6 - An Irish Airman Foresees His Death Flashcards
(15 cards)
What is the context of the poem ‘An Irish Airman Foresees His Death’?
Written in 1918 by William Butler Yeats.
Lived during period of great change in native country as fought to achieve full independence from Britain, but in WW1 many Irishmen went to fight for Britain.
Ireland had complex relationship with Britain.
Speaker is an Irish Airman serving in British Royal Flying Corps during WW1.
Poem captures individual’s struggle to reconcile personal identity with national allegiance during time of growing nationalist sentiment in Ireland.
Poem widely believed to honour Major Robert Gregory, close friend of Yeats who died in action in 1918.
Poem explores state of mind of men who volunteered, as Gregory did, to fight in war and examines their motivation.
Yeats had no military experience himself.
What is the structure and form of the poem ‘An Irish Airman Foresees His Death’?
Rhyme is alternating ABAB Rhyme Scheme, reflects his alternating thoughts on war and what truly motivated him to join and fight.
Rhythm is Iambic Tetrameter, steady rhythm, coupled with consistent rhyme scheme and unchanging structure, reflects speaker’s calmness and composure in face of imminent death.
1 long verse of 16 lines, structured into quatrains.
What are the main themes of the poem ‘An Irish Airman Foresees His Death’?
Death
Duty
Doubt
Motivations in conflict
Futility for conflict
Attitudes to conflict
What poems can be used to compare with the poem ‘An Irish Airman Foresees His Death’ for the theme of death?
Anthem for Doomed Youth
The Charge of the Light Brigade
Requiem for the Croppies
Easter Monday
Vergissmeinnicht
Mametz Wood
Out of the Blue
The Man He Killed
What poems can be used to compare with the poem ‘An Irish Airman Foresees His Death’ for the theme of duty?
The Charge of the Light Brigade
Vitaï Lampada
The Man He Killed
Who’s for the Game?
What poems can be used to compare with the poem ‘An Irish Airman Foresees His Death’ for the theme of doubt?
The Man He Killed
Bayonet Charge
What poems can be used to compare with the poem ‘An Irish Airman Foresees His Death’ for the theme of motivations in conflict?
Bayonet Chrage
The Man He Killed
Who’s for the Game?
What poems can be used to compare with the poem ‘An Irish Airman Foresees His Death’ for the theme of futility of war?
Anthem for Doomed Youth
Bayonet Charge
Mametz Wood
Last Post
The Man He Killed
What poems can be used to compare with the poem ‘An Irish Airman Foresees His Death’ for the theme of reasons for conflict?
Who’s for the Game?
The Man He Killed
Requiem for the Croppies
Bayonet Charge
What poems can be used to compare with the poem ‘An Irish Airman Foresees His Death’ for the theme of attitudes to conflict?
Anthem for Doomed Youth
Who’s for the Game
The Man He Killed
Bayonet Charge
Last Post
What is the analysis for lines 1-4 in the poem ‘An Irish Man Foresees His Death’?
Yeats chose to write poem from first person perspective of Gregory as Yeats had no military experience and knew Gregory well.
‘…shall meet my fate’ - alliteration, going into conflict speaker acknowledges they are facing certain death, suggests almost inevitable.
‘…shall meet my fate’ - speaker somewhat euphemistic, plays down significance of his eventual death, illustrates clam acceptance of it.
‘…shall meet my fate’ - speaker feels no great sense of purpose, meaning or significance attributed to his death, tone of acceptance used reveals view that have meaningless death in meaningless war.
‘Somewhat…’ - vague term reinforces speaker’s casual consideration of their death.
‘…Among the clouds above’ - preposition, speaker seeks to remove himself from chaos and brutality of war, creates heavenly image and sense of peace and tranquility, welcomes death.
‘Those that I fight…’ - anaphora, vague, emotionally unattached way of referring to enemies and allies highlights his disinterest in war, detached tone.
‘Those that I…I do not…’ - repetition reinforces speaker’s apathy towards Britain, enemies and war in general, symmetrical phrasing demonstrates how speaker weighing up thoughts and motivations.
What is the analysis for lines 5-8 in the poem ‘An Irish Man Foresees His Death’?
‘My country…’ - shift from personal pronouns to possessive pronouns suggests greater sense of affiliation with people of hometown, establishing own personal identity neither British or Irish.
‘…is Kiltartan Cross’ - Yeats make reference to Gregory’s small town.
‘My country is Kiltartan Cross’ - consonance emphasises speaker’s pride in place of birth.
‘My countrymen Kiltartan’s poor’ - speaker declares solidarity with poor people of town, rather than elite who govern and orchestrate war effort.
‘No likely end could bring the loss…’ - speaker demonstrates he isn’t influenced by blind patriotism, adopts rational view of war, separates him from idealism of many people who joined war effort.
‘Or leave them happier than before’ - comparative, speaker suggests war will be inconsequential to people of town, collective detachment from conflict as people will remain largely unaffected.
What is the analysis for lines 9-12 in the poem ‘An Irish Man Foresees His Death’?
‘Nor…nor…nor…nor’ - repetition, speaker able to resist effect of propaganda and patriotism, defiantly rejects many of traditional reasons for volunteering to fight in war.
‘Nor public men…’ - employs cynical tone while expressing hint of contempt for those who orchestrate war effort, seen realities of war and not impressed with politicians or public opinion.
‘…nor cheering crowds’ - alliteration, speaker fails to be motivated by patriotism, propaganda or individual glory, suggests aren’t adequate reason to fight and die in war.
‘A lonely impulse of delight’ - speaker’s desire to escape and experience freedom of flying overwhelming factor behind choice to participate in war.
‘A lonely impulse of delight’ - act of flying itself motivates speaker more than any political of moral duty, free from concerns of world beneath him as both literally and figuratively above it, only desire flight and escape.
‘…lonely impulse…’ - he joined without properly thinking about it.
‘Drove to this tumult in the clouds’ - flight acts as metaphor, removed from war, can face death on own terms, ironically only felt truly alive when flying towards inevitable death.
What is the analysis for lines 13-16 in the poem ‘An Irish Man Foresees His Death’?
‘I balanced all…’ - speaker reinforces what thinks is his balanced, logical reason for joining war, presents himself as rational, calm and measured, not swept away be jingoism and emotion.
‘I balanced all, brought all to mind’ - alliterative phrasing reinforces speaker’s desire to die on his own terms.
‘I balanced all, brought all to mind’ - repetition illustrates how speaker is weighing up motivations, beliefs, hopes as accepts inevitable fate.
‘…waste of breath…’ - repetition highlights he is disenchanted with both his future and past, perhaps he welcomes death due to this.
‘A waste of breath…’ - suggests that death, like his life, will be meaningless.
‘In balance with this life…’ - pace continues to slow, reflecting how speaker is moderate and measuring in thinking.
‘In balance with this life, this death’ - continued tone of acceptance until very end, speaker expresses no fear regarding his inevitable death.
‘In balance with this life, this death’ - speaker not dying for cause that he believes in, therefore life given no meaning by war.
What is the content, meaning and purpose of the poem ‘An Irish Airman Foresees His Death’?
Personal meditation on speaker’s motivation for joining WW1.
Poet claims he is not motivated to fight due to patriotism, nor protection of weak, nor duty or moral pressure but simply by thrill of experience.
Challenges conventional notions of duty and patriotism, emphasising individual’s autonomy and existential acceptance of mortality.
Poem explores airman’s detachment from political motives and contemplation of life, death and nature of warfare.
