My countrymen Kiltartan's poor, His countrymen are poor, because their country is owned by
England. They do not have many possessions.
No likely end could bring them loss These people no longer have emotions. They have been stifled
by the British so long as to become unemotional.
Or leave them happier than before. No matter how the war ends, they will not care. None of them
understand the war.
Nor law, nor duty bade me fight, However, the pilot was not forced to fight, but chose to do so.
Nor public men, nor cheering crowds, He did not choose this to gain public recognition,
A lonely impulse of delight But because he wants to fly for the sheer joy of flight.
Drove to this tumult in the clouds; The chaos and confusion of being flying through a hostile sky
I balanced all, brought all to mind, He finally figured out what he wanted to do at the moment.
The years to come seemed waste of breath, The future
A waste of breath the years behind And past seemed unimportant to him.
In balance with this life, this death. Life and death are balanced in his mind. He has achieved unity.
Tone of the Poem
In "An Irish Airman Foresees His Death," the speaker of the poem is a pilot in World War I.
He is neutral about the war, and only knows and lives for the moment he is in.
The World War I pilot is embracing his upcoming death. He flies not for the glory,
but for his own fulfillment.
When he "balanced all, brought all to mind," he reflected on his past and future,
and realized that the only thing important was the moment he was in.
Yeats feels the tragedy of the pilot's situation and attitude as well as the waste
that the pilot's life will become upon death. The pilot feels he is going to die,
and this self-fulfilling prophecy will inevitably come true.
Yeats is disheartened about the romantic, naive dreams of the pilot,
as well as admiring of the pilot's courage.
He realizes the tragedy of Ireland loosing youth with such intense feelings,
but understands that this sacrifice is for the good of the country,
which creates the "balance" between life and death.
Poetic Device
Rhyming Structure
The poem uses a very simple rhyme structure, with every other line rhyming. The simplistic rhyme pattern is used to accentuate the simple view of life that the pilot has, and the simple wishes he has. This simple structure does not get in the way of the meaning of the poem, and lets the reader see clearly what Yeats intends.
Imagery
In this poem, important images occur more than once. One such images is "clouds." It places emphasis on the fact that everything the pilot is living for is in the air. Ironically, his entire life is about the sky, but he will die because of his flying. The phrase "tumult in the clouds" shows the confusion within the pilot over his role. He is unsure of what to do with the war, and unsure of what to do with himself. He realized that everything was "in balance", and he was going to die for his country, and this was what balanced the death. The images of "Cheering crowds" and "public men" are used to emphasize the fact that the pilot chooses to fly from within, not from any outside influence.
Word Choice
Yeats chooses to repeat phrases that he feels are important. He repeats the phrases "Those that I...," "My country...," "Nor...," "Waste of breath...," "years," and "balance." These words and phrases help increase the continuity and fluidity of the poem. The repetition of words becomes a constant that ties the whole poem together. By using the word "Those," the pilot makes those who he fights for and against anonymous, because of their unimportance. This helps to further Yeats' tone by allowing the reader to understand the tragedy of the pilot's apathy.
By using the phrase "My Country...," the pilot separates himself from his true country. By calling himself a member of Kiltartan's Cross, he becomes a member of a small elite society and distances himself from Ireland, and the reasons he should be fighting for.
The "Nor" is used by the pilot to attempt to define why he is fighting by explaining what he is NOT fighting for.
A Critic's Analysis
Yeats wrote the poem in honor of Major Gregory, who fought and died in the air war against Germany in World War One. Major Gregory was the son of Lady Gregory, an Irish aristocrat who was a strong supporter of the arts (especially Irish arts) and a very close friend of Yeats. Kiltartan, mentioned in lines 5 and 6 of the poem refers to the region that Lady Gregory lived in.
Yeats writes the poem as though he is the aviator, about to meet his demise. The first two lines prepare the reader for what lies ahead. The pilot will die. Yeats doesn't dally with that point because he has more important thoughts to convey. He moves on to establish the pilot's motives. The pilot chose to fly and fight in the war, not because he hated the Imperial Germans, nor because he loved his country; and he didn't do it for fame or fortune. The pilot flew for one reason only; the sheer joy of flying. Yeats does not try to portray Major Gregory as an heroic character, sacrificing live and limb for the greater good of mankind. Again, for Yeats to emphasize this would defeat the purpose of the poem. Yeats celebrates the humanity and individuality of the person without the artificial concept of honor or other people's approval.
With the line, "I balanced all, brought all to mind," Yeats begins to tell the reader what Major Gregory has to tell us about life and death. But let us linger at this line a moment. In it, Yeats is not merely saying that Major Gregory saw his life pass before his eyes. He balanced ALL, brought ALL to mind. Important news is at hand! Indeed! It is a waste of time and energy to live in the past, as well as to live always for what might be (the future). In reality, and especially at that moment before death, all that matters is the present. Perhaps that moment before death is the only moment when one can truly realize and wholeheartedly believe that. For it is exceptionally difficult to look at one's own life without hoping it will be better in the future or thinking about "how nice it was when . . ." Indeed, I don't believe that one should live wholly in the present. Both the knowledge of the past and the extrapolation to future events are extremely important guides through life. But what Yeats is trying to convey, is that any moment may be your last, so live it to it's fullest. Live like you mean it!
