The Lake Isle of Inisfree

The Lake Isle of Inisfree

W.B Yeats (1865 - 1939)

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 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 grey,

I hear it in the deep heart’s core.

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Summary

This is a poem by WB Yeats in which he dreams of escaping the busy streets of London. He remembers Inisfree as a perfect little island that would supply all his needs. His memory tricks him into thinking it had a beautiful summer climate all year round.

In the first stanza Yeats imagines building a tiny hut on the little island of Inisfree. He dreams of living on beans and honey which he will cultivate himself. Obviously he is unrealistic. He also wants to get away from people: ‘live alone’.

In the second stanza Yeats imagines finding harmony on the island:
‘And I shall have some peace there’.
He dreams further of living in a delightful climate there:
‘noon a purple glow’.
He also dreams of listening to songbirds at dusk:
‘evening full of the linnet's wings’.

In the third stanza the thought and action develops. Yeats states his decision to leave the ‘pavements grey’ of London. He is obsessed with or crazed by the sound of lake water and has to leave the city. Finally he admits that he has a deep need to live in a beautiful place encircled by the sound of water:
‘I hear it in the deep heart's core’.

Themes

The poet dreams of moving away from the city to live alone on an island:
‘I will arise and go now, and go to Innisfree’.
Note how the repetition of ‘go’ emphasises his wish to travel away from the city.

The poet wishes to escape to a beautiful place with wonderful light and colours:
‘There midnight's all a glimmer, and noon a purple glow’.
Note how the repeated ‘i’ and ‘o’ sounds make it seem like a musical place.

The poet celebrates the beauty of a private place on a country lake:
‘I hear lake water lapping with low sounds by the shore.’
Note how the repeated ‘l’ sound adds to the beauty of the situation.

Tones

Sometimes the tone is determined:
‘I will arise and go now, and go to Innisfree’.
Note how the repetition of ‘go’ emphasises his wish to depart.

Sometimes the tone is dreamy:
‘And a small cabin build there, of clay and wattles made’.
The clay and wattles show that he is unrealistic about his comfort and therefore a dreamer.

Sometimes the tone is soft and warm [mellow]:
‘for peace comes dropping slow,
Dropping from the veils of the mourning to where the cricket sings’.
This image of peace pouring from the morning mist and lasting till dusk when the cricket sings is very mellow. The repetition of ‘dropping’ makes it very mellow.

Sometimes the tone is bleak and sad:
‘the pavements grey’.
By placing ‘grey’ after ‘pavement’ Yeats is emphasising how much it depresses him. He reveals a lonesome tone as he refers to the streets and pavements.

Sound effects

This poem in particular contains repetition for musical effect. This music enhances [meaning that it adds to] the beauty of Inisfree.

Alliteration [the repetition of first letters]:
‘lake water lapping with low sounds by the shore’.
The ‘l’ and ‘s’ sounds here show alliteration and create music.
Note the 4 ‘l’ sounds also in this quote:
‘live alone in the bee-loud glade’
You can find more examples yourself.

Assonance [repetition of vowels]:
Note the ‘ea' and ‘ee’ sounds in ‘I hear it in the deep heart's core.’
These sounds reveal a tone or mood of longing in the poet.
Can you spot the long ‘o’ sounds in the second and third stanzas?

Rhyming [The words of the first and third lines rhyme and the words of the second and fourth lines rhyme in each stanza]:
The end sounds in the first stanza are as follows:
‘ee’, ‘ade’, ‘ee’, ‘ade’.
This is a regular pattern and is found in all the stanzas.

Internal Rhyme [rhyming inside one line]:
‘go’ in the first line: ‘I will arise and go now, and go to Innisfree’.
Can you find the internal rhyme in this example?
‘And I shall have some peace there, for peace comes dropping slow,
Dropping from the veils of the morning to where the cricket sings’.

Did you also see in this quote the other unusual rhyme created by the repetition of ‘dropping’ in two lines? That is called Cross Rhyme.

Rhythm:
The rhythm is soft, dreamy and hypnotic.
The repetition of ‘go’ in the first line, other internal rhymes, the cross rhyme, the end of line rhyming pattern, the alliteration, and assonance all contribute to this rhythm.
The nine words of two syllables [like ‘glimmer’] in the second stanza increase the slow, dreamy atmosphere. By contrast the words are more often of one-syllable in the first and third stanzas, apart from about five words of two syllables in both. This creates a faster rhythm, which matches the poet’s urgent desire to leave the ‘grey’ city.