An Irish Airman Foresees His Death by William Butler Yeats is a pessimistic exploration into the speaker’s motivation to take part in WWI as a fighter pilot. In contrast to many war poems, this speaker is not motivated by national pride, nor by desire to defend the rights of oppressed people, but rather by a somewhat reckless ‘impulse of delight’.
This study guide is written for students and teachers of English Literature, particularly those studying CCEA’s GCSE English Literature Conflict Anthology. For more study guides from this anthology, check out the Conflict page, or the list of poems in the series at the bottom of this guide.
An Irish Airman Foresees His Death
What is 'An Irish Airman Foresees His Death' all about?
Summary
An Irish Airman Foresees his death is a personal meditation on the speaker’s motivation for taking part in World War I.
In the opening line, the speaker acknowledges that his choice to take part might well lead to his death. Seeming to neither fear nor welcome it, he simply states his death as a distinct possibility as a result of taking part in the war.
The speaker goes on to explain that he is not fighting for typical reasons: he does not hate the opposing army, nor does he love the people he is fighting for (in this case, Britain). He is from Kiltartan, a small town in Co. Galway, Ireland. He explains that his action in taking part in WWI will neither help nor hinder the ordinary people of Kiltartan.
His motivation for taking part was ‘a lonely impulse of delight’; in other words, a seeking of pleasure, rather than any kind of duty, requirement or desire for glory.
He concludes that all of his life up until this moment and any life after is all relatively meaningless. Therefore, he holds the potential and consequences of dying in balance with the potential and consequences of living and decides that there is nothing to be lost or gained in either.
Context of 'An Irish Airman Foresees His Death'
William Butler Yeats
William Butler Yeats, often referred to as W.B. Yeats, was born on June 13, 1865, in Sandymount, County Dublin, Ireland. He was the eldest son of John Butler Yeats, a talented portrait painter, and Susan Mary Pollexfen, a member of a wealthy merchant family. Yeats spent his early years in County Sligo, where he developed a deep connection to the landscape and folklore of Ireland, which would later influence his writing.
Education
Yeats received his education at various schools in Dublin and London, including the Godolphin School and the Metropolitan School of Art. He showed early talent in poetry and literature, publishing his first poems in Dublin University Review while still a student. In 1889, Yeats co-founded the Rhymers’ Club in London, a group dedicated to the promotion of poetic experimentation and innovation.
Abbey Theatre
Throughout his career, Yeats was heavily involved in the Irish literary and cultural revival, seeking to create a distinctive Irish identity through literature and art. Along with Lady Augusta Gregory, he was a key figure in the founding of the Irish Literary Theatre, which later evolved into the Abbey Theatre, Ireland’s national theatre. Yeats served as a director and playwright for the Abbey Theatre, producing many of his own plays, which drew upon Irish mythology and folklore.
In addition to his work in theatre, Yeats is best known for his poetry, which often explores themes of love, mysticism, and the Irish nationalist movement. His early poetry collections, such as “The Wanderings of Oisin and Other Poems” (1889) and “The Wind Among the Reeds” (1899), established him as one of the leading poets of the Celtic Revival. Later works, including “The Tower” (1928) and “The Winding Stair and Other Poems” (1933), reflect his evolving style and political concerns.
Yeats was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1923 for his “inspired poetry, which in a highly artistic form gives expression to the spirit of a whole nation.” He continued to write and publish poetry, essays, and plays until his death on January 28, 1939, in Roquebrune-Cap-Martin, France. Today, Yeats is regarded as one of the greatest poets of the 20th century and a central figure in Irish literary history.
Context of 'An Irish Airman Foresees His Death'
An Irish Airman Foresees His Death was published in Yeats’ collection ‘The Wild Swans at Coole’ in 1919.
Historically, Ireland had been under British rule for centuries, leading to tensions and conflicts between the two nations. The struggle for Irish independence gained momentum in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The complex relationships between Ireland and Britain at this time included the outbreak of WWI in 1914, the Easter Rising of 1916, the War of Independence (1919-1921) and Civil War (1922-1923). It is during this time that “An Irish Airman Foresees His Death” by W.B. Yeats was written.
During World War I, Ireland’s participation in the conflict was complicated by its colonial status and the ongoing struggle for independence. Many Irishmen, including both nationalists and unionists, enlisted to fight in the war, viewing it as an opportunity to demonstrate loyalty to Britain or to secure political concessions.
The poem reflects the perspective of an Irish airman who has joined the British Royal Flying Corps to fight in the war. Despite his participation, the airman maintains a sense of detachment from the broader political and patriotic motivations of the conflict. Instead, he expresses a personal and existential perspective on life, death, and the nature of warfare.
Yeats wrote the poem in 1918, towards the end of World War I, amidst a backdrop of shifting political allegiances and growing nationalist sentiments in Ireland. The poem captures the ambivalence and complexity of the Irish experience during this period, highlighting the individual’s struggle to reconcile personal identity with national identity.
Robert Gregory
Major Robert Gregory was the son of Lady Augusta Gregory, a close friend of Yeats. Lady Gregory lived at Coole Park, a place Yeats visited often, along with other literary figures of the time, and where he wrote the poem ‘The Wild Swans at Coole’.
Robert Gregory was a talented artist and a member of the Royal Flying Corps during World War I. He was killed in action (friendly fire) on January 23, 1918, when his plane was shot down over Italy. His death deeply affected Yeats, who admired Gregory’s courage and artistic talents.
In “An Irish Airman Foresees His Death,” Yeats uses the persona of an Irish airman to explore themes of mortality, identity, and the nature of warfare. While the poem is not a direct portrayal of Robert Gregory’s thoughts or experiences, it is widely believed to have been inspired by his life and death. Yeats’ tribute to Gregory in the poem serves as a reflection on the sacrifice and existential contemplation of those who fought in World War I, particularly Irishmen like Gregory, whose political allegiances were difficult to sum up.
Line-by-line analysis
Stanza 1
I know that I shall meet my fate
- Personal pronoun (‘I’) is used to show the speaker’s personal reflection is the subject matter for the poem. He is not speaking to anyone specific, nor speaking on behalf of anyone, but simply pondering his own thoughts.
- The verbs ‘know’ and ‘shall’ gives a tone of certainty here. The speaker is not hopefully of, or expecting to live due to his choice to fly a WWI plane.
Somewhere among the clouds above;
- This line is not a metaphor: the speaker believes that his choice to fly this plane will bring about his death in the sky.
- Enjambment from the previous line straight into this one lends the poem a casual tone, despite the very serious subject matter.
Those that I fight I do not hate,
- This line and the next are beautifully constructed in parallel patterns. The repetition of ‘I’ and the pair of verbs ‘fight’ and ‘hate’ form a well balanced phrase, which is repeated and echoed in the next line.
- The speaker explains his motivation: he does not hate those he fights (in this case, the Central Powers of Germany, Austria-Hungary, Bulgaria and the Ottoman Empire).
Those that I guard I do not love;
- The parallel structure here echoes the previous line: the repeated ‘I’ and the verbs ‘guard’ and ‘love’.
- Opposite pairs of ‘fight’ and ‘guard’, and ‘hate’ and ‘love’ form a clear statement of belief: the speaker negates all of the most typical reasons for joining the war.
My country is Kiltartan Cross,
- In line 5, the speaker reveals the reason for his lack of love for the side he fights on: he is from Kiltartan, a town in County Galway, Ireland. During WWI, Ireland remained neutral and did not take part. The speaker has joined the British army, but he does not do so out of love (see above Context section for more information on this).
- The simple phrase states the speaker’s nationality and sense of identity: he is Irish. What is unsaid is that he is not British.
- Alliteration adds to the rhythm and sound effects of this line, in repeating the ‘c/k’ sound in ‘country’ and Kiltartan Cross’.
- The place Kiltartan’s Cross is a symbol of his identity: he is Irish. The mention of the cross reminds the reader of the identity of rural Ireland: the speaker’s country and identity is in small town of Ireland, not in the British army.
My countrymen Kiltartan’s poor,
- Again, this line parallels and echoes the line above. The anaphora in ‘My country’ adds structure and rhythm, as well as a sense of certainty in the speaker’s tone. He is not confused or searching for his identity: that is not the reason he has chosen to take part in the war.
- This pair of lines is also connected through the continuing alliteration of ‘countrymen Kiltartan’s poor’.
- In identifying his fellow citizens as ‘poor’, the speaker subtly implies the negative impact of British rule in Ireland, in oppressing the people.
No likely end could bring them loss
- The speaker acknowledges the irony that his end (which is likely) will not signify a loss for any of those in Ireland. As a British pilot, no one in Ireland will be aware of his actions. He feels that his own life, actions or death are insignificant to their existence, making war irrelevant to them. This is, to be fair, a reasonable conclusion given that Ireland was not involved in the conflict of WWI.
Or leave them happier than before.
- Yeats again uses pairs of lines to create parallel structures and balance, lending the poem a beautiful fluency and rhythm. The comparative adjective ‘happier’ is juxtaposed to the ‘loss’ of the previous line.
- The conjunction ‘or’ is used to balance these ideas of loss and gain.
Nor law, nor duty bade me fight,
- Anaphora is used to repeat ‘nor’ at the beginning of these two phrases, emphasising the airman’s rejection of conventional reasons for joining the war: ‘law’ (i.e. conscription) or ‘duty’ (a sense of the need for men to step up to defend their country)
Nor public men, nor cheering crowds,
- Again, to create balance, anaphora is used to dismiss two more reasons which might cause others to join the war: ‘public men’ (i.e. politicians or leaders) and the ‘cheering crowds (i.e. the glory or praise of others, and the patriotic fervor that underscored much of the military’s recruitment style during WWI).
A lonely impulse of delight
- Oxymoron is used to juxtapose ‘lonely’ and ‘delight’ suggesting his solitary decision was in pursuit of fun and excitement in the midst of the chaos and violence of war.
Drove to this tumult in the clouds;
- ‘Tumult in the clouds’ acts as both a metaphor and a literal interpretation: metaphorically, there is confusion and chaos in the world. But literally, he is in the clouds, flying a plane for the British Army.
I balanced all, brought all to mind,
- Repetition of ‘all’ is used to continue the balance of ideas, a pattern which has been used throughout.
- Repeating ‘all’ emphasises the airman’s thorough decision making process and his certainty in making his choice.
The years to come seemed waste of breath,
- Metaphor is used to suggest the airman sees his future as lacking meaning or significance. Perhaps he has nothing to lose personally, or perhaps it is a wider existential crisis and he is struggling to find meaning in a world torn apart by war.
A waste of breath the years behind
- Parallelism is used again to echo and reverse the line above: not only does his future hold little meaning, but also his past. As a human being, he finds that his life has little meaning or importance, and so giving in to an impulse to fly a plane at war seems to offer more, despite the distinct possibility of death that it brings.
In balance with this life, this death.
- The juxtaposition of life and death in the final line sums up the message of the poem: the airman accepts his mortality as simply a part of the human experience. When all is held in balance, life and death are of equal worth and value, if there is worth and value to be had in anything.
- The caesura in the comma after life creates a pause, and makes the line feel very measured, careful and serious. There is nothing flippant about the airman’s thinking, but rather this decision has arisen out of his clear philosophy and reasoning.
Analysis of form and structure
Verse structure
An Irish Airman Foresees His Death is written as one long verse of 16 lines.
Within these 16 lines, it is structured into quatrains (four-line sections) due to the rhyme scheme (see below) but there are no breaks in the verse structure.
The single verse structure creates a sense of continuity and consistency. There is no change to the speaker’s thinking: he is consistent from start to finish in his knowledge that he might die and his acceptance of that fact.
Rhyme
The poem has a regular rhyme scheme, using alternate rhyming pairs: ABABCDCDEFEFGHGH
Again, the consistency in the rhyme echoes that of the verse structure: certainty, with no deviation, giving a calm, firm and measured tone to the poem.
Rhythm
The rhythm of An Irish Airman Foresees His Death is, like the verse structure and rhyme, regular. Yeats uses iambic tetrameter, which means there are four pairs of syllables in each line (eight syllables in total per line). The pattern within each pair is: unstressed then stressed.
Take a look at the first four lines as an example. The stressed syllable comes second in each pair, and is shown in bold:
Themes in 'An Irish Airman Foresees His Death'
Existentialism
The poem grapples with existential questions concerning the purpose and meaning of life in the face of death. The airman’s contemplation of his impending death prompts his reflection on the uncertainty and meaninglessness of life. His acceptance of the futility of the years past and the years to come reflects an existential acceptance of life’s purposelessness.
Identity and homeland
References to ‘Kiltartan Cross’ and ‘Kiltartan’s poor’ make clear the airman’s connection to his homeland and his local identity. Despite his involvement in a global conflict, and surprisingly, despite his choice to fight for the British army, the airman remains certain of his Irish identity.
Death
From the opening line, the airman accepts his impending death with a sense of resignation. He views death as a natural and inevitable part of life, finding balance and acceptance in the symmetry of existence. This theme of acceptance reflects a stoic understanding of the inevitability of death.
War
Throughout the poem, the airman expresses a sense of detachment from the war and its participants. He neither harbours hatred towards the enemy he fights nor feels love for those he protects. This detachment emphasises the airman’s isolation and introspection. Many war poems describe the companionship of other soldiers, or the emotive impact of war on others, but this poem is a very detached statement on war from an isolated individual.
The airman’s decision to join the war effort is driven by his impulse rather than more conventional motivations such as duty, patriotism, or desire for glory. This emphasis on individual choice and autonomy highlights the theme of individualism. Despite the collective nature of war, the airman’s experience is profoundly personal.
Quiz on 'An Irish Airman Foresees His Death'
‘An Irish Airman Foresees His Death’ Quiz
Test your knowledge of the poem 'An Irish Airman Foresees His Death' by W.B. Yeats.
Comprehension Questions
- What does the airman foresee about his future in the poem?
- How does the airman feel about the enemy he fights and the people he protects?
- Explain the significance of the place “Kiltartan Cross” mentioned in the poem.
- What reasons does the airman give for enlisting to fight in the war?
- How does the airman view his past and future in relation to his decision to fight?
- Discuss the meaning of the line “In balance with this life, this death.”
- How does the poem’s structure (its rhyme scheme and rhythm) contribute to its overall mood and message?
- What themes does W.B. Yeats explore through the thoughts and feelings of the airman?
- Reflect on the title “An Irish Airman Foresees His Death.” How does it prepare the reader for the poem’s content and tone?
- Choose another poem to compare and contrast with this poem from the CCEA Conflict anthology, and write about the similarities and differences between the poems in terms of their form, structure, language, message and context.
Other poems from the CCEA Conflict Anthology to pair with 'An Irish Airman Foresees His Death'
Heaney and Yeats are two of the most famous Irish poets of all time. Both poets are fiercely proud of their nationality, and this is reflected in their poetry, giving students the opportunity to compare the contexts of these two poems. Both poems have subtle or not so subtle anti-British messages running through them, and both poems keep to a regular verse structure and form.
Both poems depict the experience of soldiers in war, capturing the chaos, fear, and existential questioning that accompany conflict. Both focus on the perspective of an individual soldier rather than providing a broader view of war. Both poems delve into existential themes such as the meaning of life, the inevitability of death, and the futility of human actions in the face of larger forces. Despite these similarities, the poems have very different tones, contexts and structures, giving students plenty to contrast.
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