The Lake Isle of Innisfree : literary devices

“The Lake Isle of Innisfree” is one of the famous poems of W.B. Yeats. It is a classic example of Irish poetry and utilizes several literary devices to convey the speaker’s longing for a simple and idyllic life on the remote island of Innisfree. Here are some literary devices used in the poem:

Imagery: Yeats employs vivid and sensory language to create a clear mental picture of the place. The lines “I will arise and go now, and go to Innisfree, / And a small cabin build there, of clay and wattles made” provide a clear image of the cabin on the island.

Repetition: The repetition of the phrase “I will arise and go now” at the beginning of the first and third stanzas highlights the speaker’s strong desire to leave his current life and find comfort in Innisfree.

Alliteration: The recurrence of consonant sounds at the beginning of words can be discovered in lines like “bee-loud glade” and “peace comes dropping slow.” It adds a musical quality to the poem.

Symbolism: Innisfree itself is a symbol in the poem. It symbolizes a place of peace and natural beauty, contrasting with the noise and busyness of the modern world. It symbolizes the speaker’s desire for a simpler, more meaningful life.

Enjambment: Yeats utilizes enjambment, the continuation of a sentence or phrase from one line of poetry to the next without a pause, to create a flowing and reflective rhythm. For example, “I hear it in the deep heart’s core” spans two lines and encourages the reader to pause and reflect.

Metaphor: The line “And I shall have some peace there, for peace comes dropping slow” uses the metaphor of “peace dropping” to get the gradual and gentle nature of the tranquillity the speaker seeks.

Personification: The line “And evenings full of the linnet’s wings” personifies the evenings by suggesting they are filled with the sound of the linnet bird’s wings. This personification improves the natural and serene imagery of the poem.

Rhyme: The poem obeys an ABAB rhyme scheme in each quatrain, creating a musical quality. For example, in the first stanza, “Innisfree” rhymes with “bee,” and “tree” rhymes with “be.”