List of all literary devices used in the poem the lake isle of innisfr...
Literary Devices in "The Lake Isle of Innisfree"
1. Alliteration
Alliteration is the repetition of the same sounds or letters at the beginning of consecutive words or phrases. Yeats uses alliteration to create a musical effect in the following lines:
“Nine bean-rows will I have there, a hive for the honey-bee,
And live alone in the bee-loud glade.”
2. Imagery
Imagery refers to the use of descriptive and sensory language to create mental images in the reader’s mind. Yeats uses vivid imagery to describe Innisfree and its beauty:
“And I shall have some peace there, for peace comes dropping slow,
Dropping from the veils of the morning to where the cricket sings;
There midnight's all a glimmer, and noon a purple glow,
And evening full of the linnet's wings.”
3. Repetition
Repetition is the repeating of words or phrases in order to emphasize their importance or to create a rhythmic effect. Yeats repeats the phrase “I will arise and go” throughout the poem to emphasize the speaker’s desire to leave the city and go to Innisfree.
4. Symbolism
Symbolism is the use of symbols to represent ideas or qualities. In the poem, Innisfree is a symbol for a utopian place of peace and tranquility. The speaker’s desire to go there represents a desire for escape from the noise and chaos of city life.
5. Personification
Personification is the attribution of human qualities to non-human things. Yeats personifies nature in the following lines:
“And I shall have some peace there, for peace comes dropping slow,
Dropping from the veils of the morning to where the cricket sings”
6. Metaphor
A metaphor is a comparison between two things that are not literally alike. Yeats uses a metaphor to describe the peace he will find at Innisfree:
“And I shall have some peace there, for peace comes dropping slow,
Dropping from the veils of the morning to where the cricket sings”
7. Hyperbole
Hyperbole is the use of exaggeration for emphasis or effect. Yeats uses hyperbole to describe his desire to go to Innisfree:
“And live alone in the bee-loud glade.”