"The Lake Isle of Innisfree” and Me

Those striking words, “I will arise and go now,” begin William Butler Yeats’ poem “The Lake Isle of Innisfree” so powerfully.  The poem is short with a simple idea, leaving home for a quieter place, but Yeats somehow makes this theme seem so majestic.  In the poem, the speaker is not only leaving his home, he dreams of leaving his way of life.  With his natural imagery Yeats paints a picture of the new way of life that his speaker seeks.

            This new home of Innisfree, is a beautiful, quiet, and peaceful haven, and like it speaks to the narrator, it speaks to me.  I can relate to this idea; that sometimes you just want to get away and go chill in nature.  As a kid, going out with friends and exploring the backyard woods of my neighbors was always the best way to spend a Saturday.  Leaving out early and coming back just in time for dinner, always with mud soaked shoes, was a great thing to have growing up.  The best way to learn about nature is to surround yourself in it, and doing this myself, at such an early age gave me an idea of what real beauty and silence are. 

            Another idea Yeats is speaking of is leaving home, and pretty soon I will be able to relate to this.  In a few months all my friends and I are going to be leaving for college.  We’re almost all grown up, and we’ll be leaving home to go to another place.  Also, even further I think that Yeats is explaining that in a new place you must make it your home.  Even if it seems different we must build a cabin and plant bean-rows to feel at home.  Only then can we find peace in a new place. 

            The last thing I think Yeats is speaking of is a calling.  Not a place to leave or go to, but something you have always wanted to do, something your heart has always been set on.  To me, Innisfree could represent anything and the beauty is found in how different people relate to it.