An Irish Airman Foresees His Death
William Butler Yeats
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An Irish Airman Foresees His Death by William Butler Yeats
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William Butler YeatsAbout
This poem, a soliloquy, looks at the role of Irish soldiers who fought for the United Kingdom as they were trying for Irish independence. The titular airman is Major Robert Gregory, the only child of Yeats' childhood friend, who lost his life on the Italian front. Yeats seeks to explicate the reason...
An Irish Airman Foresees His Death Annotated
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 county 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.
An Irish Airman Foresees His Death Q&A
Who wrote An Irish Airman Foresees His Death's ?
An Irish Airman Foresees His Death was written by William Butler Yeats.
When did William Butler Yeats release An Irish Airman Foresees His Death?
William Butler Yeats released An Irish Airman Foresees His Death on Wed Jan 01 1919.