Analysis of 'The lake of Innisfree'

'And live alone in the bee-loud glade' - this gives the idea of solitude, living alone but yet not that alone as he has got the bees buzzing. This gives a soft sound as if he wants company and is comparable to an old man with a radio. It also means that unlike London, its so quiet that all you can hear are the bees buzzing. This is another example of contrast.

In line 5 there is the phrase 'for peace comes droppings slow'. the main word in this phrase is peace. There is the idea of peacefulness, calmness, quietness and harmony which in itself give the idea of relaxation, not stress, calm and an anger free environment. The peace refers to the literal silence

'dropping slow' - this means in order to feel peaceful you have to wait, it takes time and is slow as you need to concentrate and focus.

There is also a metaphor behind the word 'dropping' which gives the idea of a tap dripping into a bucket, when the bucket is full peacefulness is achieved. In order for the bucket to fill though, you have to be patient as it's a slow process.

'dropping from the veils of the morning'. a veil is a piece of material that usually hides something. The veil of the morning means mist as mist hides everything. The fog is translucent and this add to the feeling of mystery. When he sees mist it reminds him of remoteness and peace is absorbed into him.

In the poem he describes many noises that occur on the island, for example crickets singing which sounds joyful. The word singing in this line personifies the cricket whereas the word chirping wouldn't have.

In line 5- 'midnights all a glimmer' shows the moon or the stars glimmering in the water as a reflection.

'noon a purple glow' is referring to the strange colours you get, the further north you go e.g. the northern lights.

He describes another noise in the 2nd stanza, this time of the birds flapping their wings. Its similar to the bees and shows how he needs solitude yet with a gentle sound. (bees buzzing, birds flapping, and crickets singing).

In stanza 3 he repeats the words 'I will arise and go now' which gives the feeling that he really wants to do it.

He hears the water from the lake lapping at the shores and imagines it as he stands in grim London. The water lapping is another calm sound which suggests tranquillity. It's as if he's being tempted by the sounds of nature.

Line 11- the grey, dull pavements contrast with the 'purple noon' in verse 2. 'I hear it in my deep hearts core'. the core of an apple is the centre, the soul in a human or the heart. This means that he's experiencing a desire that fills his whole body and that he really wants to go.

The phrase 'I will arise and go now' is a quotation from the bible and the story of the prodigal son. The phrase itself comes from the exact part where he's had enough of cleaning and eating with the pigs and is 'I will arise and go to my father' (Luke 15 v18). It means you should do what you really want to do . In the story, the son goes back to his father and in the verse Keat's wants to return to his homeland (Innisfree).