The lyrical poem, The Lake Isle of Innisfree is written by W B Yeasts. Here you can find answers for questions from this chapter.

I. 1. What kind of place is Innisfree? Think about:

(i) the three things the poet wants to do when he goes back there (stanza 1)

Innisfree is a peaceful world far from the madding crowd of the city. It is a heaven where nature is in her full glory.

When he goes there the poet wants to build a small cabin of clay and sticks. He wants to have nine rows of beans and a hive for the honeybees.

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

The poet is confident that he will have some peace there. In the morning, he will wake to the singing of crickets and in the afternoon, he will listen to the flapping of the wings of linnets. In Innisfree, the afternoons have a purple glow and midnights are full of glimmering stars. The serene surroundings make the poet blissful and happy.

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

He hears the lake water lapping with low sounds by the shore even when he is far 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? (Stanza III)

Where he stands now, the roadways are busy and pavements are grey. By contrast, in Innisfree, nature is in her full glory. There the nights are full of shimmering stars and afternoons wear a purple glow. In the mornings he can wake up to the singing of crickets and in the evenings, he can watch linnets flying in the sky. None of these can be seen or heard 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?

Innisfree is actually a place the poet used to visit a lot when he was a boy. Now he lives in the city where he misses the peace and charm of the beautiful isle. It is also a state of mind and a reflection of the peace and quiet the poet seeks.

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

(i) bee-loud glade

These are open spaces where he can hear the buzzing of bees.

(ii) Evenings full of the linnet’s wings

There are lots of linnets in Innisfree and in the evenings, the poet can hear the flapping of their wings.

(iii) lake water lapping with low sounds

Although the poet now lives in the city, in the core of his heart, he can still hear the lake water lapping by the shore.

2. Look at these words:

…peace comes dropping slow

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

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’ means?

The feeling of peace seeps in slowly. The night is the veil. When it is slowly dropped, the morning arrives and then crickets start singing. These lines express the slow transition from the night to the morning and the joys that come with it.