Comprehension

A. Answer in one or two words.

Q1. Where does the poet want to go?
Answer: The poet wants to go to Innisfree.

Q2. What will he build there?
Answer: He will build a small cabin.

Q3. With what will he build it?
Answer: He will build it with clay and wattles.

Q4. What will the poet plant there?
Answer: The poet will plant nine bean-rows there.

Q5. How, according to the poet, will peace arrive in Innisfree?
Answer: Peace will arrive “dropping slow”.

B. Answer in a few words.

Q1. Where is Innisfree located?
Answer: Innisfree is a small island in Lough Gill, County Sligo, Ireland.

Q2. What is the significance of the ‘bee-loud glade’?
Answer: The “bee-loud glade” represents a peaceful, natural space filled with the soothing hum of bees.

Q3. What does the speaker mean by ‘peace comes dropping slow’?
Answer: Peace is gradual and gentle, arriving naturally rather than instantly.

Q4. How does the poem create a sense of nostalgia using imagery?
Answer: By contrasting the idyllic beauty of Innisfree with the “pavements grey” of the city, the poem evokes longing for a simpler, serene life.

C. Answer these questions briefly.

Q1. What does the poet mean by ‘arise and go’?
Answer: It expresses the speaker’s urgent desire to escape the city and reach Innisfree.

Q2. Where does the poet stand when he hears ‘the deep heart’s core’?
Answer: He stands on a “roadway, or on the pavements grey” in the city.

Q3. Which times of the day are referred to and why?
Answer: Morning, noon, and evening are mentioned to show Innisfree’s continuous, calming beauty.

Q4. Name the different creatures mentioned in the poem.
Answer: The honey-bee, the cricket, and the linnet.

D. Answer in detail.

Q1. What is the significance of the Lake Isle of Innisfree to the speaker?
Answer: Innisfree symbolizes a retreat from the chaos of city life. Its natural beauty, including the bee-loud glade, bean-rows, and lapping water, provides spiritual solace and inner peace. The speaker longs to reconnect with his authentic self, contrasting the serenity of the island with the grey monotony of urban life.

Q2. What poetic devices does Yeats use in the poem? How do they contribute to the poem’s meaning and effect?
Answer: The different poetic devices Yeats used and its contribution are in the poem –

1. Imagery: Vivid pictures of Innisfree, like “bee-loud glade” and “noon a purple glow,” make the island come alive.
2. Repetition: “I will arise and go now” emphasizes urgency and determination.
3. Alliteration: Phrases like “lake water lapping” create a musical, pleasant effect.
4. Symbolism: Innisfree symbolizes peace and natural retreat; city “pavements grey” symbolize monotony.
5. Personification: The cricket “sings,” making the natural setting lively.

Q3. What is the role of nostalgia in the poem? How is it expressed?
Answer: Nostalgia drives the speaker’s longing for a simpler, peaceful life. It is expressed through the contrast between the busy city and the serene island, and through his inner vision of “lake water lapping” in the “deep heart’s core,” showing that Innisfree exists in memory and imagination as a source of emotional and spiritual solace.