In what sense is “The Lake Isle of Innisfree” a poem about escapism

Answer

In what sense is “The Lake Isle of Innisfree” a poem about escapism, making it a pure romantic poem? [NU: 2016, 20, 21, 22] ★★★

W. B. Yeats’s (1865-1939) poem “The Lake Isle of Innisfree” (1890) is a strong example of escapism. Escapism means the desire to escape from real life into a peaceful and imaginary world. In this poem, the speaker wants to leave the busy city life. He wants to go to a quiet, natural place called Innisfree. At Innisfree, he wants to live peacefully in nature.

A Simple Life in Nature: At the beginning, the speaker says he will go to Innisfree. He wants to build a small cabin there with “clay and wattles.” He will grow beans and keep bees for honey. He says:

“I will arise and go now, and go to Innisfree,…

And live alone in the bee-loud glade.”

Here, “arise” and “go now” mean the speaker wants to leave his current situation immediately. He wants to escape to Innisfree. He wants a calm and simple life in nature, far away from city life.

Nature Gives Him Peace: Then, the speaker describes how peace will come to him slowly at Innisfree. He imagines Innisfree is full of beauty in the morning, noon, evening, or midnight. He imagines hearing the sound of crickets (insects) and watching linnet birds.

Escape from City Life: In the last stanza, it becomes clear that the speaker is in harsh city life. He is standing on the roadway or on the pavement.

“I stand on the roadway, or on the pavements grey…”

But his heart always hears the sound of the lake water. Day and night in his imagination, he always hears this sound. This means he wants to escape to Innisfree and live peacefully in nature.

In short, the poem shows the speaker’s strong desire to escape from the busy city and live peacefully in nature. That is why