Classic and Contemporary Poetry: Explained

"The Washer of the Ford" by Sir Samuel Ferguson is a striking narrative poem filled with elements of Irish mythology and Celtic folklore. It tells the story of a spectral figure, a horrifying woman, who is seen washing a pile of severed heads and limbs in the ford of a river near a royal town. The soldiers who witness this grisly sight are filled with terror and wonder.

The woman is described as being of a size larger than human, with disheveled hair, her appearance blood-stained, and her actions frantic and destructive. She stands knee-deep in the water, handling the remnants of violence with a kind of pernicious diligence.

This figure, often called the Bean Nighe or the Washer at the Ford, is a well-known figure in Celtic mythology, said to be an omen of death. She is seen washing the bloody clothes of those who are about to die. Here, she claims her lineage from the Tuatha de Danaan, a supernatural race in Irish mythology.

When the warrior Kelloch attempts to approach her, his companions shrink back in fear. Instead, Congal, another warrior, steps forward to question her. When he asks who she is and why she is doing this horrifying task, she reveals herself as the Washer of the Ford and ominously predicts Congal's death by showing him what appears to be his own severed head.

This poem is a powerful evocation of the gruesome foreboding associated with the Washer at the Ford in Celtic folklore. The poem ends with the woman disappearing, leaving only the running water behind, a stark reminder of the mortality and impending doom that she signifies.