An Irish Airman Foresees his Death

What is an elegy?

a poem written in memory of a person who has died

Notes

• The person speaking in this poem is the persona of Robert Gregory, the only son of Lady Gregory, and close friend of Yeats

• He was killed in 1918 while fighting for Britain as part of the British Royal Flying Corps

Tone: Grim

“I know that I shall meet my fate”

• Use of first person pronouns and use of the present tense, is an effective way of making us feel that Gregory himself is speaking

• He predicts his own death with absolute certainty and composure, which gives the poem a grim tone from the start

• Yeats may be taking liberties suggesting Gregory knew he would die, however consider it was Gregory himself who decided to enlist as a pilot of his own free will, one can concede Yeats was likely right

Imagery: Peaceful + Calm

“Somewhere among the clouds above”

• Depiction of a peaceful image demonstrates Gregory’s calm acceptance of his destiny

• Assonance of broad vowels further emphasises his tranquility flying high in the sky

Tone: Detached

“Those that I fight I do not hate, those that I guard I do not love”

• Gregory possesses no hatred towards the Germans and no love for the British; he is indifferent to their conflict

• Gregory was not motivated by passion or inspired politically, and is completely apathetic to their cause

• This prompts us to wonder why Gregory enlisted at all if he feels no allegiance to the British

Theme: Adventure + Purpose

“A lonely impulse of delight”

• Yeats believes Gregory was driven by a passion for adventure which had been buried by his comfortable lifestyle

• It was a selfish and solitary spur of the moment decision, without thought of his family

• He longed for an escape from his life of comfort, and to confront his fate

Language: Clarity

“I balanced all, brought all to mind”

• Yeats believed Gregory felt total clarity in his thoughts and decision making

• Repitition of the word all emphasises that Gregory was secure in his decision to enlist and considered all consequences of that decision

Language: Repetition

“The years to come seemed waste of breath, a waste of breath the years behind”

• Perhaps Gregory felt that in his cushy and comfortable life he had no purpose; he enjoyed life and his family’s company but lacked purpose

• Repetition of the refrain “waste of breath” conveys that he felt he had done nothing of significance in his life to be remembered by and did not see that changing in his future

• Since he was secure financially, he figured his family had no real need for him and did not feel particularly conflicted about leaving them

Theme: Purpose + Death

“In balance with this life, this death”

• Yeats shares Gregory’s Grim logic; the logic of a man who regards his life as pointless and of little value, and is now prepared to meet his fate in the clouds

• Gregory considers his life as completely insignificant and thus believes his death will be too