William Butler Yeats
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This poem contains four quatrains (a quatrain
is a 4 line stanza)
This poem also contains a Rhyme Scheme (a
rhyme scheme occurs when there is a definite
pattern of end rhymes within a poem)
This poem is a lyric poem (rich in musical
devices and expressing emotion)
It is NOT a free verse poem because it contains
a definite rhyme scheme
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 honeybee,
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 gray,
I hear it in the deep heart’s core.
The inverted sentence structure and the
comma create a CAESURA, or pause to
slow the line
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 honeybee,
And live alone in the bee-loud glade.
(Onomatopoeia)
“Nine bean-rows” is an
ALLUSION to Henry
David Thoreau’s
transcendental writings
in “Walden”
Soft ‘h’ sounds create EUPHONY
When something is Euphonic, it
sounds pleasant and soothing to the
ear
If something has hard ‘k’ and ‘p’
sounds, it would create CACOPHONY
(rough and harsh to the ear)
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.
It rarely gets completely
dark in Ireland
Imagery: Anything that appeals
to the Five Senses
Yeat’s creates stunning visual
and auditory imagery in this
poem
CONSONANCE: the
repetition of
consonant sounds in
a word
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 gray,
I hear it in the deep heart’s core.
“I will arise” is repeated here.
This same phrase begins the
first quatrain, and it is only
slightly changed in the
second quatrain when it
begins “And I shall” –
This repetition is an
example of Anaphora.
Literally, anaphora means
‘to carry again’
Anaphora is the repetition
of a certain phrase
throughout a poem
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Every poem has it’s own unique mood, or tone.
A mood is the general feeling established in a
poem.
One cannot write, “this poem has a mood”
One can characterize the mood, instead. (Hint:
look at the adjectives and sound devices – is it
soothing, calm, peaceful, horrific, depressing?)
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One could say that the theme of “The Lake Isle
of Innisfree” is that man often desires a
harmonious union with nature and a return to
a simpler way of life.
What literary elements does Yeat’s use to help
convey this theme?
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Classwork: Write and INTRODUCTION
paragraph for an essay about how the theme is
illustrated in this poem. (You do not have to
write the essay – we are just practicing
introductions)
When editing your paragraph , make sure that
you identify the theme of the poem, that you
include TAG, and that you identify three
literary elements that help convey this theme.
Your thesis statement should come at the END
of your paragraph.
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A general statement:
“Poets use many different poetic elements to
convey their message or theme.”
A question:
“What is the most effective way to share a theme
or message with a reader when writing a poem?”
A shocking statement.
“Many people hate poetry, but they should at least
appreciate the methods and elements used to write
a poem”
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In Yeats’ poem “The Lake Isle of
Innisfree” the theme that man should
desire a harmonious union with nature is
conveyed using the poetic devices of
allusion, imagery, and anaphora.