The Celtic Twilight
William Butler Yeats
Read by LibriVox Volunteers
I have desired, like every artist, to create a little world out of the beautiful, pleasant, and significant things of this marred and clumsy world, and to show in a vision something of the face of Ireland to any of my own people who would look where I bid them. I have therefore written down accurately and candidly much that I have heard and seen, and, except by way of commentary, nothing that I have merely imagined.
Many of the tales in this book were told me by one Paddy Flynn, a little bright-eyed old man, who lived in a leaky and one-roomed cabin in the village of Ballisodare. He was a great teller of tales, and unlike our common romancers, knew how to empty heaven, hell, and purgatory, faeryland and earth, to people his stories. He did not live in a shrunken world, but knew of no less ample circumstance than did Homer himself. Perhaps the Gaelic people shall by his like bring back again the ancient simplicity and amplitude of imagination.
Let us go forth, the tellers of tales, and seize whatever prey the heart long for, and have no fear. Everything exists, everything is true, and the earth is only a little dust under our feet. (W. B. Yeats) (4 hr 10 min)
Chapters
Epigraph, The Hosting of the Sidhe | 2:11 | Read by Shakira Searle |
This book | 2:38 | Read by Arie |
A Teller of Tales | 4:16 | Read by Arie |
Belief and Unbelief | 3:31 | Read by Arie |
Mortal Help | 2:31 | Read by Arie |
A Visionary | 7:37 | Read by Arie |
Village Ghosts | 12:41 | Read by Arie |
'Dust Hath closed Helen's Eye' | 15:18 | Read by Arie |
A Knight of the Sheep | 5:44 | Read by Arie |
An Enduring Heart | 4:52 | Read by Arie |
The Sorcerers | 7:47 | Read by Arie |
The Devil | 1:35 | Read by russellhughes |
Happy and Unhappy Theologians | 8:00 | Read by Jordan Heron |
The Last Gleeman | 14:02 | Read by John O'Riordan |
Regina, Regina Pigmeorum, Veni | 6:50 | Read by John O'Riordan |
'And Fair, Fierce Women' | 4:22 | Read by Luna Pierson |
Enchanted Woods | 8:15 | Read by Luna Pierson |
Miraculous Creatures | 2:38 | Read by KHand |
Aristotle of the Books | 1:32 | Read by russellhughes |
The Swine of the Gods | 1:54 | Read by Tim Rainey |
A Voice | 3:27 | Read by Anusha Iyer |
Kidnappers | 13:27 | Read by John O'Riordan |
The Untiring Ones | 5:32 | Read by John O'Riordan |
Earth, Fire and Water | 2:12 | Read by Robert Dixon |
The Old Town | 3:58 | Read by John Van Stan |
The Man and his Boots | 2:34 | Read by John Van Stan |
A Coward | 3:15 | Read by Simon Smoke |
The Three O'Byrnes and the Evil Faeries | 3:43 | Read by Kathy Wright |
Drumcliff and Rosses | 16:59 | Read by JamesMcAndrew |
The Thick Skull of the Fortunate | 3:58 | Read by Simon Smoke |
The Religion of a Sailor | 2:32 | Read by Glenn O'Brien |
Concerning the nearness together of Heaven, Earth, and Purgatory | 2:21 | Read by MaryAnne |
The Eaters of Precious Stones | 2:30 | Read by MaryAnne |
Our Lady of the Hills | 4:31 | Read by ImkeStevens |
The Golden Age | 3:10 | Read by MaryAnne |
A Remonstrance with Scotsmen for having soured the Disposition of their Ghosts … | 7:36 | Read by MaryAnne |
War | 3:31 | Read by MaryAnne |
The Queen and the Fool | 8:44 | Read by ImkeStevens |
The Friends of the People of Faery | 12:32 | Read by Max Wainer |
Dreams that have no Moral | 20:43 | Read by MaryAnn |
By the Roadside | 3:32 | Read by Erin B. Lillis |
Into the Twilight | 1:46 | Read by Shakira Searle |
Reviews
Yeats had GREATNESS!
Bluealways
These are important, so only a small part of his oeuvre. Yet, being part of greatness, they are polished and superb. These reach far beyond children's stories, or common fairy tales. Ireland has a past so wonderful. It awes one.
Excellent stories
Brightsmith1
So many wonderful voices telling tales We love to hear these Irish & Scottish folk stories of the Noble folk thier land and ways beautifully encasdd between the tireless rytham of Yates Words thans to all the readers and Librivox staff
wonderful book
adam
I realized I've read this before once I started the recording. Sounds like it's. Lear and good quality and this is a charming, wonderful book worth enjoying.
Surpassed by its successors
Timothy Ferguson
I wanted to like this recording, and so far as it goes, it’s fine. The problem, I suppose is that Yeats was one of the founders of his discipline, and so later people, building on his work, have eclipsed him. It is an interesting read if you are fascinated by folklore, but more modern folklorists have done far better work since.