Self-Realization in Yeats' An Irish Airman Foresees His Death
An Irish Airman Foresees His Death was written by William Butler Yeats in memory of Major Robert Gregory who was killed in action on January 23, 1918 while fighting on the Italian front during World War I (Ellmann and O’Clair, fn. 154). Yeats was close with the Gregory family, but particularly with Lady Gregory due to their partnership in establishing the Irish National Theatre. Although Major Gregory is never explicitly mentioned in this poem, it is a commonly held belief that the airman in the poem is supposed to be him (Stock 118). This poem is not considered an elegy, but has been referred to as a "tragic soliloquy" (Ramazani 84). It is termed thus because the main character of the poem is speaking throughout, but does not necessarily seem to be speaking to a specific audience. It is considered a "tragic" soliloquy because the airman ultimately meets with death in the poem.
The airman’s decision to enter the war is not based on any deep love for his country or on any fierce hatred for the enemy. He says that "Those that I fight I do not hate, / Those that I guard I do not love" (Lines 3-4). Nor was he induced by the abundant propaganda of the time to join the war. Many young men entered the war because they desired recognition or because it was what everyone else was doing. The popular media glorified the war and made it seem like everybody was having a grand time fighting in the trenches. They did their best to hide the harsh realities of the war from the public. The following quote is an example of one of the many ways in which young men were enticed into joining the army: "Men and Millwall / Hundreds of Football enthusiasts / are joining the Army...
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...ing in a similar situation or, more likely, this is how Yeats wished that he himself could be. He glorified the life of Robert Gregory because that man was everything that Yeats wished he could be.
Works Cited
Brunner, Larry. Tragic Victory: The Doctrine of Subjective Salvation in the Poetry of W.B. Yeats. Troy, NY: Whitston, 1987.
Ellmann, Richard and Robert O’Clair, eds. The Norton Anthology of Modern Poetry. 2nd ed. New York: W.W. Norton, 1988.
Ramazani, Jahan. Yeats & the Poetry of Death: Elegy, Self-elegy, and the Sublime. New Haven, CT: Yale UP, 1990.
Seiden, Morton Irving. William Butler Yeats: The Poet as Mythmaker, 1865-1939. East Lansing: Michigan State UP, 1962.
Stock, A.G. W.B. Yeats: His Poetry and Thought. London: Cambridge UP, 1961.
Unterecker, John. A Reader’s Guide to William Butler Yeats. New York: Noonday P, 1959.
Yeats, William Butler. "Into the Twilight." The Norton Anthology of Modern Poetry. eds. Richard Ellman and Robert O'Clair. New York: Norton & Company, 1988.
Many key words jut out, giving us clues to which Yeats is describing. The most significant is “Love” on the tenth line. “Love” is capitalized representing William Yeats himself. Yeats or “Love” fled because he knew it was the best for her. When one loves another unconditionally sacrifices must be made; in this case ending the relationship was the solution. Two other key words are located in the sixth line, “false” and “true”. These words are used to exemplify the love she received from her past relationships. Some men truly loved her while others were artificial with their...
Time is endlessly flowing by and its unwanted yet pending arrival of death is noted in the two poems “When I Have Fears,” by John Keats and “Mezzo Cammin,” by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. Keats speaks with no energy; only an elegiac tone of euphoric sounds wondering if his life ends early with his never attained fame. He mentions never finding a “fair creature” (9) of his own, only experiencing unrequited love and feeling a deep loss of youth’s passion. Though melancholy, “Mezzo Cammin,” takes a more conversational tone as Longfellow faces what is commonly known as a midlife crisis. The two poems progressions contrast as Keats blames his sorrow for his lack of expression while Longfellow looks at life’s failures as passions never pursued. In spite of this contrast, both finish with similar references to death. The comparable rhyme and rhythm of both poems shows how both men safely followed a practiced path, never straying for any spontaneous chances. The ending tones evoking death ultimately reveal their indications towards it quickly advancing before accomplish...
"John Keats." British Literature 1780-1830. Comp. Anne K. Mellor and Richard E. Matlak. Boston: Heinle & Heinle, 1996. 1254-56. Print.
New York: Norton, 2000. Ramazani, Jahan. " The Elegiac Love Poems: A Woman Dead and Gon(n)e. " In Yeats's Poetry, Drama, and Prose.
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Baron, forlorn in the loss of his Madeline. Does Keats merely make tribute to this classic idea of
Death is a reality that can be interpreted in many ways. Some people fear the possibility of no longer living and others welcome the opportunity for a new life in the afterlife. Many poets have been inspired by death, be it by the approaching death of loved ones or a battle for immortality. Just as each poet is inspired differently, each poem casts a different hue of light on the topic of death giving readers a unique way to look at death.
William Yeats is deliberated to be among the best bards in the 20th era. He was an Anglo-Irish protestant, the group that had control over the every life aspect of Ireland for almost the whole of the seventeenth era. Associates of this group deliberated themselves to be the English menfolk but sired in Ireland. However, Yeats was a loyal affirmer of his Irish ethnicity, and in all his deeds, he had to respect it. Even after living in America for almost fourteen years, he still had a home back in Ireland, and most of his poems maintained an Irish culture, legends and heroes. Therefore, Yeats gained a significant praise for writing some of the most exemplary poetry in modern history
Yeats, William Butler. "An Irish Airman Foresees His Death." The Norton Anthology of Modern Poetry. 2nd ed. Ed. Richard Ellmann and Robert O'Clair. New York: W.W. Norton & Company, 1988. 154-155.
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...ow when gender stereotypes of masculine and feminine ideals will change, but the growing trend of negative elements towards females is fading. A more positive view of woman is growing with the current generation of consoles. More advertisement has been focusing on woman gaining control of the couch. Video games are presenting a new “gender arena” of gender representation, where gamers may both consciously and unconsciously represent a particular or a mixing of genders (Connell 74). Gender is not the only theory to be witness in games, as other theories of race and class can be viewed. Games come in different genres to choose from, and the highly interactive nature of video games presents a challenge towards all forms of entertainment. The embodying idea of gender towards femininity should be practiced, while the attitudes and actions of masculinity should be played.
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