The Lake Isle of Innisfree
By: William Butler Yeats (Ireland)
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.
This is one of my favorite poems. First of all, William Butler Yeats was Irish and very proud to be so. I have tried to attach the You Tube clip of him reading this poem. It is a very beautiful poem which describes Yeats idyllic place to go and live forever.
Although this poem just seems like a man proclaiming that he will go live in his "happy place," I believe that he is also conveying a clear political message or at least exhibiting symptoms of capitalism and how it prevents people from being one with nature. After all, before capitalism, families farmed and relied upon each other for everything. There were big families so that there was more help. Capitalism caused people to leave their homes and go to the large cities where factories, trade and big business existed. Instead of relying upon family to get by, one often relied upon him or herself as a free wage laborer.
I can just imagine Yeats standing in the busy city and feeling fed up. I can almost hear him saying: "That's enough! I am getting up outta here and going to the country where I am going to build my own home and grow my own food and listen to the lake water lapping on the shore. He goes on to explain that this is where he will finally find some peace. He says that even standing in the city upon the pavement, he hears the water in the deep heart's core. That last line resonates with me so much. We all long for a place where we can let our guard down, be ourselves, and not be bothered with the hectic life for awhile
To me this peom is romantic because it .woos me into wanting to go to Innisfree as well. I don't want to stay there forever, but a few weeks of visiting would be great. I think it would take at least that long just to finally relax because I am so wired to always be running, busy, and planning. I think that is why this poem gets to me so much.
I have been conditioned to always feel like I should be doing something. I don't even know how to relax anymore. I almost feel guilty just sitting around. I took a yoga class once and I had the hardest time meditating at the end. You are supposed to let your mind go blank and be still. That was just impossible to me. Seriously, I do not envision myself doing this until I am dead. I hope that isn't how it turns out, but boy am I wired to be a busy bee. I think that the only way I would be really happy living in the Lake Isle of Innisfree is if I am one of those busy bees in the bee loud glade!
By: William Butler Yeats (Ireland)
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.
This is one of my favorite poems. First of all, William Butler Yeats was Irish and very proud to be so. I have tried to attach the You Tube clip of him reading this poem. It is a very beautiful poem which describes Yeats idyllic place to go and live forever.
Although this poem just seems like a man proclaiming that he will go live in his "happy place," I believe that he is also conveying a clear political message or at least exhibiting symptoms of capitalism and how it prevents people from being one with nature. After all, before capitalism, families farmed and relied upon each other for everything. There were big families so that there was more help. Capitalism caused people to leave their homes and go to the large cities where factories, trade and big business existed. Instead of relying upon family to get by, one often relied upon him or herself as a free wage laborer.
I can just imagine Yeats standing in the busy city and feeling fed up. I can almost hear him saying: "That's enough! I am getting up outta here and going to the country where I am going to build my own home and grow my own food and listen to the lake water lapping on the shore. He goes on to explain that this is where he will finally find some peace. He says that even standing in the city upon the pavement, he hears the water in the deep heart's core. That last line resonates with me so much. We all long for a place where we can let our guard down, be ourselves, and not be bothered with the hectic life for awhile
To me this peom is romantic because it .woos me into wanting to go to Innisfree as well. I don't want to stay there forever, but a few weeks of visiting would be great. I think it would take at least that long just to finally relax because I am so wired to always be running, busy, and planning. I think that is why this poem gets to me so much.
I have been conditioned to always feel like I should be doing something. I don't even know how to relax anymore. I almost feel guilty just sitting around. I took a yoga class once and I had the hardest time meditating at the end. You are supposed to let your mind go blank and be still. That was just impossible to me. Seriously, I do not envision myself doing this until I am dead. I hope that isn't how it turns out, but boy am I wired to be a busy bee. I think that the only way I would be really happy living in the Lake Isle of Innisfree is if I am one of those busy bees in the bee loud glade!
Yeats might be the KING of the modern romantics--all our themes and a few of his own (Fairies and Shee....)
ReplyDelete'Deep heart's core,' wow.