Literary Devices in the poem
1. Rhyme Scheme: abab
2. Alliteration: The repetition of a consonant sound in two or more closely placed
words is called alliteration. The instances of alliteration in the poem are –
a.‘hive’, ‘honey bee’ – ‘h’ sound is repeated;
b.‘lake’, ‘lapping’, ‘low’ – ‘l’ sound is repeated
3. Repetition: ‘I will arise and go now’ is repeated in stanza 1 and 3
4. Personification: morning is personified
5. Metaphor: clouds are compared to veils
6. Imagery: This is one of the most important techniques in this poem. Look, for
example, at the first two lines of stanza two, which read: “And I shall have some
peace there, for peace comes dropping slow, / Dropping from the veils of the
morning to where the cricket sings.” These words tap into several different
senses, encouraging the reader to feel, hear, and see a scene.
1. What does the poet want to do on the island of Innisfree?
The poet imagines a peaceful life on the island. The poet wishes to capture all that
nature has to offer him on the island including, the buzzing bees, bright sunlight,
solitude and sight of flying linnets.
2. How do we know that the poet lives in a city?
It is clear from the last stanza that the poet lives in a city. ‘While I stand on the
roadway, or on the pavement grey’.
3. Why do you think the poet wants to live alone?
The poet wants to live alone because he wants to lead a simple life. He also wants to
live in peace and solitude away from the noise and busy life of the city.
4. Describe the lake’s atmosphere as described by the poet.
Innisfree is a quiet, natural place, full of beauty. There one can hear the loud buzzing
of bees linnet. There the lake glimmers at night, and glows brightly at noon. The poet
was quite taken by its beauty and tranquility.
5. Write three things that the poet would like to do when he goes back to Innisfree.
Innisfree is a perfect little island that provides everything desired by the poet. The poet
will build a small cabin of clay and fence. He will have nine rows of beans. He will
also have a hive for the honeybees.
6. “Midnight’s all a glimmer, and noon a purple glow, And evening full of the linnet’s”
Explain.
The poet would enjoy his mornings, evenings and midnights in the lap of nature. The
midnight would look glimmering like the glowing of the glow-worms and stars. He
would enjoy his evenings watching the colourful wings of the flying linnets.
7. How will the poet enjoy his stay ‘night and day’ at Innisfree?
The poet is fascinated by the beauty and peace at the Innisfree. He finds it an ideal
place. He shall hear the lake water lapping the shore with low sounds. At night, he
shall look and enjoy the glimmer. He shall enjoy seeing the moon glow purple. His
stay at Innisfree will be joyful.
8. ‘Lake water lapping with low sounds.’ Explain.
The poet wants to go to Innisfree, an ideal peaceful island. He celebrates the beauty of
the place. He hears the lake water lapping with sounds by shore. This expression
describes the beautiful natural environment in Isle of Innisfree.
9. How does the poet miss the Isle of Innisfree?
The poet spent his boyhood at his mother’s home place which was the location for his
dreamplace, Innisfree. He keeps on hearing the sound of the waves. He feels as if that
sound is calling him. He wants to escape the city and settle there in a peaceful
environment. He misses Innisfree badly.
10.What does the poet find so attractive about Innisfree?
The thing that the poet finds so attractive about Lake Isle of Innisfree is its promise of
peace. The poet, then, longs for this place which affords a sense of contentment and
relaxation far from the busy modem life. The poem’s slow and regular meter helps to
convey this languid, dreamy effect. There is also the vivid impressionistic description
of the colours and beauties of this place, and the soothing stir of nature which is so
different from the strident noise of the city where the poet actually is, as the final
stanza makes clear. The poet is then physically trapped in the city, but he can imagine
the beauty of Innisfree and this gives him spiritual sustenance. This is one of Yeats’s
early lyrics, exhibiting a familiar romantic sensibility in its praise of the deep purity
and beauty of nature which is contrasted with the drabness, shallowness and sterility of
modem urban living
