Lake Isle of Inisfree W.B. Yeats 1st Yr – Nature Poetry

Lake Isle of Inisfree 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 honeybee, And live alone in the bee-loud glade. 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. 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 gray, I hear it in the deep heart's core.

What it’s about? This poem is about peace, tranquillity and independence. The poem takes the reader to a small island in the middle of the lake. The poem takes reader away from the fast paced city life. The poem’s speaker recollects Innisfree, journeying both emotional and spiritually to a place one enjoyed in youth. Although the speaker can not physically return to the lake, the speaker can return in thought. Terminology ‘wattles’: upright wooden poles or stakes through which sticks and branches are laced horizontally and daubed with clay to make weatherproof walls. ‘glade’: an open area in a woodland area ‘veils’: a head covering garment ‘all a glimmer’: may refer to the light of the stars ‘purple glow’: may refer to sunlight or flowers ‘linnet’: a finch, a tiny bird that eats seeds ‘roadway’: refers to Fleet Street in London, England