Poem 4- The Lake Isle Of Innisfree

By- William Butler Yeats

Summary-

The speaker states that he will arise and soon be going to Innisfree. Innisfree Is a Small Island in the lake
called Lough gill, in Sligo country, Ireland. As a young boy he often went to the island. There he will build a
small wooden shelter in the forest and it’s going to be quite, simple and rustic bare of furniture. Itwill be
made of with clay and wattles. He is also going to have a garden with nine beans planted in a row and a
beehive for honey bees. The speaker informs that he desires to live alone, surrounded only by the nature.

The poet wants to build a little cabin in an isolated Island. He wants the solitude to break away from the
hustle of the urban life. He is nostalgic about the morning in the island when the daylight breaks in gradually
he wants to be with the calm and peace of the quiet countryside. The morning phone is filled with the sound
of the crickets chirping in the surrounding. It seems the midnight looks beautiful twinkling with millions of
stars. At midday the island seems a light with the purple light. The speaker says the evening is a sight to
behold as it is filled by flocks of Linnets flying back home.

The speaker is more determined to go ahead with his decision to go to Innisfree. However he can’t be far
from entry as in his mind and heart he imagines that he can hear the lapping of water reaching the shore
when he is actually standing on the grey roads in the city.

The last line confirms that all this is in his imagination, as he is expressing his deep desire of his heart to go
to Innisfree and has the feeling and dream of living Innisfree do he is in the city at present.

Answer the following questions-

Q1. What kind of place is Innisfree? Think about-

i) The three things the poet wants to do when he goes back there-

The poet want to build a cabin made of clay and wattles. He is making plans of planting nine rows of
beans and a beehive for honey bees.

ii) What he hears and sees there and its effect on them-

He hears the sounds being made by the cricket the referring of the wings as the linnets fly to their homes
in the evening. All of them have a very soothing effect on the poet and he is at peace.

iii) What he hears in his heart core even when he is far away from Innisfree-

In his heart core he can hear the sound of the waves lapping against the shores even as he is standing on
the pavement of a road in the city.
Q2.By now you may have concluded that in Innisfree is a simple, natural place, full of beauty and
peace. How does the poet contrast it with where he stands now?

Ans-The poet has created a wonderful image of Innisfree when he calls it a place of peace and calm. The
only sights and sounds one gets to see and hear are the beautiful and rhythmic creations of nature, the
buzzing of the bees, the sounds of the crickets, the breathing of the linnets, the lapping of the waves along
with the beautiful sights of the breaking of dawn, the starry night skies the lazy noonand the lovely green
plants and trees. In contrast he says the roads and pavements in the city are hard and grey, busy and loud.

Q3. Do you think entry is only a place or a state of mind? Does the poet actually miss the place of his
boyhood days?

Ans- I think it is a state of mind. We tend to fantasize or go back in time when we are sad or feelfrustrated
from the present situation or condition. It all depends on what the poet considered as an ideal place. Sound is
heard in the city as well as in the countryside but the question arises with sounds give us more pleasure and
when. Yes, he misses the place of his boyhood days and recalls the sound of the lake washing its shore all
day long in his heart’s core. He misses the sounds of the crickets chirping in the woods and the sight of the
linnets flying home in the evening sky. He misses the unwilling of the mist by the rising sun. he misses the
midday sun and enliven in the island Lake with its light and also the midnight filled with glimmers. Yes,
this is the ultimate dream of every human being to settle in the quiet of nature, far away from the hustle of
the city.

Q4. Look at the words the poet uses to describe what he sees and hears in Innisfree.

i) Bee loud glade- Glade is an open space in a forest so we can visualize the bee glades as a clearing
in the woods surrounding the poet’s small cabin with swarms of honey bees. The poet wishes to
live alone and be at peace with nature listening to the buzz of the bees as they are busy doing
their work.
ii) Evening full of linnet’s wings- A linnet is a type of finch, typically brown and red breasted. The
evening sky is full of linnet’s wings. It makes us think that it’s not just one small bird but all the
linnets are in flight.
iii) Lake water lapping in low sounds- The poet imagines he can hear the soft and gentle sounds of
the ripples in the lakes.
iv) What pictures do these words create in your mind- All of these creates in our mind a picture of a
beautiful countryside blessed by bounties of nature.

Q5. Peace comes dropping slow Dropping from the veils of the morning to where the cricket sings.

What do these words mean to you?

Ans-These lines are very indicated of an image of a quiet and misty morning where the sun has not made
its glorious presence in the morning sky. Nature like a beautiful bride is hiding her lovely looks behind
the veils of disappearing darkness. Life is so unhurried and calm therefore there is peace. As the light
comes up, the songs of the crickets fall upon his ears as they are seen busying themselves with the
morning chores.

It can also be like the gradual awakening of life and the sounds that come in Isle, quite unlike the hustle
of the city life which has the habit of holding up in its viscous trap, from where an escape is often a
distant dream.