The Lake Isle of Innisfree

This article is about the poem by William Butler Yeats. For the song by Dick Farrelly, see Isle of Innisfree.

The Lake Isle of Innisfree

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.

"The Lake Isle of Innisfree" is a twelve-line poem comprising three quatrains, written by William Butler Yeats in 1888 and first published in the National Observer in 1890. It was reprinted in The Countess Kathleen and Various Legends and Lyrics in 1892 and as an illustrated Cuala Press Broadside in 1932.

"The Lake Isle of Innisfree" exemplifies the style of the Celtic Revival: it is an attempt to create a form of poetry that was Irish in origin rather than one that adhered to the standards set by English poets and critics. It received critical acclaim in the United Kingdom and France.[1] The poem is featured in Irish passports.[2]

  1. ^ Jochum, Klaus Peter (2013) [2006]. The Reception of W.B. Yeats in France. Continuum. p. 33. ASIN B00CKU3KV4. ISBN 1441155988. OCLC 65766794.
  2. ^ Young, Fay (17 June 2018). "Irish passport to poetry and peace". Retrieved 12 October 2021.