The Lake Isle of Innisfree Vocabulary

Vocabulary and key terms from William Butler Yeats' poem 'The Lake Isle of Innisfree,' covering literary context, specific imagery, and themes.

William Butler Yeats

An Irish poet, dramatist, writer, and politician who was a driving force behind the Irish Literary Revival and winner of the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1923.

Innisfree

The name of the lake isle where the speaker wishes to go to build a small cabin and find peace.

Wattles

Twisted sticks or material used along with clay to build the small cabin in the poem.

Bee-loud glade

An open space where the speaker plans to live alone, characterized by the sounds of the honey-bee.

Veils of the morning

A metaphor used in the poem for clouds, from which peace is described as dropping slow.

Linnet

A type of bird whose wings are described as filling the evening in Innisfree.

Lapping

The low sounds made by lake water hitting the shore, which the speaker hears in his deep heart's core.

Pavements grey

The urban environment (city) where the speaker stands while imaging the natural beauty of Innisfree.

Deep heart's core

The place within the speaker where he hears the constant sound of lake water, regardless of his physical location.

Glimmer

The quality of light the speaker associates with midnight in Innisfree.

Purple glow

The appearance of noon in the natural setting of Innisfree.