Download Lake Isle of Inisfree WB Yeats

1st Yr – Nature Poetry
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