ABSTRACT
Fairies have been celebrated in Western literature for more than a thousand years, but fairy wings are a relatively recent addition to fairy lore; it is difficult to document any fairy wings before the 18th century. The author traces the development of fairy wings in British literature, British art, and British paranormal experiences from the times of Shakespeare to the present. It is suggested that a key moment was the arrival of the sylph in Pope’s Rape of the Lock. Even a brief overview of fairy folklore shows that visual cues are particularly important in the development of the winged fairy.
