W. B. Yeats’s ‘The Lake Isle of Innisfree’

— Posted inLiterature — 1 min read

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.

mountains surrounded by body of water

8 replies on “W. B. Yeats’s ‘The Lake Isle of Innisfree’”

  1. Wow – I haven’t read that since I was at school, maybe 60 years ago! Beautiful poem – thanks for sharing!

    1. Most welcome. It is in fact my favorite poem of all times 🙂

  2. This is a really beautiful piece. I read Yeats in college, but haven’t read this poem, nor many of his others. I love Nature poems, generally. Chinese poet, Li Po, writes this enchanting verse, found in “A Feast of Lanterns”:

    ALONG THE STREAM

    The rustling nightfall strews my gown with roses,
    And wine-flushed petals bring forgetfulness
    Of shadow after shadow striding past.
    I arise with the stars exultantly and follow
    The sweep of the moon along the hushing stream,
    Where no birds wake ; only the far-drawn sigh
    Of wary voices whispering farewell.

    Thank you for the Yeats poem and good to see you again.

    1. Wow ! This is beautiful !!! Thank you so much for sharing 🙂

      1. BTW, I found a pdf free, English translation copy of “A Feast of Lanterns” on the internet and downloaded it. You might be able to find it, too. It’s an old book (the English translation is) and thus has outlived copyright restrictions, at least here in the U.S. it has.

    1. Ha ha ha. I tend to write about morbid things. Maybe that reflected albeit unconsciously in my banner 😀

      1. lol. No, I think the banner image is beautiful and mysterious rather than morbid. There may be a hint of grief in it too. Design-wise it works very well.

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