W.B. Yeats ( ) Background WB Yeats was born in 1865 in Dublin. His family was upper class. Yeats turned into the greatest Irish Poet of the Twentieth Century. He spent some of his early life in London. That’s where he wrote The Lake Isle of Innisfree at the age of 25. The Isle was a place he daydreamed about. He loved Sligo, his mother’s home place and the location for The Lake Isle of Innisfree. The Lake Isle of Innisfree is a poem which shows that Yeats was a bit of dreamer, like a lot of poets. He liked to dream of a beautiful place like Innisfree. The poem also shows how simple use of language could achieve musical effects.

 This is a poem by WB Yeats in which he dreams of escaping the busy streets of London. He remembers Innisfree as a perfect little island that would supply all his needs.

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Stanza 1  Yeats wants to go & live on the island of Innisfree.  He would like to live there by himself & lead a simple life.  He would like to build a small cabin & wants to grow his own food.

Stanza 2  The poet describes the tranquillity(calmness) of the island. The mornings are very peaceful & filled with sounds of crickets chirping “ for peace comes dropping slow ”.  At noon the heather glows purple in the sunlight.  At night the glittering stars are reflected in the water.

Stanza 3  The thought of Innisfree is always in the poet’s mind & heart: “ I hear it in the deep heart’s core ”.  He is always imagining the pleasant sounds of its waters: “ for always night and day/ I hear lake water lapping with low sounds by the shore ”.

Themes  Escape The speaker wishes to live a peaceful life away from the hustle & bustle of the city. The idea of being independent is very attractive to him.

Themes  A Love of Nature The poet longs for the calmness & peace of the countryside. The poem celebrates the beauty of Innisfree. The island is alive with the sounds of nature, the chirping of the crickets, the buzzing of the bees, etc. It also celebrates the visual aspect of the island.

 The use of sound effects enhances the sound and meaning of the poem. Sound effects mirror the beautiful sounds of the island.

 ‘lake water lapping with low sounds by the shore’. The ‘l’ and ‘s’ sounds here show alliteration. Note the 4 ‘l’ sounds also in this quote: ‘live alone in the bee-loud glade’ Can find more examples yourself?

Is a type of rhyme that occurs where similar vowel sounds are repeated in a line of poetry. - "I will arise and go now" - "cricket sings" - "noon a purple glow" - "and evening full of the linnet's wings" - “clay and wattles made" - "low sounds by the shore" - "I hear it in the deep hearts' core" - "for peace comes dropping slow"

- "dropping" - "lapping“= the ‘I’ sound in the line, ‘I hear lake water lapping’, echoes the actual sound of the water gently spilling against the shoreline.

 - loves and appreciates nature - longs for private and a peaceful existence - man of independence, resourceful and self- sufficient - proud - wants to escape modern living and return to a more simple lifestyle.  - tranquillity appeal to him - imaginative/ day-dreamer.