An Irish Airman Forsees His Death

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Essay on ‘An Irish Airman Foresees his Death’ by W. B. Yeats W. B. Yeats presents the persona’s feelings about the war and his impending death as something that fulfils his life ambitions. The Irish poet depicts an idea of his friend selfishly using the war for his own personal gain. The speaker reveals that he ‘balanced all, brought all to mind./ The years to come seemed a waste of breath.’ It is evidenced that the speaker has incorporated all aspects of his life and decided he would rather fulfil his passions and die young, than never fly at all. The speaker’s entrance into the war does not bear any sense of duty, as he is born and resides in Ireland. Yeats does not seem judgemental of the persona’s reasons for entering the war, as reflected by h is decision to write the poem in first person. The poet uses iambic tetrameter and enjambment to show the reader how the persona has not been dramatically affected by the war. The continuous nature of the iambic meter and the enjambment reflects the continuation of life as normal in the war. The lack of full stops also creates a building effect, which culminates in the final word ‘death,’ showing the balance of life. The balance structure of ABABCDCD…reflects the balance of life not changing for the airman. He is not worried about death and hence the use of ABAB rhyme scheme to reflect that. The speaker conveys strong feelings about his homeland and the people within it. He describes his country as ‘Kiltartan Cross’, a mix of the purple and green colours of Galway, where he is from. From this we gather that he is not fighting for the red and white cross of England, and he is very clear about where he is in the poem. He is similarly fond of his countryman, and he describes the enemy as those ‘I don not hate’ and his allies as those ‘I do not love’. However, he has accepted that they do not share the same
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