The poem ‘ The Lake Isle of Innisfree ‘ shows the modern man’s conflict between the reality & the ideal. Do you agree ? Prove your view.
The Lake Isle of Innisfree is a nature poem written by W. B. Yeats that describes a beautiful isle. The Speaker is in the middle of a city although his mind is in a natural , beautiful environment. He wants to go to Innisfree but he can’t. This poem shows his struggle between the city & the Innisfree in his mind. So I agree with the statement that this poem shows the modern man’s conflict between the reality & the ideal.
The speaker ‘s description about Innisfree shows how much his mind likes to go there. He will have a little cabin made by clay and wattle. The speaker desires to have such a type of small house because may be he has a big house made by concrete. That is how he struggles between the reality & the ideal. And he will be going to have ,
” Nine bean – rows I will have there a hive for the honey bee “
So the reader has been given a signal that the speaker is not having such simple food. And he desires to be alone. When someone wants to be alone it says he wants to avoid human relationships. But here it is real odd because modern man has grown with society. So his refusal of the reality is highlighted.
The speaker describes a very calm & quiet environment.
” And I shall have some peace there , for peace comes dropping slow “
He wants peace. It shows that he doesn’t get any peace where he is at now. It is clear because
he is in an industrialized city and it is filled with factories and people. The noise is very high & all are busy with their works. He is also one of them. Maybe he is bound with many responsibilities.
So here also , the speaker builds a contrast between reality and the ideal. And he says,
” There midnight’s all a glimmer, and noon a purple glow “
He tells that midnight & noon both are colourful in Innisfree. The stars are shinning in the sky in midnight. Anyone can see stars at any place. But it is not colourful & glimmering in a city. Because there are many buildings & the atmosphere is filled with many gasses. But in Innisfree he will see glimmering stars very clearly. And in the noon , we can imagine how in the middle of a big city appears. Everywhere is filled with grey colour. But in Innisfree the speaker says the whole environment is filled with purple wild flowers. Purple colour is eye-catching than grey colour. So his conflict between city & nature is clear to the reader.
In the Innisfree everywhere is filled with songs of the birds & lake water ‘s lapping sound. It is clear that man is wishing for natural sounds that treats to our heart. The speaker is also one of them. He always hears miserable, noisy sounds. So he wants some naturality for his life. And while he stands on a pavement his mind is in Innisfree. It shows that his urgency to go there. He is yearning for nature.
” I hear it in the deep heart’s core “
Here , also his refusal of the reality is highlighted.
Modern man is the one who begins industrialization. He destroys natural environment & builds an artificial nature. After all these things, he understands that this is not what he really wants. So he tries to avoid artificial nature & be with nature. But unfortunately he can’t do that. He is bound with many responsibilities that he can’t escape from. So he tries to go to nature in his mind to get some relaxation to his life. The one who builds all those try to escape from those things. The pleasing & soothing aspect of nature is highlighted here.
So because of above clues I can agree with the statement that the poem ” The Lake Isle of Innisfree “ shows modern man’s conflict between reality & the ideal though he can’t escape from reality.