Editing Pixie (section)

=== Literary interpretations ===
Many Victorian-era poets saw pixies as magical beings. An example is [[Samuel Minturn Peck]]. In his poem, "The Pixies", he writes:<ref>''Ballads and Rondeaus,'' 1881, page 47.</ref>

:'Tis said their forms are tiny, yet
::All human ills they can subdue,
:Or with a wand or amulet
::Can win a maiden’s heart for you;
:And many a blessing know to stew
::To make to wedlock bright;
:Give honour to the dainty crew,
::The Pixies are abroad tonight.

The late 19th-century English poet [[Nora Chesson]] summarised pixie mythology in a poem entitled "The Pixies".<ref>Nora Chesson: ''Aquamarines'', London, 1902, page 81.</ref> She gathered all the speculations and myths into verse:
{| style="margin:1em auto;"
!
Have e’er you seen the Pixies, the fold not blest or banned?

They walk upon the waters; they sail upon the land,

They make the green grass greener where’er their footsteps fall,

The wildest hind in the forest comes at their call.

They steal from bolted linneys, they milk the key at grass,

The maids are kissed a-milking, and no one hears them pass.

They flit from byre to stable and ride unbroken foals,

They seek out human lovers to win them souls.
!
The Pixies know no sorrow, the Pixies feel no fear,

They take no care for harvest or seedtime of the year;

Age lays no finger on them, the reaper time goes by

The Pixies, they who change not, nor grow old or die.

The Pixies though they love us, behold us pass away,

And are not sad for flowers they gathered yesterday,

To-day has crimson foxglove.

If purple hose-in-hose withered last night

To-morrow will have its rose.
|}
Pixies are "in-between", not cursed by God or especially blessed. They do the unexpected, they bless the land, and are forest creatures whom other wild creatures find alluring and non-threatening. They love humans, taking some for mates, and are nearly ageless. They are winged, flitting from place to place.{{Citation needed|date=July 2023|reason=Possible original research statement}}

The [[Pixie Day]] tradition in [[Samuel Taylor Coleridge]]'s hometown of [[Ottery St Mary]] in [[East Devon]] was the inspiration for his poem "[[Songs of the Pixies]]".<ref>Shed (editor): ''Complete Works of Samuel Taylor Coleridge,'' Vol. 7, 1854, page 24.</ref>

The Victorian-era writer [[Mary Elizabeth Whitcombe]] divided pixies into tribes according to personality and deeds.<ref>''Bygone Days of Devon and Cornwall,'' 1874, page 45.</ref> The novelist [[Anna Eliza Bray]] suggested that pixies and fairies were distinct species.<ref>''Legends, Superstitions and Sketches of Devonshire,'' 1844, page 169.</ref>