... of life ( 'I balanced all') the speaker views the future as meaningless and futile: 'The years to come seemed a waste of breath.' The repetition of the same phrase to dismiss the past heightens the sense of despondency that envelops the close of the poem. The final lines of the poem reflect the grim logic of a man who regards his life as pointless and who is now prepared to meet his fate 'somewhere among the clouds above.' The theme in Lake Isle of Innisfree ... is Yeats's desire to escape from the grim, drab, urban world to the pastoral utopia that is Innisfree: While .....

• Word Count: 2730
• Approx Pages: 11
• Grade Level: High School