An Irish Airman Forsees His Death Flashcards
“I know that I shall meet my fate”
Alliteration going into conflict, the speaker acknowledges that they are facing certain death. He suggests that it’s almost inevitable
The speaker is somewhat euphemistic here. He plays down the significance of his eventual death, which illustrates his calm acceptance of it
The speaker feels that there will be no great sense of purpose, meaning or significance attributed to his death. The tone of acceptance used here reveals his view that he will have a meaningless death in a meaningless war
“My country is Kiltartan Cross”
The shift from personal pronouns in the previous stanza to possessive pronouns in this stanza suggests a greater sense of affiliation with the people of his hometown. He seems to be establishing his own personal identity that is neither British nor Irish
Yeats makes reference to Gregory’s small town
Consonance emphasis the speaker’s pride in his place of birth
“A lonely impulse of delight”
The speaker’s desire to escape and experience the freedom of flying is the overwhelming factor behind his choice to participate in war
The speaker enjoys being alone, free to complement issues of life and death. The adjective ‘lonely’ also suggests that it was the speaker’s own individual choice to join
The act of flying itself motivates the speaker more than any political or moral duty. He’s free from the concerns of the world beneath him as he’s both literally and figuratively above it. His only desire is flight and escape
“In balance with this life, this death”
The pace of the poem continues to be slow, reflecting how the speaker is moderate and measured in his thinking
There is a continued tone of acceptance until the very end of the poem. The speaker expresses no fear regarding his inevitable death
The speaker is not dying for a cause that he believes in, therefore his life is given no meaning by war
Potential themes and comparisons
Death; Anthem for Doomed Youth, The Charge of the Light Brigade, Requiem for the Croppies, Easter Monday
Duty; The Charge of the Light Brigade, Vitaī Lampada, The Man He Killed
Doubt; The Man He Killed, Bayonet Charge
Motivations in conflict; Bayonet Charge, The Man He Killed, Who’s for the Game
