The dragon in the woods near Dublin 

Arthur Rackham made this illustration, “The Dragon in the Woods near Dublin,” during the late 19th and early 20th centuries, a period when ideas about national identity were in flux. Rackham was a leading figure in the golden age of British book illustration. His work tapped into a fascination with folklore and fairy tales. Rackham masterfully blends the sinister with the whimsical, inviting us into a world where the veil between reality and fantasy is thin. His illustrations were not mere decoration, they were an integral part of the storytelling experience. What does it mean to place a dragon near Dublin? Dragons, often symbols of chaos and untamed nature, are placed within a specific cultural geography. This juxtaposition invites questions about the perceived boundary between civilization and the wild, between the known and the unknown. This image resonates not just as a depiction of a mythical creature, but as an exploration of cultural identity and the enduring power of myth.