The Lake Isle of Innisfree : summary

“The Lake Isle of Innisfree” is a poem by William Butler Yeats (1865 – 1939), published in 1890. It is considered one of Yeats’s most famous works. The poem describes the speaker’s desire to return from the city to the peace and solitude of Innisfree, a small, uninhabited island in Lough Gill, County Sligo, Ireland. The speaker expresses Innisfree’s natural beauty, isolation, and the relationship between people and the world. There are 12 lines in three stanzas.

In the first stanza, the speaker depicts his desire to leave the city and go to Innisfree, where he can build a small cabin and live a simple life in harmony with nature. 

In the second stanza, the speaker exhibits the sights and sounds of Innisfree, including the sounds of bees and the “peace” of the island. 

In the last stanza, the speaker reflects on his sense of peace and contentment when he thinks of Innisfree and how it repeatedly brings him back to the island.

Personal and Social Turmoil: The Poem conveys that the poet did not want to live in the city because of his personal and social turmoil. Unable to find peace in the city, Innisfree yearned for rural living. He reflects on his childhood memory. He had a fun and carefree time with her grandparents at Innisfree.

However, the poem celebrates the natural world and the power of nature to soothe the soul. It also reflects Yeats’s interest in the Celtic Revival, a cultural and artistic movement that sought to revive and celebrate Irish culture and heritage.