Explain the content of the poem "An Irish Airman Foresees His Death."

This poem, composed as a dramatic monologue, was written by William Butler Yeats to commemorate the valor and patriotism of Major Robert Gregory, an Irish aviator, who was a member of the gentry and an artist and a scholar.

The poem deals with the untimely death of an Irishman, who ironically could have better served his country had he lived because he could have helped to quell the unrest in his beloved Ireland after the...

This poem, composed as a dramatic monologue, was written by William Butler Yeats to commemorate the valor and patriotism of Major Robert Gregory, an Irish aviator, who was a member of the gentry and an artist and a scholar.

The poem deals with the untimely death of an Irishman, who ironically could have better served his country had he lived because he could have helped to quell the unrest in his beloved Ireland after the war.

The aviator is likened to a Byronic hero since he has volunteered to fly for the British government out of a romantic desire for adventure:

A lonely impulse of delight 
Drove to this tumult in the clouds,

That the airman has had foreknowledge of his demise is indicated in the first two lines. He is well aware of the risks involved in flying machinery that has not been perfected and could well be shot down. But, the airman, true hero that he is, avoids any regret and resentment.

Those that I fight I do not hate
Those that I guard I do not love

Certainly, this poem conveys the futility of war and the pilot's philosophical contemplation of the insignificance of his bold adventure.