1. An Irish Airman Foresees His Death
W B YEATS

2. I know that I shall meet my fate Somewhere among the clouds above; Those that I fight I do not hate, Those that I guard I do not love; My country is Kiltartan Cross, My countrymen Kiltartan’s poor, No likely end could bring them loss Or leave them happier than before. Nor law, nor duty bade me fight, Nor public men, nor cheering crowds, A lonely impulse of delight Drove to this tumult in the clouds; I balanced all, brought all to mind, The years to come seemed waste of breath, A waste of breath the years behind In balance with this life, this death.

3. BACKGROUND TO POEM
Written as an epitaph for Major Robert Gregory, son of W.B.Yeats's friend , Lady Gregory,
Joined the Royal Flying Corps in 1916, and he became Chevalier of the Legion d'Honneur in 1917.
Gregory earned a Military Cross 'for conspicuous gallantry and devotion to duty.' 
He died tragically at the age of thirty-seven when an Italian pilot mistakenly shot him down.

4. An Irish Airman Foresees his Death
Context:
Set in World War I
Yeats wrote this as an elegy to Major Robert Gregory: the son of Lady Gregory (one of Yeats’ best friends) who lived in Kiltartan
Themes:
Death
Fate
An Irish Airman Foresees his Death

5. Form and Structure
The tight structure creates an echo effect as if the airman is certain to die
In Iambic tetrameter
Caesura before the last two words ‘this death’ emphasising that the airman’s life is in the hands of destiny, however the caesura could imply that death is the only way out

6. Imagery and Analysis Fate:
“I KNOW that I shall meet my fate/ Somewhere among the clouds above;”-sense of being destined to die
“clouds above”-perhaps a link to ‘The Wild Swans at Coole’ (the place Major Gregory would have grew up/lived) “mirrors a still sky”
“In balance with this life, this death” –the airman’s life in the hands of fate
Death and destruction:
“tumult in the clouds”
“waste of breath”
“A lonely impulse of delight” –ambiguous; however it could be interoperated as the airman taking pleasure in killing/death

7. Further Analysis
“Those that I fight I do not hate /Those that I guard I do not love;” –Ireland did not feel threatened by World War I
“Those that I guard I do not love” –Fighting with the British who had oppressed the Irish for many years
The use of pronouns makes the poem seem personal more than just a poem written for the public for entertainment

8. AN IRISH AIRMAN FORESEES HIS DEATH
Impending death – it is inevitable
Many soldiers/pilots entered the war knowing they would never return
Sense of helplessness

9. What was Ireland’s political stance/position during WW1?
I know that I shall meet my fate Somewhere among the clouds above; Those that I fight I do not hate, Those that I guard I do not love;
IRONY
What was Ireland’s political stance/position during WW1?

10. METONOMY Kiltartan Cross – Gregory residence in County Galway, Ireland
It is a figure of speech that replaces the name of a thing with the name of something else with which it is closely associated.
My country is Kiltartan Cross, My countrymen Kiltartan’s poor, No likely end could bring them loss Or leave them happier than before.

11. Catalogue of reasons why soldiers traditionally fight
Nor law, nor duty bade me fight, Nor public men, nor cheering crowds, A lonely impulse of delight Drove to this tumult in the clouds;

12. Irish Nationalism vs British Rule
I balanced all, brought all to mind, The years to come seemed waste of breath, A waste of breath the years behind In balance with this life, this death.