An Irish Airman Forsees His Death
William Butler Yeats 1865 (Sandymount) – 1939 (Menton)
I KNOW that I shall meet my fate
Somewhere among the clouds above;
Those that I fight I do not hate,
Those that I guard I do not love;
My county is Kiltartan Cross,
My countrymen Kiltartan's poor,
No likely end could bring them loss
Or leave them happier than before.
Nor law, nor duty bade me fight,
Nor public men, nor cheering crowds,
A lonely impulse of delight
Drove to this tumult in the clouds;
I balanced all, brought all to mind,
The years to come seemed waste of breath,
A waste of breath the years behind
In balance with this life, this death.
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on April 28, 2023
- 32 sec read
- 179 Views
Quick analysis:
Scheme | ABABCDCEFGFGHIHI |
---|---|
Closest metre | Iambic tetrameter |
Characters | 547 |
Words | 107 |
Stanzas | 1 |
Stanza Lengths | 16 |
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"An Irish Airman Forsees His Death" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 24 Apr. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem/39286/an-irish-airman-forsees-his-death>.
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