Historical Context in An Acre of Grass

Blake was a mystic who sought to understand that which lies beyond the intellect; consequently, “the wall” can be interpreted as an indirect metaphor describing the barrier between physical reality and spiritual or cosmic truth. Capitalizing “Truth” emphasizes its importance, as many poets have considered the principal objective of poetry is to reveal truth.

Yeats wrote the poem while living at Riversdale, a beautiful 18th-century farmhouse in Rathfarnham, a suburb of Dublin. Over time, the original five-acre estate was reduced to one acre of land. Yeats leased Riversdale, which proved to be his last family home, in 1932.