The speaker of “An Irish Airman Foresees His Death” is an Irish fighter pilot in World War I. The poem is based on the life and death of a real pilot, Major Robert Gregory, who flew with the British Air Force and died during World War I.

Why did Yeats Write An Irish Airman Foresees His Death?

After losing his dear friend in World War I, William Butler Yeats wrote this particular poem, ‘An Irish Airman Foresees His Death. Robert Gregory, an Irish Airman, was accidentally shot down by an Italian Aviator, who happened to be a dear friend of Yeats.

What is the context of the poem An Irish Airman Foresees His Death?

In the poem Easter 1916 he wrote of the Easter Rising in Dublin. He knew men executed by firing squad after the failed rebellion. At the end of the poem he names all those who were shot and concludes with the line, “A terrible beauty is born.” At this time, many Irishmen were fighting for Britain in World War One.

What is the significance of the title of An Irish Airman Foresees His Death?

The title sarcastically or ironically imitates the ways in which the death of soldiers was, and often is, reduced to just a flat statement that says nothing about who the soldier was, how sad his death was, or anything: “so-and-so foresaw his death; so-and-so was shot down.” War is bad, and the way a soldier’s death is

What is the tone of the poem an Irishman foresees his death?

It conveys a sense of apathy towards the war. He seems very sure of his thoughts and expresses his indifference towards those nations that are fighting. His tone is detached.

What does the phrase this life this death refer to?

What does the phrase “this life, this death” refer to? Life as soldier, death in battle.

How does the poem An Irish Airman Foresees His Death deal with the idea of death?

The poem, which, like flying, emphasizes balance, essentially enacts a kind of accounting, whereby the airman lists every factor weighing upon his situation and his vision of death, and rejects every possible factor he believes to be false: he does not hate or love his enemies or his allies, his country will neither be

Which statement best describes how the topic of death is treated differently in an Irish Airman?

Which statement best describes how these two excerpts differ in how they address the topic of death? The excerpt from “An Irish Airman Foresees His Death” reveals an acceptance of death, while the main idea in the excerpt from “Do not go gentle into the good night” is to fight death at all costs.

Is An Irish Airman Foresees His Death an anti war poem?

However, Airman can also be read as a poem dealing with ideas of Nationhood and national identity. Kevin Riel argues that it is not a classic elegy but an anti-war poem (see note 3). Austin Riede interprets the poem as one that maps Yeats’s attitude towards Irish ethnicity onto bodily sacrifice (see note 4).

When was An Irish Airman Foresees His Death?

“An Irish Airman Foresees His Death” is a poem by Irish poet William Butler Yeats (1865–1939), written in 1918 and first published in the Macmillan edition of The Wild Swans at Coole in 1919.