READ THIS
An Irish airman during World War I contemplates the fact that he will most probably die in aerial battle.
The poem is a philosophical one which contemplates why the airman has chosen to fight. It is certainly
not because he hates the enemy, nor is he interested in protecting his own people. Indeed, his
participation in the war will achieve almost nothing that is either good or bad.
On the contrary, his decision is based solely on the ecstasy of flying and the adrenaline rush of
participating in aerial dogfights.
A NOTE ON THE POEM
The Irish airman is certainly not the poet himself. Indeed, the poem is probably a celebration of the death
of Major Robert Gregory, a personal friend of the poet and the only child of Yeats's patron, Lady Augusta
Gregory.
All in all, Yeats wrote no less than four poems to commemorate Major Gregory's death, two of them being
published in his anthology The Wild Swans at Coole -- "Irish airman forsees his death"
being one of them.
Because the poet is not talking about himself, he is able to ponder the death of his friend and the reasons
for his joining the air force in the first place. This also enables him to speak about the very nature of
warfare itself.
His conclusion is that war achieves nothing that is useful. The poor -- encapsulated by "Kiltartan's
poor" -- neither gain nor lose by warfare. War is therefore purely a thing of the state.
Accepting that his friend had that same belief, why then would he have enlisted to fight? The answer
would appear to have been the personal excitement of it all, the exhilaration of flying high up in the clouds
and the adrenaline rush of participating in aerial dogfights.
Your attention should focus on the final four lines of this poem containing a chiasmus which
clearly explains the intellectual decision for the pilot's decision.
Have you looked at the questions in the right column?
|
TEST YOURSELF!
Read the left column and then answer the following questions:
"I know that I shall meet my fate
Somewhere among the clouds above."
- If the poet was still alive when he wrote this poem, who then was the airman who presumably died up
there amongst the clouds? (2)
[Need help?]
Yeats apparently wrote no less than four poems about an Irish airman, Major Robert Gregory, who was
a personal friend and the only child of the poet's patron, Lady Augusta Gregory.
It made sense to compose the poem in the first person which enabled the poet to get into the airman's
mind while, at the same time, exploring the exhilaration of flying and reflecting on the stupidity of warfare.
|
- The speaker says that he would meet his fate. Is this then a fatalistic poem, i.e. the speaker has no
control over his fate but must die in the clouds because Fate demands it? (4)
[Need help?]
Not at all. Fate eliminates choice whereas this poem is in fact all about choice.
The pilot chooses to fly. He chooses the exhilaration of aerial combat. He knows, however, that the
chances of dying in battle were huge -- parachutes hadn't yet been invented, had they? He therefore
chooses possible death as well.
In all of this, of course, there is the added ingredient that the poet himself knows his friend did indeed die.
Does this knowledge cause his friend's death? Not at all.
In short, there is absolutely no fatalism portrayed in this poem, only an analysis of choice and the
consequences of choice.
|
- What war was being spoken of? How do you know? (2)
[Need help?]
It was World War I -- or what was then referred to as "The Great War" because it was considered
as the greatest war ever to have occurred in the history of mankind.
How do we know that it was The Great War? Well, Yeats's anthology, The Wild Swans at Coole
-- in which "Irish airman forsees his death" appeared -- was published in 1919. It is logical then
that he was referring to the Great War of 1914-1918.
|
"Those that I fight I do not hate
Those that I guard I do not love;
My country is Kiltartan Cross,
My countrymen Kiltartan's poor."
- Comment on the contrast between the words "fight" and "guard", between "hate"
and "love". (4)
[Need help?]
These are examples of antithesis, are they not? Antithesis refers to words or ideas of contrasting
meaning which are placed close together.
Note that there are two sets of antithesis here. "fight" is linked to "hate", while "guard"
is linked to "love".
Except, of course, that one would expect "fight" and "hate" to be linked, whereas the pilot
says that, although he fights, he does NOT hate.
Likewise, one would expect "guard" and "love" to be together whereas the pilot says that he
guards but does NOT love.
|
- Who was the airman supposedly fighting, whom he should therefore have been supposedly
hating? (2)
[Need help?]
The pilot would be referring to the Germans.
|
- Why would the airman not hate those against whom he was fighting? (4)
[Need help?]
The Irish at the time of the Great War were actually rather supportive of Germany but hated England
which was suppressing them. Indeed, there was open rebellion on the part of many Irish against England,
and they were looking to Germany for support.
The fact that the pilot joined the Royal Air Force, however, does indicate that he was somewhat
ambivalent: he should perhaps hate the British but doesn't, nor does he either love or hate the Germans.
|
- Why does the airman not love those whom he is supposedly guarding? (4)
[Need help?]
There are two possible interpretations here. The Irish Airman is fighting as part of the Royal Air Force and
therefore protecting England but he is also protecting "Kiltartan's poor".
The Irish cared very little for England. Although the pilot is guarding the English, therefore, he has
absolutely no love for them.
Back in those days, on the other hand, there was a somewhat fatalistic attitude towards the poor. One
did not love the poor. Indeed, there was a tendency to despise them.
Although the pilot was guarding "Kiltartan's poor", therefore, he also did not love them either.
|
"No likely end could bring them loss
Or leave them happier than before."
- The poet explores the pointlessness of war. Explain the logic of his argument. (4)
[Need help?]
Logically, war should bring gain for a society and all its members. If this is not so, then what is the
justification for the war in the first place?
The poet, however, points out that this does not happen. Perhaps the State feels proud at having won
the war but there is absolutely no financial gain from winning. On the contrary, there was huge financial
loss from fighting the war in the first place.
Even then, the poor do not feel that loss. The loss is only exacted from the people who pay income tax
and who will therefore be compelled to pay the costs of the war -- but the poor are too poor even to pay
much by way of tax.
And so the poet concludes that, for the poor, there is neither gain nor loss from waging war.
|
- The poet also explores the contemporary philosophy of the inevitability of fate as regards the poor.
What is this inevitability of fate? (4)
[Need help?]
This would be strongly linked to the then Calvinistic belief in predestination.
People were believed to have been predestined by God for either salvation or damnation. Those
predestined for salvation, however, would show the blessing of God working in their lives.
It was therefore more likely that the wealthy were predestined for salvation because wealth was regarded
as a blessing.
The poor, on the other hand, showed no such blessing and were believed to be possibly predestined for
damnation. They were therefore often regarded as the spawn of the devil who justifiably could not be
loved.
Indeed, this is the origin of the economic philosophy of Capitalism, where the wealthy are blessed by the
Lord while the poor are not.
Because the poor are not blessed, therefore, they may be exploited mercilessly by the wealthy who see
their actions as being perfectly justified as fulfilling the will of God on earth.
|
"A waste of breath the years behind
In balance with this life, this death."
- Comment on the airman's use of the antithesis "this life, this death" in justifying his
reasons for flying to meet his death. (4)
[Need help?]
The airman balances his life with his death in explaining his volunteering to join the air force. He has
already spoken about neither hating his enemy nor loving his fellow countrymen. At the same time, he
neither loves his life nor fears death. It is all one.
Indeed, he speaks about his life as being "a waste of breath". There was nothing therefore to
attract him to continue living a mundane life. Death high up among the clouds, on the other hand, held
attractions because at least it would be exhilarating.
|
|