NCERT Solutions For Class 9 English Poem Chapter 4: The Lake Isle of Innisfree

"The Lake Isle of Innisfree," composed by W.B Yeats, was published in the National Observer (1890). Innisfree, located in Ireland, was a destination where Yeats visited in the summer during his childhood. The poem reflects his memory and the emotions the place evokes in him.

The poet expresses his desire to go back to Innisfree and build a cabin "of clay and wattles" to live in. During his visits to Innisfree, the poet collected fond memories which he looks back on now. Being an uninhabited and isolated location, the Isle of Innisfree presents a scene of tranquil bliss where one can rest their mind and heart. The poet longs for the calm he experienced in Innisfree as a child. The poet wants to plant nine rows of beans and a hive for the honey-bee. He wants to live alone in the glade, only hearing the sounds of the honey-bees buzzing away from the bustling life of the cities. The poet invokes his imagination and describes his future days in Innisfree. He describes when it is cloudy; the morning sky will look like the clouds veil it. The crickets chirping will be the only sound he hears during that time.

During the afternoon, the purple glow in the sky and the "glimmer" of the midnight sky will make him feel the peace he longs for. In the evening, he can imagine looking at the linnets flying in the sky, filling his vision of the sky. The poet strongly resolves to go to Innisfree without delay. When he stands on the city's grey roads, the poet hears the sounds of the lake water. In his "deep heart's core", he feels the sound of the lake water lapping at the shore beckoning him to visit.

Throughout the poem, the poet explores the theme of longing for tranquility and bliss away from the bustling life we live.