Public Domain Poem 33 -The Lake isle at Innisfree by W.B. Yeats 1865-1939

How to read a poem.

Use this suggested framework to read a poem in a calm, repeatable way. You do not need to "get it right". Your goal is to notice what the poem is doing, then test a few possible meanings. (View exercise in a new tab.)

The Lake isle at Innisfree
by W.B. Yeats
1865—1939

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.






If you like, read my analysis.

Starting: Read slowly.
  • Read the poem once, straight through. Now, read it a second time, slower.
  • Circle or list any words or lines that feel important.
Surface: What's on the Surface?
  • Who is speaking, to whom?
  • What is the scene?
  • What happens in the poem?
Sound: What do you hear?
  • What words or sounds repeat?
  • Is the movement fast, slow, smooth, edgy?
  • What can you detect about a rhythm or beat?
  • What parts make you pause?
Structure: How is the poem built?
  • How many lines and stanzas are there?Are the lines short or long? Is there a pattern?
  • Where are the turning points (a shift in mood, thought, or direction)?
  • What does the ending do (close, open, surprise, repeat, resolve)?
Suggestion: What might the poem suggest?
  • What images stand out? What do they suggest?
  • Are there comparisons (like/as, or one thing described as another)?
  • Are there symbols (an object that may stand for an idea)?
  • Does anything feel ambiguous (more than one possible meaning)?
Significance: What is the message?
  • What feeling, conflict, or human experience is at the center?
  • What question does the poem raise?
  • What might the poem be asking the reader to notice, remember, or reconsider?
  • What stays with you after reading?