The Lake Isle of Innisfree

Grube 1
Ellen Grube
Mr. Cosmin
English 102
24 February 2015
The Lake Isle of Innisfree
The Lake Isle of Innisfree, a poem by William Butler Yeats is very visual and
easy to read. It depicts a place to the readers that is remote, peaceful and beautiful,
a place that the author is dreaming about. The speaker implies dreaming of this
place by stating, I hear lake water lapping with low sounds by the shore; while I
stand on the roadway, or on the pavements grey The poem was written in the
modernism time period, and the poem implies that it was written around that time
period when it talks about pavement. If it had been written before that time period,
pavement would not have been invented then. This poem is a beautiful depiction of
peace and beauty and has several things that can be taken from it, such as the need
for peace in a busy world.
The first thing a person might realize about this poem is how vividly the author
makes this unknown place seem. The abundant use of imagery causes it to be easy
to see what the place is like and hear the sounds, including bees, water lapping
on the shores of a lake and the rows of beans growing, and a cabin made of clay
and wattles. Wattles are a fabrication of poles interwoven with slender branches,
withes, or reeds and used especially formerly in building (Merriam-Webster
Dictionary). This poem transports the reader to another place by describing the
place in a story-like way that is easy to read while remaining poetic and flowing.
The poetic nature of this poem may cause the language used by the author to be
difficult to understand for some people. For example, the phrase, And evening
Grube 2
full of the linnets wingsmay be confusing initially (10). However, when it is

understood that the definition of linnet is, A small European bird that is a kind of
finch (Merriam-Webster Dictionary), the meaning becomes clearer. For example,
it could be understood that these birds, or linnets, fly in the evening and if there are
many of these birds they could fill the sky making the evening full of linnets
wings (10). The way the author explains this could give the reader a sense of
wonder as the mental image is formed. However, the way that the author describes
the scene can also cause it to be somewhat confusing. It is written in such a way to
cause the reader to think about it, to take time to fully understand it, and even to
look up some words in the dictionary in order to be able to understand it.
Though there may be parts of the poem that are more difficult to understand, the
poem overall is easy to understand. The author makes it quite clear what he wants
to portray beauty with some mystery in it as well. It explains how peaceful the
setting is and how it is a place to be dreamt about, especially in the busyness of
everyday life and living in the city. A reader may get several different points from
this poem.
One of the points a reader may get from this poem is that the place the author is
thinking about is a real place. It is a place that the speaker has visited and dreams of
returning. The speaker wishes to be back in such a peaceful, quiet place and to get
away from the city, which seems to be implied by the phrase, While I stand on the
roadway, or on the pavements grey This could have a different meaning, but this
is possibly the first thing the reader will think of. The way the author states it,
makes it sound that way.
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When people think of peace and happiness they may think of a quiet little cabin
by a lake. The author also uses a plethora of unique words to convey specific
feelings, such as when he says, There midnights all a glimmer The way he
puts it just makes it sound so much better than if he had just said midnight.
William Yeats is trying to give the reader a picture, and cause the reader to see it
vividly, and he succeeds. He is trying to make the reader feel peace and longing for
a quiet place to be alone and to simply listen. A person reading this poem would
immediately be able to tell that this is his intention.
The way the author is able to make the poem flow, and the way he says things
and makes the reader feel as if they are in the poem, show the poets skill. William
Yeats writes in a way that makes the reader able to see it in their minds eye. They
can feel, smell, and hear everything in the vivid way he describes it. It is easier to
understand than a lot of poems, easy to read, and does not have multiple different
meanings. Another thing a reader might notice about it is the feelings they receive
from reading it, such as a longing for peace and quiet, and an almost serene feeling.
This could be caused not only by the authors ability to make words flow together,
or make them easy to read, but also from the setting.
It does not require a lot of examination to see what William Yeats intentions for
the poem were, to help the reader see through his eyes what peace looked like.
Everyone, in different ways, longs for peace, like what is portrayed in The Lake
Isle of Innisfree, with the secluded cabin by the lake with bees and birds flying
through the air. The universal longing for peace, combined with the way it is
perfectly portrayed by the author makes easy to believe that this is a well-liked
Grube 4
poem. The poem also seems peaceful because it is easy to understand it and it does
not take a lot of analysis to understand the underlying meaning, like many other
poems. Rather this poem seeks to impart a feeling of peace and beauty and to help
the readers hear it in the deep hearts core.

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Grube 1

full of the linnets wingsmay be confusing initially (10). However, when it is

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