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Question I:

1.       What kin d of place is lnnisfree? Think about:

(i)      the three things the poet wants to do when he goes back there (stanza I);

(ii)     what he hears and sees there and its effect on him (stanza I I);

(iii)    what he hears in his "heart's core" even when he is far away from Innisfree (stanza III). 2. By now you may have concluded that Innisfree is a simple, natural place, full of beau ty and peace. How does the poet contrast it with where he now stands? (Read stanza II I.)

3. Do you think I nnisfree is only a place, or a state of mind? Does the poet actually miss the place of

his boyhood days?

Answer I:

1. Innisfree is a lake island. It is a peaceful place where the crickets sing. The poet wants to visit this place to enjoy peace during his childhood.

(i) The poet wanted to build a small beautiful cabin from clay and wattles.

•                     He also wanted to plant nine rows of beans

•                     He wanted keep the honey bee hive.

(ii)     He hears and sees the crickets singing. He also enjoy the purple rays of the sun in the noon.

 (iii)   He hears in the deep heart's core the low sounds of water flowing towards the shore when he is far away from lnnisfree.

2.       The poet contrasts the clay and wattle made cabin, bee loud glade, morning with dews and crickets songs, midnight with glimmer, noon with purple glow, evenings with linnet's songs lake water lapping with low sounds by the shore etc.

3.       Innisfree is poet's boyhood scare and it also represen ts his state of mind. The poet wishes to escape to Innisfree because it is much more peaceful than where he is residing now-th e city. Innisfree is representation of what the poet considers an ideally perfect place to live, which is deprived of the restless humdrum of his life.

Yes, the poet actually misses the place of his boyhood days. Even when he is away from Inn isfree, he remembers the sound of the lake water washing the shore.

Question II:

1. Look at the words the poet uses to describe what he sees and hears at Innisfree

(i) bee- loud glade

(ii)     evenings full of the linnet's wings

(iii)    lake water lapping with low sounds

What pictures do these words create in your mind?

2. Look at these words;

... peace comes dropping slow

Dropping from the veils of the morning to where the cricket sings

What do these words mean to you? What do you think "comes dropping slow...from the veils of the morning"? What does "to where the cricket sings" mean?

Answer II:

1.

(i)      These words resemble the image of buzzing bees.

(ii)     These words bring up the image of linnets flying across an evening sky.

(iii)    These words evoke not only the image but also the soft sound of a lake's water washing the shore.

2. The given lines indicate that peaceful ness of mind can be slowly attained from the natural surroundings.

It is peace that "comes dropping slow...from the veils of the morning". The phrase "to where the cricket sings" indicates a peacef ul place where one can hear the vibrant sounds of nature and its creatures- sounds such as the songs of the crickets at the time of dawn.