Jul 25, 2010

Yeats, "The Lake Isle of Innisfree"


8 comments:

Barbaro said...

What, no commentary? I'm supposed to think for myself now?!

I've never quite "gotten" Yeats, but this seems more like Thomas or Auden.

I get a little depressed just thinking about how to convince teenagers that the language and form are not fussy and old-fashioned.

Anonymous said...

Your Innisfree? I'm guessing this is Ohio, since they have Amish communities. Your photos are lovely.

(College kind of killed most Yeats for me.)

Brenda's Arizona said...

Nice poem - so calm and full of imagery. Exactly nine rows... and the sound of the water lapping day and night... I bet the days all blend together in this idyllic place!
Does this mean you are going on vacation??

(side note - Winters Bone starts here this week. Am going to see it tomorrow!)

Banjo52 said...

In one post, two non-lovers of The Sligo Dude emerge! Shocking. But yes, an overly academic approach to him can kill him (or anyone?).

This poem comes from the early Yeats, before he got all highfalutin with his theories and phases of the moon (though I love a lot of his later work). Maybe I'll do another softie of his soon. If you put a gun to my head, I'd probably choose Yeats over Hopkins and Frost as my personal favorites, though I'd be cross with you for forcing me to choose. And for the gun.

Pics are in Ontario farm country around Stratford. AH, it's one of my Innisfrees, along with Ohio, Pennsylvania, Kentucky, southern Indiana. (I know, I'm quite the hellion. But remember, I go to those places to bungee jump and sky dive).

I didn't know the Amish were in Ontario.

The gold in that crop blew me away. Is that "merely" wheat or hay? And cut so early in the season?

Brenda, I'm REALLY glad someone has a chance to see Winter's Bone and is taking advantage. It might not seem so, but I'm very reluctant to recommend a poem or restaurant or movie. I've had too much mediocrity rammed down my throat. Yes, yes, I didn't have to try the . . . cajun roadkill stew . . . or whatever.

But I do hope anyone seeing it even partly because of my say-so isn't disappointed. I thought it might have gotten just an ounce too arty in the last two minutes or so, but I've more than forgiven it, as you can see.

By the way, any teachers out there looking for strong female characters to present to students need to see this flick. Maybe the book is just as good; as usual I haven't read it. As usual, I intend to.

**

Anonymous said...

Southern Indiana? One of the most beautiful places on earth. I have wonderful memories of So Indiana. And I was just about to bend your ear with them, but just realized, what? No hang gliding?

Anonymous said...

One more thing -- wasn't it Georgie who believed in automatic writing?

Banjo52 said...

Oh, hang gliding. I thought that went without saying.

Georgie??

Banjo52 said...

AH, where in So. Indiana? Bend our ears, please.

Lovers' Lane