The Lake Isle of Innisfree- Summary & Analysis

About the Poem “The Lake Isle of Innisfree“

Poem Title	The Lake Isle of Innisfree
Author	William Butler Yeats
Year published	1893
Genre	Lyric poem
Form	Four quatrains with an abab cdcd efef rhyme scheme
Setting	The island of Innisfree in Ireland, and the speaker’s current location, which is implied to be a city
Rhyme scheme	ABAB
Structure	3 quatrains (four-line stanzas)
Speaker	A person who longs for a simpler, more peaceful life in harmony with nature
Themes	Nature, simplicity, peace

Themes of The Lake Isle of Innisfree

The themes in poem “The Lake Isle of Innisfree” by W.B. Yeats are:

1. Escape from Urban Life ➤ The poem expresses a deep desire to escape the hustle and bustle of city life and find solace in the natural beauty of Innisfree.
2. Peace and Tranquility ➤ It portrays the yearning for a peaceful and serene existence in a secluded and idyllic location.
3. Connection to Nature ➤ The poem celebrates the strong connection between humans and nature, highlighting the healing power of the natural world.
4. Simplicity and Self-Sufficiency ➤ It values a simple and self-sufficient lifestyle, emphasizing the importance of living off the land.
5. Nostalgia and Longing ➤ The poem conveys a sense of nostalgia and longing for a place and a way of life that the speaker misses.
6. Escapism and Dreams ➤ It explores the idea of using dreams and imagination to escape the hardships of daily life and find solace in a mental sanctuary.

“The Lake Isle of Innisfree” Poem by William Butler Yeats

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.

The Lake Isle of Innisfree Summary & Analysis

“The Lake Isle of Innisfree” by William Butler Yeats is a poem about a speaker’s longing to escape the city and live in the countryside. The speaker describes the idyllic life he would lead on Innisfree, a small island in a lake, where he would build a cabin, grow beans, and keep a beehive. This poem is divided into three stanzas with four lines each.

Stanza 1

In the first stanza, the speaker expresses his desire to leave his current life and move to Innisfree, a small island in the west of Ireland. He imagines building a simple cabin there, where he can live a self-sufficient life, growing his own food and keeping bees. The image of the hawthorn glade suggests that Innisfree is a place of natural beauty and peace.

Stanza 2

In the second stanza, the speaker explains why he wants to move to Innisfree: to find peace. He describes the island as a place where peace is natural and abundant, like the dew that falls in the morning and the sunlight that glows at noon. He also mentions the sounds of the crickets and linnets, which suggest that Innisfree is a place full of life.

Stanza 3

In the third stanza and final, the speaker repeats his desire to leave his current life and move to Innisfree. He says that he can always hear the sound of the lake water lapping at the shore, and that this sound reminds him of the peace and tranquility that he longs for. The contrast between the “roadway” and the “pavements grey” suggests that his current life is urban and hectic, and that he is yearning for a simpler and more natural way of living.

FAQs from The Lake Isle of Innisfree