1. Have you ever found a place that you would describe as ‘heaven on earth’? This could be a place you have been to on holidays or just dream of visiting.
2. Schools can be noisy places, especially before school starts, during break-times and when school finishes for the day. Do you enjoy all the hustle and bustle or are there times when you long for some peace and quiet?
3. Have you ever been homesick? If so, describe how this feels.
COMPREHENDING AND RESPONDING
1. Do you like how this poem begins: ‘I will arise and go now’? Give reasons for your answer.
2. In lines 2–4 what kind of lifestyle do you think Yeats is describing?
3. What variety of sounds will the poet hear when he is in Innisfree? Refer to the poem in support of your answer.
4. If you had to sum up Yeats’ desire to go to Innisfree in one line, what would that line be?
5. As well as sound, what other senses does this poem appeal to? Support your answer with reference to the poem.
6. Explain the last stanza of this poem in your own words. 7. How would you describe the tone of this poem?
8. What does Yeats’ use of alliteration, sibilance and rhyme add to this poem, in your opinion?
9. What theme or themes can be found in this poem?
CREATING
1. Write the diary entry of a man or woman living in seclusion on their own private island.
2. Write a short story about a character who longs to return to a place he or she had lived in many years before.
3. Write an article for a popular magazine in which you explore the benefits of time away from modern technology.
4. Write a blog entry outlining ways in which people could live more sustainably and in greater harmony with their environment.
5. The lake isle of Innisfree is being sold. Write the copy of an advertisement to accompany photographs of the property in a national newspaper. Your copy must be no more than 250 words.
