Come Unto These Yellow Sands
In honour of the 400th anniversary or Shakespeare's death, the VV offers this painting by Richard Dadd.
Come Unto These Yellow Sands, inspired by Shakespeare's poem Fairy Land iii, was produced during the artist's confinement in Broadway, the hospital for criminally insane.
COME unto these yellow sands,
And then take hands:
Court'sied when you have, and kiss'd,-
The wild waves whist,-
Foot it featly here and there:
And, sweet sprites, the burthen bear.
Hark,hark!
Bow, wow,
The watch-dogs bark:
Bow,wow.
Hark, hark! I hear
The strain of strutting chanticleer
Cry, Cock-a-diddle-dow!
Come Unto These Yellow Sands is also the name of a BBC radio play written by Angela Carter and based on the life of Richard Dadd. The VV has only been able to source this very short extract from the play - but there is always the future hope that it might be aired again one day.