"An Irish Airman Foresees His Death" by William Butler Yeats

In “An Irish Airman Foresees His Death,” William Butler Yeats’ poem, he focuses on man’s inner nature. He touches on a lot of thoughts that need to race by means of one’s thoughts at the point when they comprehend that their death is unavoidable. Major notion of this this poem is death. In this poem, these thoughts include the airman’s believed destination after leaving Earth, his feelings about his enemies and his supporters, and his view of how he has spent his life. By telling the airman’s attainable final thoughts, writer shows that there is a great deal much more to war than the political controversy between two opposing forces and that it causes men to query every thing they have ever known and believed. This sonnet like poem but not a sonnet consists of 16 lines.

At the beginning of the poem, Yeats presents the reader the airman’s 1st believed inner thought. The airman has concluded that he is going to die. In the words, “I know that I shall meet my fate / Someplace among the clouds above,” in the beginning speaker declares that he will die fighting amongst the clouds. Airman appears to have accepted this destiny (lines 1-two). Airman does not speak about fighting it or wishing it away. He knows the realities of the position that he is in and has decided to fully accept the unavoidable outcome. Although a single may envision the airman flying his plane into hazardous territory or possibly imprisoned by the enemy, the writer does not tell the reader what is taking place to him. This is continuous with Yeats’ style of describing the inward versus the outward events in his poems. Realizing what is taking place to the airman would probably not improve or even impact the poem due to the fact Yeats desires the reader to know what is taking place inside this man.

In the finish of initial quatrain the writer talks about Airman’s enemies and supporters. In which, he tends to make his point clear that he does not hate his enemies, nor he loves his supporters “Those that I fight I do not hate /Those that I guard I do not love”. The speaker is describing the psychology of a soldier. He’s forced to fight and defend his nation, but he’s not up for either one of those tasks. He doesn’t want to kill the enemy due to the fact he doesn’t hate them, and he doesn’t want to protect or “guard” his countrymen since he doesn’t genuinely love them. the writer tends to make the reader think that may possibly be the writer or Airman is confused due to the fact the airman has no objective to go to the war.

At the end of the poem the writer states that the airman is tired of his life and he feel that his life useless, in the words of “The years to come seemed waste of breath / A waste of breath the years behind”. In other words, he is saying that my life is useless anyway, so why not join the military? This is depressing, but is he becoming serious? Now that we consider of it, it is achievable that the speaker is being ironic. When he compares his life with the death, “In balance with this life, this death.” He reaches to the conclusion that probably the death is far better than the life.

The writer has written this poem in a way that reader can assume according to their understanding. The primary notion of this poem, that revolves the complete poem about is death. In the beginning of the poem, it feels like the Airman is getting forced to go to the war, but, as the passes the entire point gets opposite that he chose to go not been forced. Yeats’ only solution to the question of why Airman got involved in the very first place is a “lonely impulse of delight.”