Yeats "An Irish Airman Foresees His Death"

“An Irish Airman Foresees His Death” tells a story of a pilot, or airman, who is fighting in a war that neither he nor his countrymen care about. He explains that he is not fighting because he hates the enemy, nor is he fighting to protect anyone he truly cares about. He continues to tell us that his countrymen will be no better or worse for this, and that he was not even forced to fight. Lines 11 and 12 finally explain his reasoning, which to most would seem absurd, he is fighting and flying because of an “impulse of delight.” Ultimately, he seems careless about the fact that he is about to die.
I found Yeats’ choice of a single stanza to be appropriate for this poem. I believe in this case a single stanza represents the neutrality of his reason to be in the fight. There are always opposing sides in a fight, but he is not for or against any particular side. One stanza could also represent his single mindedness in that only “[a] lonely impulse of delight / Drove to this tumult in the clouds;” this single mindedness again brings into account his lack of allegiance towards either side, rather his own delight is his reason. I believe there is even a third possible reason for the use of only one stanza, it is to show there is a natural balance of life and death. There is a carelessness that the speaker seems to have with his life and eventually his death.
This poem has a simple rhyming scheme of ABAB, which I believe helps move the poem along. This enforces the idea of a balance of life and death since every line has another line that rhymes. The use of the rhyme scheme makes it easier to follow and emphasizes each line in the poem. The most interesting lines to me are the final four which state “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.” These lines have the same rhyme scheme as all the previous lines, but many words are repeated in those four short lines. It seems to be where he realizes that he has not done much in his life besides this current act of fighting, but he quickly comes to terms with that for he knows he is about to die.
I find that the speaker also uses strong, powerful words to emphasize his point throughout the poems. Some of these words include “fate,” “hate,” “love,” “fight,” and “death.” I believe he uses these words to grab the attention of the reader in case they are lulled by the easy flow of each line. They add more power and strong feelings to a poem that seems to focus on neutrality and acceptance. I believe that this poem is ultimately trying to tell the reader to make the most of life rather than have it be a “waste of breath.”