Extract Based Questions: The Lake Isle of Innisfree - Class 9 PDF Download

Read the extracts given below and answer the questions that follow.
Q1: I will arise and go now, and go to Innisfree,
And a small cabin build there, of clay and wattles made; 
Nine bean-rows will I have there, a hive for the honey-bee,
And live alone in the bee-loud glade.

(a) Who does T refer to in the stanza?
Ans: I is the speaker/ the poet William Butler Yeats

(b) Where is he at the present moment?
Ans: He is walking down a road in London.

(c) Where does he want to go?
Ans: He wants to go to the lake island of Innisfree, a place where he had spent a lot of time as a boy.

(d) What does he wish to do there?
Ans: He wishes to build a small hut of clay and wattles. He will sow nine rows of beans and keep a hive for the honeybee.

Q2: I will arise and go now, and go to Innisfree,
And a small cabin build there, of clay and wattles made;
Nine bean-rows will I have there, a hive for the honey-bee,
And live alone in the bee-loud glade.

(a) Name the poetic device used in the first line.
Ans: Allusion: The poet’s declaration ‘’I will arise and go now, and go to Innisfree” echoes the words of the prodigal son in the Bible when he says, ‘’I will arise and go to my father.”

(b) What does the word ‘there’ in the above lines refer to?
Ans: ‘There’ in the above lines refer to Lake Isle of Innisfree.

(c) Why does the poet wish to do go to Innisfree?
Ans: The poet wishes to live in the lap of Nature, away from the hubbub of the city.

(d) What does the stanza suggest about the poet?
Ans: The poet loves to live in the lap of nature.

Q3: 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 evenings full of the linnet’s wings.
(a) What is the poet going there to find?
Ans: The poet hopes to find peace in Innisfree.

(b) Explain: What do you think “for peace comes dropping slow/ Dropping from the veils of the morning”?
Ans: The given lines indicate that peace of mind can be slowly acquired from the natural surroundings. It is peace that comes slowly, falling like morning mist from the sky and slowly fades away until it is night.

(c) How has noon been described in the stanza?
Ans: Noon has been described as a purple glow. Here, a purple glow in the sky gives noon a magical quality. The poet could also be referring to the sight of purple flowers of heather in the afternoon

(d) What is a ‘Linnet’?
Ans: A mainly brown and grey finch with a reddish breast and forehead.

Q4: 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 evenings full of the linnet’s wings.
(a) Where is the poet at the moment?
Ans: He is standing on a pavement in London, imagining he is at Innisfree.

(b) What did the poet see in the morning?
Ans: The poet saw dewdrops which seemed to be dropping from the skies and which brought peace.

(c) What did the poet hear?
Ans: The poet heard the singing of the crickets and the flapping of the linnet’s wings.

(d) How does peace come in the morning?
Ans: The peace comes dropping in the form of dewdrops in the morning when the sun rises from behind the curtains of mist. It gives immense pleasure to the poet.

Q5: I will arise and go now, for always night and day
I hear the lake water lapping with low sounds by the shore;
While I stand on the roadway, or on the pavements grey,
I hear it in the deep heart’s core.
(a) What is the poet’s tone as he repeats “I will arise and go now”?
Ans: The poet is determined to go back to Innisfree.

(b) What does the poet hear?
Ans: The hears the lake water lapping with low sounds against the shore.

(c) What do you learn about the poet in this stanza?
Ans: The poet loves nature and is determined to return to live with nature.

(d) How does the poet contrast London and Innisfree?
Ans: The poet contrasts the colours of nature with the grey of the London streets.

Q6: I will arise and go now, for always night and day
I hear the lake water lapping with low sounds by the shore;
While I stand on the roadway, or on the pavements grey,
I hear it in the deep heart’s core.

(a) Explain the line “lake water lapping with low sounds”.
Ans: The poet hears the quiet sound of lake’s waves as they gently break on the shore.

(b) Bring out the internal rhyme used in the above lines.
Ans: While I stand on the roadway, or on the pavements grey

(c) Why does the poet want to go to Lake Isle of Innisfree?
Ans: The poet is unhappy with the life in the city. He wants to lead a peaceful life in the lap of nature. He wants to go to Innisfree because it is natural place full of beauty.

(d) Why is the poet looking for peace in Innisfree?
Ans: The poet is living in London at the moment. He does not find peace in the city.