Yeats 'The Stolen Chuld And' Cat's In The

"The Stolen Chuld" by William Bulter Yeats and "Cat's in the Cradle" by Harry Chapin both explore the concept of loss of childhood innocence. Yeats' peom tells the story of a fairy tempting a child to escape the "weeping" of his human world while Chapin's song recounts the experience of distant relationship between father and son. Although both pieces share important similarities, one striking distinction stricks out, the song shows a more tragic tone that paints a picture of life while Yeats' peom talks more fairytale.

Both pieces explore the concept of loneliness and loss of childhood. Yeats' states, "Come away, O human Child! To the water and the wild with a faery, hand in hand, For the world's more full of weeping than you can understand." Chapin sings,"When you comin' home dad?" I don't know when, But we'all get together then, You know we'll have a good time then." Yeats' uses the repetition of the line "For the world's more full of weeping than you can understand" connects with Chapin's idea of the carelessness of the relationship between father and son, that cause a huge impact in the child's childhood of ruining it.

For example, both children get their childhood taken away by others. Yeats states,"For he comes, the human child,To the water and the wild with a faery hand in hand, From a world more full of weeping than he can understand." Chapin states, "My son turned ten just the other day. He said, Thanks for the ball, dad, come on let's play. Can you teach me to throw?" I said,"Not today, I got a lot to do." Yeats' and Chapin's ideas connect because the child was lure into with the faery since they do not want the child to suffer. In the other hand, in the song, it shows how a father does not have time to be with his son at the moment due to being busy. The father has no time to spend with his