What is the poem An Irish Airman Foresees His Death deal with?

What is the poem An Irish Airman Foresees His Death deal with?

“An Irish Airman Foresees his Death” Speaker The speaker of “An Irish Airman Foresees His Death” is an Irish fighter pilot in World War I. The poem is based on the life and death of a real pilot, Major Robert Gregory, who flew with the British Air Force and died during World War I.

What the general meaning of poems An Irish Airman Foresees?

With these lines of ‘An Irish Airman Foresees His Death,’ the speaker reveals why his heart is not in his service in the war. He acknowledges that his people, the Irish people, could not be made better or worse by the loss or victory of the war. He implies that he is fighting in a war that is not his own.

What does the line no likely and could bring them loss Or leave them happy than before?

The narrator says ‘No likely end could bring them loss/ Or leave them happier than before’. This is saying that the war won’t change anything and it is just a futile motion- unnecessary conflict. ‘the years to come seemed waste of breath’, shows that he knows it will happen again.

What does the phrase this life this death refer to?

What does the phrase “this life, this death” refer to? Life as soldier, death in battle.

What does the phrase this life this death Refer to answer?

A waste of breath the years behind. In balance with this life, this death. It seems that the speaker’s point of view on life and death (as can be seen as the poet’s intent) is no longer his own. His detachment could come from the lack of emotions for both what he does and who he does it for.

Why does the speaker see his life as a waste of breath in An Irish Airman Foresees His Death?

It could be ironic in the sense that he doesn’t actually think his past and future are a waste of breath. In fact, saying that life is a waste of breath unless you do something great and awesome and heroic kind of sounds like something a military recruiter would say.