The End of Elfintown

In Short

When a malevolent witch casts a spell showing Elfin King Oberon a grand human city, he becomes deeply dissatisfied with woodland life and compels his subjects to construct a magnificent replica of stone and brick. Forsaking their traditional dances, the exhausted fairies labor day and night alongside enslaved insects to raise towers and palaces. Eventually, a magical mirror breaks the king’s delusion, leading the remorseful monarch to order the city’s destruction and guide his people into the sky on aerial chariots, leaving the earth forever.

The Story

Struck by a harmful spell cast by the Bad Brown Witch, Elfin King Oberon gazes into a magical crystal and beholds a wondrous, bustling human city filled with towers, temples, and streets. Captivated by this vision of wealth and architecture, he grows profoundly discontented with his natural woodland surroundings, finding fault with the glowworm-lamps, dewdrops, and wild blossoms that once brought him joy. Determined to replicate what he has seen, he rouses his reluctant subjects at dawn and chooses a bare earth-plot to lay the foundation stone of a magnificent new settlement.

Thus begins an era of relentless toil that banishes the traditional mazy dances and lighthearted leisure of the Fays. Day and night, the weary fairies labor to construct streets, causeways, and a grand palace featuring walls of fine-grained alabaster, moss-spun flooring, and spider-silk curtains. They even subjugate brutish creatures like beetles, slugs, and ants to haul heavy pebble-blocks and bear burdensome loads along dusty tracks. Despite their exhaustion, King Oberon continuously devises new projects, demanding ever-taller towers and wider street-rows, which drives his subjects to the brink of rebellion against his unyielding demands.

Wearied by their burdens and mourning their lost freedom, the Elfin folk assemble by night in a quiet clearing to voice their grievances. Speakers like Elfrain and Elfdore lament the bitter shift from joyous woodland ease to grinding bondage, questioning whether a spell has addled their monarch’s wits. Another wise Fay, Elfmel, reveals that the evil influence stems from the Bad Brown Witch and can only be counteracted by seeking the aid of the Good Gray Witch. Embarking on a perilous, solitary quest, Elfmel retrieves a magical mirror sent by the Good Gray Witch and arranges for it to be placed near Oberon’s resting place.

When morning breaks, the mirror’s spell shatters Oberon’s delusion. Rousing from his slumber, the king is filled with remorse as he gazes upon the cumbrous heaps of stone and mortar exacted through his frantic folly. Declaring that his madness has ended, he commands his subjects to tear down the entire city, leaving not a single stone upon another. Yet, he reveals a deeper, sorrowful prophecy granted by the vision: a future earth overrun by human toil, smoke, and industrial misery, unsuited for Faery life. Speaking a word of ancient might, Oberon summons luminous aerial chariots woven from cloud and rainbow strands. Abandoning their earthly homes for ever and ever, the invisible fairies rise together into the deep-zoned night, singing as they ascend toward a distant star.

How It Unfolds

The vision of stone A malicious spell cast by the Bad Brown Witch exposes King Oberon to a mirror-crystal vision of a sprawling, bustling human city. Captivated by this urban splendor, the monarch grows utterly dissatisfied with his natural woodland home and resolves to build an identical metropolis right in the forest.

The era of relentless toil Forsaking their traditional midnight dances and carefree leisure, the fairies labor day and night under harsh conditions to erect towering stone buildings and a magnificent alabaster palace. They even subjugate local insects, forcing beetles, slugs, and ants to haul heavy loads of pebbles and timber for their deeply ambitious construction projects.

The midnight council of dissent Exhausted and disheartened by their endless, backbreaking tasks, the Fays gather in secret beyond the unfinished town to voice their bitter complaints. Wise speakers debate the king’s strange obsession and conclude that a dark enchantment has warped his judgment, prompting them to seek outside help.

The mirror of awakening Elfmel undertakes a perilous quest to reach the Good Gray Witch and returns with a mystical mirror that successfully breaks Oberon’s fevered delusion overnight. Awakening with profound sorrow, the king surveys his creation and immediately commands his followers to tear the entire city down to the bare sod.

The ascent into the starry night After razing every structure to the bare earth, Oberon reveals a dark prophetic vision of humanity's future industrial ruin across the globe. Summoning magical aerial chariots made of cloud and rainbow mist, the invisible fairies leave the earth behind forever and ascend singing into the vast night sky.

The People

King Oberon stands as the central figure of the narrative, a once-joyful ruler whose mind is captured by a deceptive urban vision. He desires greatness and architectural wonder for his people, but his obsession blinds him to their suffering until a magical mirror shatters his delusion, leaving him deeply remorseful and resolute in abandoning the earth.

Elfrain is a prominent speaker among the Fays who uses his silvern tongue to voice the growing discontent during the secret assembly. He questions the strange freak of spiteful change that has turned free fairies into bondslaves and openly challenges the monarch's deviation from ancient laws.

Elfdore represents the gentler, more compassionate spirit of the community, whose heart aches not only for the exhausted Fays but also for the enslaved insects. He feels deep remorse at the thought of opposing his king, yet he cannot brook the ongoing misery and suffering inflicted upon both fairies and beasts of burden.

Elfmel emerges as the wisest and most resolute of the peers, possessing deep knowledge of mage-lore. He recognizes that mortal guile cannot cure the king and bravely undertakes a perilous, solitary journey to the Lonesome Lake to seek help from the Good Gray Witch. Through his resourcefulness, he brings back the mystical mirror that ultimately breaks the enchantment and restores Oberon's clarity.

In Its Own Voice

The poem opens by reflecting poignantly on the lost history of the woodland folk and why they ultimately vanished from the earth.

Yea, would that he, ere hence he sped, Had writ in gold, as I in lead, For men to learn why Fays be fled, And whitherward they wended.

The text vividly captures the exhausting shift from carefree fairy rings to grueling, unbroken physical labor under the king's ambitious eye.

Thus, sped by toil of serf and Fay, The work lagged nowise; day by day New mansions rose in rich array Beside the paven causey;

The concluding movement describes the ethereal, mysterious vessels that lift the heartbroken fairies away from a despoiled world into the starry sky.

Somewhat of cloud their frames consist, But more of meteor’s luminous mist, All girt with strands of seven-hued twist From rainbow’s verge unravelled.

What It's Really About

The poem explores the destructive allure of industrial progress and the tragic imposition of human values upon the natural world. By having the fairies mimic human civilization—building stone cities, establishing class structures, and subjugating creature-laborers—the narrative critiques the relentless pursuit of monumental achievement at the expense of peace, joy, and ecological harmony. Furthermore, it touches upon the corrupting nature of illusions and the heavy burden of visionary obsession. The ultimate retreat into the heavens suggests that authentic fairy existence cannot coexist with the mechanized, smoke-blurred future awaiting the earth, framing their departure not merely as an escape, but as an inevitable preservation of spirit against a world destined for toil and sorrow.

Why Read It Today

Readers who appreciate lush, atmospheric Victorian fairy poetry and melancholy mythological tales will find a hidden gem in this work. Reading it feels like stepping into an intricate, moss-covered miniature world where every leaf and beetle is rendered with striking tactile precision. Jane Barlow writes with an ornate, rhythmic lyrical style that beautifully evokes the sights and sounds of the English countryside, from dew-drenched rosebuds to lonely lakes.

However, modern readers should approach with patience. The poem employs dense archaic phrasing, specialized vocabulary, and a deliberate, expansive pacing that requires careful attention to fully appreciate. Some period attitudes toward labor and subjugation are woven directly into the fable through the plight of the animal workers, reflecting nineteenth-century preoccupations with industry and class. Despite these occasional linguistic hurdles, those who persevere will be rewarded with a haunting, deeply imaginative meditation on loss and escape. The lingering image of the Fays singing as they drift away into the starry void stays with you long after the final stanza is read, offering a bittersweet elegy for a vanished woodland magic.