Death Up Above
The most improbable way of dying, is not knowing where the deathblow came from. To fight for what is right is not always wrong; to fight for something wrong is not always right. But to fulfill your duties as a soldier for your country is always right. Throughout our lives, each and every one of us have been handed a daunting task in which we do not take lightly. In Yeat's poem, An Irish Airman Foresees His Death, Yeats uses imagery to propel his words through each of us to say that pilots fly from within, and not from any outside influence. 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 stay with that point because he has more important thoughts to convey, so he moves on to establish the pilot's motives. The pilot chose to fly and fight in the war, not because he hates the Imperial Germans, or 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. 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. In it, Yeats is not mer
ely saying that Major Gregory saw his life pass before his eyes. In reality, and especially at that moment before death, all that matters is the present. He realized that everything was "in balance", and he was going to die for his country, and this was what balanced the death. He is unsure of what to do with the war, and unsure of what to do with himself. As in the line, "Those that I guard I do not love. The phrase "tumult in the clouds" shows the confusion within the pilot over his role. Live like you mean it! Each of the lines of this poem holds different meanings in which conveys to us the deeper meanings of Yeat's feelings towards the world and war. While the second part of the line conveys they mindset of these people because it says that no matter how the war ends, they will not care. But the voice of the poem seems to come from this line; "No likely end could bring them loss or leave them happier than before. " Here the Irish people love all people, and they have difficulty understanding why they must fight for something they do not believe in. 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. " This line speaks for all of the Irish people. As in the line, "Those that I fight I do not hate. Another literary device that Yeats uses is imagery.
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Acceptance Essays
