THE LAKE ISLE OF INNISFREEBy: William Butler Yeats

Proudly Present To You By:Hidayah & Nabihah

THE LAKE ISLE OF INNISFREE

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.

And I shall have some peace there, for peace comesdropping slow,Dropping from the veils of the morning to where the

cricketsings;There midnight's all a glimmer, and noon a purple glow,And evening full of the linnet's wings.

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.

OVERVIEW

The poem is about a person’s desire and imagination to leave the city and go to a peaceful place in the country.

He wants to escape the harshness of modern living. The persona wants to go to a small island in the

middle of a lake. It is called the Lake Isle of Innisfree.

The persona wants to live by himself in a peaceful place and he wishes to be close to nature.

The poem is about enjoying the beauty of nature and enjoying the peace the countryside can give us.

THE PARAPHRASE

STANZA 1

I will arise and go now, and go to Innisfree,The persona will get up and go to Innisfree.

And a small cabin build there, There will be a small house build near the lake on the island.

of clay and wattles made,The house is made of clay and wattles.

Nine bean-rows will I have there,

There are nine rows of bean plants near the house.

a hive for the honey-bee;

And a home for honey bees in the persona’s garden.

And live alone in the bee-loud glade.

He wants to live alone in the small house which is located in an open area where he can only hear the sound of the bees  buzzing.

STANZA 2

And I shall have some peace there, for peace comes dropping slow,The persona will have some peace in Innisfree. The persona  can feel the peacefulness relaxingly.

Dropping from the veils of the morning The peacefulness starts when the morning is filled with mist.

to where the cricket sings;And the persona can hear the crickets chirping in the morning.

There midnight's all a glimmer,At midnight, the sky shines from the moonlight and the stars.  The persona can see a glimmer of light on the far shore.

and noon a purple glow,The persona can feel the peacefulness in the afternoon when  the sun shines brightly. The shines from the sun looks purple.

And evening full of the linnet's wings.The persona can also feel the peacefulness in the evening  where he can hear the sound of birds.

STANZA 3

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

The persona will get up and go to Innisfree. He will stay there  for days and nights.

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

The persona hears the sound of the lake water lapping by the  shore.

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

Whenever the persona stands on the road in the city where he lives.

I hear it in the deep heart's core.

The persona will think strongly about Innisfree.

SUBJECT

The subject of the poem is the beautiful Lake Isle of Innisfree.

The place is a sanctuary where one can escape from the hustle and bustle of city life.

Ev: ‘And I shall have some peace there, for peace comes dropping slow,’ (Line 4)

THEMES

Nature brings peace and harmony to Man. Nature provides Man with lovely sights and

sounds which pleases him and enables him to live a peaceful, stress-free life.

Man should live close to nature. The poet himself wants to escape to this

peaceful and beautiful place and build his dream home there.

TONE Calm and relaxing tone. The reader may picture a person physically

arising and leaving to this place, Innisfree. However, instead of physically going to this

place, the narrator is going there with his mind.

The place is completely imagined in his head.

It helps him to relax and escape the rush of modern living. 

MORAL VALUES We must appreciate nature as it has many

benefits to offer us. We must learn to be close to nature and

enjoy its beauty. We must take time to be in places where we

are able to find peace and quiet to make our lives less stressful, harmonious and very meaningful.

We should be proud of the natural heritage and preserve nature.

FIGURATIVE LANGUAGE

Imagery of sight Ev: a small cabin, bean-rows, cricket,

purple, linnet's wings, lake water, shore, roadway, pavements

Imagery of hearing Ev: bee-loud glade, cricket sings, linnet's

wings, water lapping, hear it in the deep heart's core

Imagery of taste Ev: honey

Imagery of touch Ev: clay, wattles, veils of the morning

Repetition / Anaphora Ev: I will arise and go now…

Symbol Ev: ‘Innisfree’ symbolizes inner peace and

freedom.

Metaphor Ev: And evening full of the linnet's wings This not implying that the sky is exactly full of

linnet's wings, but there were many bird's flying around. 

 Synecdoche (simultaneous understanding) Ev: I will arise and go now, and go to Innisfree, He is not physically getting up and going, but

going in his mind. 

Alliteration Ev: And live alone in the bee-loud

glade

Internal rhyme Ev: dropping, morning, and sings (line

6)

STRUCTURE & STYLE The poem is written in three stanzas. Each stanza has four lines. The rhyme scheme in this poem is ABAB. This rhyme scheme creates a sense of

harmony. It reflects the peace that the poet sees in the Lake Isle of Innisfree.

WILLIAM BUTLER YEATS(1865 – 1939 )

Fell in love with Maud Gonne, an Irish Nationalist. His love was not returned. He remained  heartbroken till he was 52 years old when he finally got married.

Even though he was of English origin, he loved Ireland very much and thought of himself as an Irishman. His father was also an artist and encouraged him to write poetry. Apart from that he wrote many poems to Maud Gonne, hoping for her love in return.

Accomplishments :-1) Won the Nobel Prize for Literature (1923)2) Member of Irish Senate (1922 – 1928)3) Referred to as the greatest Irish poet

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