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The Irish hero Cuchulainn has been the subject of a number of psychoanalytic studies.1 My intention here is to provide a psychoanalytic note to illuminate a curiosity in a verse in one of W.B. Yeats' poems, “Cuchulainn's Fight with the Sea,” which treats Cuchulainn's fight with his son and the death of the son at his father's hands.2
Before discussing the modern poem, it is necessary to present a short account of Cuchulainn's story as it is found in the relevant sources, since Yeats' version differs in some respects from the traditional tales. This will be no more than an outline of the story, with details relevant to the analysis presented in the course of the paper.
There are three versions of the birth of Cuchulainn. In the first, he is said to be the son of Lug, the god of the sun, and Princess Dechtire, the sister of Conchobhar, the King of the Red Branch Knights of Ulster.3 A second legend about his birth casts him as the offspring of an incestuous union between Conchobhar and his sister.4 The third story of the hero's parentage, which calls him the son of a minor chief called Sualtaim, has been discounted by Kuno Meyer.5
As a boy, Cuchulainn was known by the name Setanta. A significant event which does not concern us here led to the changing of his name to Cuchulainn. Renamed, Cuchulainn was sent to the Amazon Scathach to learn feats of arms from her. There he met Scathach's rival, an Amazon queen named Aife, whom he overcame in battle. Aife, thrown on the ground and facing the hero's sword, pleaded with him:
‘Life for life, O'Cuchulainn!’ said Aife. ‘Thou shalt have them as thou breathest them’ she said. ‘These are my
Page 315three demands.’ he said, ‘that thou give hostage to Scathach, nor ever afterwards oppose her, that thou remain with me this night before thy dun, and that thou bear me a son.’ ‘I promise all this to thee,’ said she. And in this wise it was done. Cuchulainn went with Aife and remained with her that night. Then Aife said she was with child, and tha