted an excellent picture with words to describe the fairies and the whole scenery. It was not difficult to understand them poem or what he was trying to explain because from the very first line to the last you understood these fairies were not to be messed with.

     




Try these links to find out more about William Allingham and his poetry.....Wikipedia

 

    

    

Blog Entry 2: "The Fairies"

"THE FAIRIES"

by: William Allingham (1824-1889)

P the airy mountain,

Down the rushy glen,

We daren't go a-hunting

For fear of little men;

Wee folk, good folk,

Trooping all together;

Green jacket, red cap,

And white owl's feather!

 

Down along the rocky shore

Some make their home,

They live on crispy pancakes

Of yellow tide-foam;

Some in the reeds

Of the black mountain lake,

With frogs for their watch-dogs,

All night awake.

 

High on the hill-top

The old King sits;

He is now so old and gray

He's nigh lost his wits.

With a bridge of white mist

Columbkill he crosses,

On his stately journeys

From Slieveleague to Rosses;

Or going up with music

On cold starry nights

To sup with the Queen

Of the gay Northern Lights.

 

They stole little Bridget

For seven years long;

When she came down again

Her friends were all gone.

They took her lightly back,

Between the night and morrow,

They thought that she was fast asleep,

But she was dead with sorrow.

They have kept her ever since

Deep within the lake,

On a bed of flag-leaves,

Watching till she wake.

 

By the craggy hill-side,

Through the mosses bare,

They have planted thorn-trees

For pleasure here and there.

If any man so daring

As dig them up in spite,

He shall find their sharpest thorns

In his bed at night.

 

Up the airy mountain,

Down the rushy glen,

We daren't go a-hunting

For fear of little men;

Wee folk, good folk,

Trooping all together;

Green jacket, red cap,

And white owl's feather!

William Allingham Was born March 19th 1824 in Ireland but his parents were of English descent. His mother died when he was only nine years old, a few years later his father sent him off to bording school which mad Allingham unhappy. He returned when his father became ill and worked at a bank where his father was already manager. He published his first book on poetry when in 1850, which was not successful. Throughout his life he published over 15 books that were successful. He worked as an editor from 1874-1879. He married helen Paterson in 1974 who was 24 years younger than him. He died at the age of 64 on november 18th 1889. His poem "The Fairies" was featured in a few modern movies, like "Willy Wonka and the Chocolate factory" and the horor film "Don't look in the basement".

Poem found on Poetry-Archive
for more information on William Allingham check out these sites that I found useful :)
wikipedia
Celt

 

Entry 1: Internet Research

       
        I thought a lot about what my first blog entry should be about. I am not into the supernatural all that much but I am obsessed with "Harry Potter". So I thought what would be better to write about than Witchcraft. I Googled "Witchcraft" and I found that the most helpful website was Wikipedia. They had an entire page on this topic along with an entire history on witchcraft and witches from the beginning and they even split it up according to different regions and religions. 
       There is more than one type of witchcraft practices. The lesser known is good magic. Good magic also known as white magic is associated with healing people or helping a community. Witches who practiced white magic were more commonly known as sorcerers, Wise Men, Blessers or Unbinding. They were used to give prophecies, and to help the community ward off evil spirits such as Vampires and the Devil. They would also help women become fertile. Although this type of witchcraft is considered good and helpful, there were lots of people, especially in the religious community, who thought otherwise.
       The more commonly known use for Witchcraft is for the dark side. Other practices of witchcraft are those who take over ones mind, or body and make them do things against their will. They also would cause illness and death. They were known to take away peoples personal belongings. Basically anything that could go wrong and did was due to witchcraft. In Medieval/Early Modern period, it has been said that Christians where in an apocalyptic battle against the devil who was known to have a secret army of witches.  The "Malleus Malefic arum" was a witch hunting manual. The book said that most witches were female and evil.
       I learned that not all witchcraft is used for cursing or harming people, it's also used for good. Whether you think witches used witchcraft for good or evil, for healing or to cause harm or help or destroy a community, it is still such a fascinating topic.




To get more in depth information about witchcraft click Here!
Picture credit goes to *Into the Darkness*
I hope you enjoyed my first entry =]