An Irish Airman Foresees His Death
by William Butler Yeats
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See Also
- William Butler Yeats (Critical Survey of Drama, Second Revised Edition)
- William Butler Yeats (Critical Survey of Poetry: British, Irish, & Commonwealth Poets)
- William Butler Yeats (Cyclopedia of World Authors, Fourth Revised Edition)
- William Butler Yeats (Critical Survey of Short Fiction, Second Revised Edition)
- William Butler Yeats (Dictionary of World Biography: The 20th Century)
At a glance:
- Author: William Butler Yeats
- First Published: 1919
- Type of Poem: Dramatic monologue
- Genres: Poetry, Dramatic monologue
- Subjects: 1910's, War, Death or dying, World War I, Fate or fatalism, Military life or service, Soldiers, Visions, epiphanies, or revelations, Life and death, Aviation or aviators, Ireland or Irish people, Pilots or pilotage
The Poem
“An Irish Airman Foresees His Death” is a short dramatic monologue, originally one of four poems written by William Butler Yeats to commemorate the death of Major Robert Gregory, son of Lady Augusta Gregory (Yeats’s onetime patron and later his colleague). Gregory, never a close personal friend of Yeats, was a multitalented Renaissance man, titled Irish gentry, athlete, aviator, scholar, and artist who, even though over the age for compulsory military service, enlisted in World War I. He did so because it was a magnificent avenue for adventure.
The poem is...
(The entire page is 1356 words.)
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Popular Questions
See all »- In lines 9-11 of An Irish Airman Foresess his Death, the speaker presents a list of reasons why other soldiers might have gone to...
- what is the soldier's attitude towards life and death in the poem an irish airman forsees his death?
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- In Yeats' poem, what is meant by " A lonely impulse of delight"?
- How does the poem bring out the joy and pain of life?
