“The Lake Isle of Innisfree” describes the speaker’s desire to leave the city and go to the countryside of western Ireland. Innisfree is the name of a small island lake in County Sligo. “Innisfree” means “heather island,” named after a common shrub of the region that has purple flowers. The poem is made up of three stanzas of four lines (called quatrains).
In the first quatrain, the speaker declares his intention to go to Innisfree. He wants to build a cabin out of clay and sticks. He also plans to grow beans and tend to a beehive so he can gather honey. He wants to live alone in a clearing on the island.
In the second quatrain, the speaker says that this life in the Irish countryside will bring him peace. He describes the fog that settles over the lake and island in the morning. He describes the night on Innisfree as shining with stars and the daytime as purple with the color of heather reflected in the lake. The speaker describes the sounds of creatures like crickets and linnets (a small brown and gray bird).
In the third and final quatrain, the speaker again announces that he will go to Innisfree. He says that he always imagines the sound of the lake lapping against the island. In the final two lines, it becomes clear that the speaker is not in Innisfree but rather a large city. Though he is on busy roads and sidewalks, it is as if he can hear the sounds of the island in Ireland deep within his heart.
