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 country 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.
Yeates, William Butler. "An Irish Airman Foresees His Death." Poetry Foundation. Web. <http://www.poetryfoundation.org/poem/248416>.
This poem by
William Butler Yeates is from the perspective of an Irish soldier in World War
1. He contemplates his life, knowing he shall soon meet his death "in the
clouds" (in the sky, presumably piloting some sort of jet ). The rhyme
scheme of this poem is ABABCDCDEFEFGHGH.
It takes a formulaic approach, using two pairs of rhymes every four lines. Most
of the rhymes in this poem are perfect rhymes. This gives the poem a very
cohesive feel to it. These rhymes all seem to be masculine as well (the final syllable
being stressed). This poem, which focuses on how the war will not improve the
lives of the narrator's countrymen, and how his own life seems worthless, is
dark and hard-hitting. Use of masculine perfect rhymes help emphasize this
tone. This rhyme typing takes all frivolity out of the poem, making a black
affair from word to format. It allows for a cohesive poem where the focus is on
the dismal lines of the poem, not on the feel of the poem or the poem's rhyme.
A man who essentially condemned himself to death for lack of valuing his own
life gives a poem with a masculine and straightforward rhyme scheme, and this
choice could not fit any better.
I like the poem you chose, it's an excellent example of how rhyming can add an intricate element to a poem. I think your explanation of this poem is right on par, and this poem in itself is very interesting and melancholy.
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