Shakespeare introduces into his Midsummer Night’s Dream the prevailing opinions respecting Fairies in England, but they are almost identical with those entertained by the people of Wales; so much so are they British in character, that it is no great stretch of the imagination to suppose that he must have derived much of his information from an inhabitant of Wales. However, in one particular, the poet’s description of the Fairies differs from the more early opinion of them in Wales. Shakespeare’s Fairies are, to a degree, diminutive; they are not so small in Wales. But as to their habits in both countries they had much in common. I will briefly allude to similarities between English and Welsh Fairies, confining my remarks to Fairy music and dancing.
To begin, both danced in rings. A Fairy says to Puck:—
And I serve the Fairy Queen
To dew her orbs upon the green.Midsummer Night’s Dream, Act II., S I.
And allusion is made in the same play to these circles in these words:—
If you will patiently dance in our round
And see our moonlight revels, go with us.Act II., S. I.
Then again Welsh and English Fairies frequented like spots to hold their revels on. I quote from the same play:—
And now they never meet in grove or green,
By fountain clear, or spangled starlight sheen.Act II., S. I.
And again:—
And never since the middle summer’s spring
Met we on hill, in dale, forest, or mead
By paved fountain or by rushy brook
Or by the beached margent of the sea,
To dance our ringlets to the whistling wind.Act II., S. I
And further the Fairies in both countries meet at night, and hold their Balls throughout the hours of darkness, and separate in early morn. Thus Puck addressing Oberon:—