Lake Isle of Innisfree

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The Lake Isle of Innisfree

By W.B Yeats

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About the Poet

•Irish poet and Nobel Laureate (1923)

• One of the greatest poets of the 20th century

• Strong influence of Irish landscape and folklore

• Themes: nature, peace, spirituality, identity

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Background of the Poem

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• Written in 1888

• Inspired by Yeats’s longing for peace while living in London

• Innisfree is a real island in Lough Gill, Ireland

• Poem reflects escape from urban life to nature

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I will arise and go now, and go to Innisfree,

And a small cabin build there, of clay and wattles made;

Nine bean-rows will I have there, a hive for the honey-bee,

And live alone in the bee-loud glade.

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•• Poet expresses his determination to go to Innisfree

• Imagines a simple life close to nature

• Symbol of self-sufficiency and harmony

• Tone: hopeful and determined

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And I shall have some peace there, for peace comes dropping slow,

Dropping from the veils of the morning to where the cricket sings;

There midnight’s all a glimmer, and noon a purple glow,

And evening full of the linnet’s wings.

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• Focus on peace and tranquility

• Nature depicted through time (morning, noon, midnight)

• Peace described as slow and gentle

• Calm atmosphere dominates the stanza

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I will arise and go now, for always night and day

I hear lake water lapping with low sounds by the shore;

While I stand on the roadway, or on the pavements grey,

I hear it in the deep heart’s core.

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•Poet hears nature’s call even in the city

• Shows deep emotional and spiritual connection

• Innisfree exists in the poet’s heart and mind

• Tone: reflective and longing

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IMAGERY

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• Visual imagery: purple glow, glimmering midnight

• Auditory imagery: bee-loud glade, lake water lapping

• Sensory images create a peaceful setting

• Helps readers visualize the poet’s dream

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SOUND DEVICES

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• Alliteration: bee-loud glade, lake water lapping

• Assonance: deep heart’s core

• Onomatopoeia: lapping

• Creates musical and soothing effect

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FIGURATIVE LANGUAGE

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•Metaphor: peace comes dropping slow

• Personification: lake water lapping

• Symbolism: Innisfree represents peace and simplicity

• The city symbolises stress and materialism

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REPETITION AND STRUCTURE

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•Repetition of 'I will arise and go now'

• Shows strong desire and resolve

• Three quatrains with ABAB rhyme scheme

• Smooth rhythm reflects calmness

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TONE AND MOOD

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• Tone: calm, reflective, nostalgic

• Mood: peaceful and meditative

• Reader feels poet’s longing for nature

• Emotional appeal is strong