The Lake Isle of Innisfree- Class 9 Poem|Summary & Question Answer

The Lake Isle of Innisfree- Poem

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.

About the Poet– William Butler Yeats is widely considered to be one of the greatest poets of the 20th century. He belonged to the Protestant, Anglo-Irish minority that had controlled the economic, political, social, and cultural life of Ireland since at least the end of the 17th century

The Lake Isle of Innisfree- Summary

The poet is reminded of his past, his boyhood, when he visited the peaceful Lake Isle of Innisfree. He wants to go there and says that he will live there all alone. He wants to build a small cabin with clay and wattles. He would grow beans and get a honeybee hive for honey to survive on.

The poet describes the peaceful natural surroundings of the lake. He says that the scene of the cloudy mornings, the shining stars, the glowing Sun and birds flying in the sky give him peace. He feels relaxed to hear the pleasant sound of the cricket’s song.

The poet feels the urgency to go to the lake Isle of Innisfree. In the depth of his heart, he can hear the sound of the lake waters hitting the shore. It is as if the lake is calling him. He hears the sound everywhere – either on the crowded roads or the grey – coloured pavements of the city in which he lives. This indicates that he wants to escape from the artificial life of the city into the peaceful surroundings of nature.

The Lake Osle of Innisfree- Question-Answers

1.     What kind of place is Innisfree? Think about-

i.               The three things the poet wants to do when he goes back there (stanza-I)

ii.             What he hears and sees there and its effect on him (stanza-II)

iii.            What he hears in his “heart’s core” even when he is far away from Innisfree (stanza-III)

Ans:- Innisfree is an ideal place for the poet, filled with beauty and peace and blessed by Nature. A place he desperately yearns to go back to because it holds the promise of peace.

i.               Ans:- The three things the poet wants to do when he goes back to Innisfree are: build a small cabin for him out of clay and wattles, plant nine rows of beans and have a hive for honeybees.

ii.               Ans:- The poet sees and hears mists that appear to descend slowly from the skies, linnets flying back home at desk, glowing and bright noon, and billions of twinkling stars that glimmer in the night sky.

All of these affect the poet profusely by making him feel peaceful and rousing a desire to head back to Innisfree at the earliest, leaving his busy city life behind.

iii.             Even though far away from Innisfree, in his heart’s core the poet can hear the sound of the lake water lapping up against the shore. This sound he hears all day and all night, and even when he stands on the roadside.

More Questions with answers

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)

Ans:- The poet attributes many natural characteristics to Innisfree, painting a vivid picture of colour, happiness, beauty and peace. In contrast the use of the colour ‘grey’ to describe the pavement on which he now stands, is singly enough to display that his present life is far from peaceful, is melancholic, is deprived of a colourful existence and that he gets nothing, not even peace in his life in the city.

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

Ans:- Innisfree represents both- a place of his childhood for the poet, which he remembers for its natural beauty; and for the reader the poet may have tried to use Innisfree as a symbol of that state of mind where the poet can escape to even while sitting in a place of disquiet. Hence the poet talks of “arise and grow now” mean that one can at any time withdraw into one’s imagination and meditation, and find peace.

The poet does have happy memories of Innisfree, where he spent his childhood days. He remembers the peace and calm he felt in this place in nature’s cradle, so he does miss it a great deal.

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

i.               Bee-loud glade.

ii.             Evening full of the linnet’s wings

iii.            Lake water lapping with low sounds.

What pictures do these words create in your mind?

Ans:- 

i. Bee-loud glade:- small clearing that is abuzz with the sounds of bees. 

ii. Evening full of the linnet’s wings:- Scores of linnets flying back home in the evening, as night approaches.    

iii. Lake water lapping with low sounds:- Water of the lake slowly brushing against the lake’s shoreline as small waves form and disappears on its surface.

5.     Look at these words:

… peace comes dropping slow

Dropping from the veils of the morning to where the cricket sings.

a.     What do these words mean to you?

Ans:- These words paint the picture of a serene and tranquil place, untouched by pollution, where the mist layers slowly descend as the morning arrives.

b.     What do you think “comes dropping slow… from the veils of the morning”?

Ans:- I think it means the mist layers appear to be dropping down slowly as the veil of night is lifted and the morning revealed.

c.     What does “to where the cricket sings” mean?

Ans:- I think it means the low levels of the ground, specifically the grass, where the crickets are usually found.

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