THE LAKE ISLE OF INNISFREE (Beehive)

 ABOUT THE POET

Irish poet, dramatist, and prose writer William Butler Yeats was the preeminent writer of the Irish literary renaissance at the turn of the 20th century. In 1923 Yeats became the first Irish writer to receive a Nobel Prize for Literature. The Nobel Prize in Literature 1923 was awarded to William Butler Yeats "for his always inspired poetry, which in a highly artistic form gives expression to the spirit of a whole nation."

STANZA 1

I will arise and go now, and go to Innisfree,
And a small cabin builds 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.
STANZA 2

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 evenings full of the linnet’s wings.   

STANZA 3

I will arise and go now, for always night and day
I hear the 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.

WILLIAM BUTLER YEATS

GLOSSARY
wattles: twisted sticks for making fences, walls
glade: clearing; open space
linnet: a small brown and grey bird with a short beak

Thinking about the Poem

1. What kind of place is Innisfree?
Innisfree is an uninhabited island within Lough Gill, in Ireland, near which Yeats spent his summers as a child. Yeats describes the inspiration for the poem coming from a "sudden" memory of his childhood while walking down Fleet Street in London in 1888.

(i) the three things the poet wants to do when he goes back there (stanza I);
(a) He wants to build a small cabin of clay and wattles.
(b) He wants to plant nine rows of beans.
(c)He wants to have a hive of honey bees.
(ii) what he hears and sees there and its effect on him (stanza II);
(a) He hears the cricket's song.
(b) He holds linnets flying in the sky.
(c) He sees glimmering midnight and glowing rooms.

           (iii) what he hears in his “heart’s core” even when he is far away from Innisfree (stanza III).
Yes, the poet misses the place of his boyhood days a lot. He can hear the sound of the lake water  washing the shore in his heart's core, even when he is away from Innisfree.

2. By now you may have concluded that Innisfree is a simple, natural place, full of beauty and peace. How does the poet contrast it with where he now stands? (Read stanza III.)

The natural beauty of Innisfree is explained in contrast with dull city life and grey pavements. The         colour grey symbolizes death and decay. He contrasted morning, noon, evening, night, and natural beauty of Innisfree with sky touching buildings of city which do not provide peace of mind at all

3. Do you think Innisfree is only a place, or a state of mind? Does the poet   really miss the place of his boyhood days?

Yes, the poet actually misses the place of his boyhood days. Even when he is away from Innisfree , he recalls the sound of the lake water washing the shore.

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

(i) bee-loud glade - Bee loud glade refers to the buzzing of bees in an open space

(ii) evenings full of the linnet’s wings - These words bring up the image of linnets flying   across an evening sky.

(iii) lake water lapping with low sounds - Unlike the sound of the crashing sea against the rocks, the sound of the peaceful lake is quiet, like a humming in the background.

4. What pictures do these words create in your mind?
These words create peace and tranquillity in the minds of the readers.

Look at these words;
... peace comes dropping slow
Dropping from the veils of the morning to where the cricket sings
5. What do these words mean to you? What do you think “comes dropping?
slow...from the veils of the morning”? What does “to where the cricket sings”mean?
These words mean that peace surrounds that area at dawn. The pleasing and melodious sound of cricket greets the morning. It adds sweetness to the serenity of the place.