Aedh wishes for the Cloths of Heaven
Encyclopedia
"Aedh Wishes for the Cloths of Heaven" is a poem by William Butler Yeats
. It was published in 1899 in his third volume of poetry, The Wind Among the Reeds.
primitivism, Aedh is pale, lovelorn, and in the thrall of La belle dame sans merci. (The character 'Aedh' is replaced in volumes of Yeats's collected poetry by a more generic 'he.')
and 84 Charing Cross Road
. In Flagrante a photographic book by Chris Killip
opens with the poem. John Irving
uses the poem in the book A Widow for One Year
.
Enwrought with golden and silver light,
The blue and the dim and the dark cloths
Of night and light and the half light,
I would spread the cloths under your feet:
But I, being poor, have only my dreams;
I have spread my dreams under your feet;
Tread softly because you tread on my dreams.
A slightly modified version of the poem also appears on the 1991 album "Spin" by Dave Stewart and Barbara Gaskin
(Rykodisc RCD 20213 / MIDI Records(1991).
A setting of this poem is featured on Dancing In The Wind, a set of W.B. Yeats poems set to songs and harp music by Claire Roche
.
William Butler Yeats
William Butler Yeats was an Irish poet and playwright, and one of the foremost figures of 20th century literature. A pillar of both the Irish and British literary establishments, in his later years he served as an Irish Senator for two terms...
. It was published in 1899 in his third volume of poetry, The Wind Among the Reeds.
Commentary
The speaker of the poem is the character Aedh, who appears in Yeats's work alongside two other archetypal characters of the poet's myth: Michael Robartes and Red Hanrahan. The three are collectively known as the principles of the mind. Whereas Robartes is intellectually powerful and Hanrahan represents RomanticRomanticism
Romanticism was an artistic, literary and intellectual movement that originated in the second half of the 18th century in Europe, and gained strength in reaction to the Industrial Revolution...
primitivism, Aedh is pale, lovelorn, and in the thrall of La belle dame sans merci. (The character 'Aedh' is replaced in volumes of Yeats's collected poetry by a more generic 'he.')
Allusions
The poem was used in both the films EquilibriumEquilibrium (film)
Equilibrium is a 2002 American science fiction action film written and directed by Kurt Wimmer. It stars Christian Bale as John Preston, a warrior-priest and enforcement officer in a future dystopia where both feelings and artistic expression are outlawed and citizens take daily injections of drugs...
and 84 Charing Cross Road
84 Charing Cross Road (film)
84 Charing Cross Road is a 1987 British/American drama film directed by David Hugh Jones. The screenplay by Hugh Whitemore is based on a play by James Roose-Evans, which itself was an adaptation of the 1970 epistolary memoir of the same name by Helene Hanff, a compilation of letters between herself...
. In Flagrante a photographic book by Chris Killip
Chris Killip
Christopher David Killip was born in Douglas, Isle of Man and in 1964 moved to London where he worked as an assistant to the advertising photographer Adrian Flowers. He soon went freelance, but in 1969 stopped his commercial work to concentrate on the photography that he wanted to do. In 1969 he...
opens with the poem. John Irving
John Irving
John Winslow Irving is an American novelist and Academy Award-winning screenwriter.Irving achieved critical and popular acclaim after the international success of The World According to Garp in 1978...
uses the poem in the book A Widow for One Year
A Widow for One Year
A Widow for One Year is a 1998 bestselling work of fiction by John Irving, the ninth of his novels to be published.The first section of the novel was made into the movie The Door in the Floor in 2004.-First section:...
.
Text
Had I the heavens’ embroidered cloths,Enwrought with golden and silver light,
The blue and the dim and the dark cloths
Of night and light and the half light,
I would spread the cloths under your feet:
But I, being poor, have only my dreams;
I have spread my dreams under your feet;
Tread softly because you tread on my dreams.
Musical settings
The poem has been set to music by composer Z. Randall Stroope. SATB (45-21062) and TTBB (48-96760) arrangements are available from Colla Voce Music.A slightly modified version of the poem also appears on the 1991 album "Spin" by Dave Stewart and Barbara Gaskin
Barbara Gaskin
Barbara Gaskin is a British singer who, with her musical partner, the keyboardist Dave Stewart, formed a duo in 1981. In September of that year they had a number one single in the UK with a cover version of the song "It's My Party"...
(Rykodisc RCD 20213 / MIDI Records(1991).
A setting of this poem is featured on Dancing In The Wind, a set of W.B. Yeats poems set to songs and harp music by Claire Roche
Claire Roche
Claire Roche is a singer harpist based in Co. Dublin, Ireland. She plays the concert harp as well as the Irish harp. Roche has performed as an opening artist for The Chieftains and The Fureys and has performed at venues including The Florida Folk Festival in White Springs, Florida, and at Stephen...
.