Aisling
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The aisling (Irish for 'dream', pronounced [ˈaʃlʲənʲ]), or vision poem, is a poetic genre that developed during the late 17th and 18th centuries in Irish language poetry. The word may have a number of variations in pronunciation, however, the first syllable always includes a "sh" sound due to the rules of Gaelic.
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In an aisling, the island of Ireland appears to the poet in a vision in the form of a woman, sometimes young and beautiful, sometimes old and haggard. This female figure is generally referred to in the poems as a Spéirbhean (sky-woman; pronounced 'spare van'). She laments the current state of the Irish people and predicts an imminent revival of their fortunes, usually linked to the return of a Stuart pretender to the English throne.
The form developed out of an earlier, non-political genre which was essentially an Irish form of the French reverdie, in which the poet meets a beautiful, supernatural woman who symbolises the spring season, the bounty of nature, and love.
The first and greatest of the aisling poets was Aodhagán Ó Rathaille, "athair an aisling" (i.e. father of the aisling). In his hands, the aisling is a powerful mode of political writing. In the 18th century, the form became something of an empty formula and became the target of jokes.
Probably the most famous example of aisling poetry is Róisín Dubh.
[edit] Satire
The Scottish Jacobite poet Alasdair MacMhaighstir Alasdair poked fun at the aisling genre in his Anti-Campbell polemic "An Airce". Towards the end of the 18th century, Munster poet Brian Merriman also parodied the aisling form in his comic masterpiece "Cúirt An Mheán Óiche".
[edit] Other uses
- LÉ Aisling (P23) is a ship in the Irish Naval service.
- Shane MacGowan and the Popes have a song on their album The Snake entitled "Aisling"
- "Aisling" is a poem by Seamus Heaney from the collection NORTH (1975).
- The acclaimed Irish author Ciaran Carson has said that much of his literature is based around the idea of the aisling, or, dream vision.
[edit] See also
- Aisling (given name) - includes a list of people with this name
