W. B. Yeats (1865
1939)
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 mourning 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.
http://www.online-literature.com/yeats/775/
The Lake Isle of Innisfree by
Yeats talks essentially about nature and the ideal of life that he wanted at a
certain point of his life.
From
the title we can imagine the main topic treated by Yeats. The word chosen for
an imaginary place (Innisfree) contains a very
meaningful word free that gives a clue to the reader of what the
poem is going to talk about. The rhyme that is used in this poem is abab, and the free verse that appears makes the
reader think about the freedom that the author wants to emphasize in the main
issue treated in this work.
Yeats
shows a desire of going alone and free from the very first line that we read I will arise and go now
This will of going alone reflects the problems of the
society that the world has ever had and that we still have. All these problems
make society think about an ideal place (in contrast to reality) to live or and
ideal place only to look at, and this is what is reflected in Yeats poem.
The
simplicity of a place like Innisfree, (which is
totally in contact with nature, is nature itself) contrasts with the
unnecessary complexity of reality and its uneasy daily situations. The whole
poem is filled with natural metaphors and images that immerse the reader in a
dream from where he/she is finally going to be suddenly awakened.
From
the same point of view, the only thing that we can imagine to make us free and
to escape from the cruelty and the ignorance of the common world is to be in
contact with nature and to be in peace there, as the poet writes in this line: And I shall have some peace there
(line 5).
Although
the poet is talking about an ideal situation that he wants to live, from my
point of view the poet uses a general pessimistic tone, because he knows that
it is an imaginary place where he probably never will be. This is my personal
impression after reading the poem not for the first time and knowing its
ending.
In the end of the poem Yeats
turns again to reality and it is reflected in the two final verses: While I stand on the roadway, or on the
pavements grey, I hear it in the deep heart's core. Here we realise that we have turned from an imaginary
travel and that we are again on
the roadway, or on the pavement grey.
This colour is also meaningful, because with it the poet wants to transmit that
reality is obscure and sad. The strong desire of the poet is again emphasized
in the final verse, where he feels from the deep of his heart that he wants to
be in a place like Innisfree.
On the other hand, we can
interpret this from an optimistic point of view if we consider that we can
imagine everything from everywhere. So nothing can win the power that the
imagination, fantasy or dream has, and this in one of the main characteristics
of The Lake Isle of Innisfree.
We
can relate all these topics to the life of Yeats, as for example we are said by
Gunnar Bengtsson:
he began to
confront reality with a new directness and disillusionment. This is clearly seen in this poem,
the confrontation between the real world and a utopian one. The disillusionment
that the webpage makes reference to is seen clearly at the end, in the two
final verses that have been previously analysed.
Moreover we find in
the same article that Yeats was involved in mystical facts: Reincarnation, communication with
the dead, mediums, supernatural systems and Oriental mysticism fascinated Yeats
through his life. Reading this we can consider that the imagery that the poet uses
in the poem is related to dreams or something mystical that he felt or he was
willing to feel.
Sources:
- http://www.online-literature.com/yeats/775/
- Gunnar Bengtsson; Biography of William
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