The lake isle of innisfree

1. The Lake Isle of Innisfree
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Subject: English
Grade: IX
Topic: The Lake Isle of Innisfree
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The poem ‘The lake Isle of Innisfree’ was written by William Butler Yeats in 1888.
He, an Irish poet and dramatist did much to shape Irish literature in the twentieth
century.
Apart from his contribution to poetry and drama, he was one of the founders of
Abbey Theatre. He received the noble prize for Literature in 1923.
He also wrote the introduction to the English translation of Rabindranath Tagore’s
Gitanjali.
He claimed himself to be one of the last romantics; poets who wrote during the
Romantic Era and spoke about man’s alienation from nature and a need for man to
reconnect with nature and conserve it.
About the Author

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When Yeats was a child, his father had read to him from the book ‘Walden’ by
Henry David Thoreau, which was about simple living in natural surroundings.
Yeats described his inspiration for the poem by saying that while he was a
teenager; he wished to imitate Thoreau by living on Innisfree, an uninhabited
island in Ireland.
He suggests that when he was living in Sligo, Ireland he would walk down the
city street and long for the simplicity, charm, and serenity of the countryside.
The sound of a splashing fountain on a busy London street reminded Yeats of
the lake that he had previously seen, and inspired him to create the poem.
In the poem Yeats imagines going to a world of lake – water and natural
beauty, completely removed from the hustle and bustle of the city.
Background to the Poem

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First stanza
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.
In the first quatrain, the poet describes how he would live in
Innisfree.
The opening line suggests his determination to go there. This is
followed by his plan to be away from the restless life of the city and
lead a very calm and simple life all by himself.
He will make a small cottage of clay and sticks and grow his own
beans on a small piece of land in Innisfree.
He will have honey from his own hive.
The poet has a deep longing to lead life in the glade, listening to the
music of the bees.

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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.
Second stanza
In the second quatrain, the poet gives some glimpses of the life that
he expects to find in Innisfree.
In such a place, he will find peace. The pace of life will be slower and
Nature will take over.
He will thus breathe calmness in the morning and enjoy the brilliance
of the midnight.
The purple-coloured light of the noon as well as the flying birds in the
evening will he delightful experiences for him.
The magical qualities of day and night in Innisfree are the reasons
that he wants to go there.

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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.
Third stanza
In the third and the last quatrain, the poet reiterates the need to fulfill his
desire.
It is strengthened by his memories of the waves of the lake producing mild
music while striking against the shore.
His longing is further increased when he contrasts the life in cities with that
in the countryside.
Standing on the pavement or a roadway amidst traffic and crowds, he
yearns for the idyllic island and listens to the music of the waves deep in
his heart.
His desire to escape the urban life becomes an obsession in this quatrain
and Innisfree lurks in his heart as a symbol of peace and happiness.