Question

. What was the major historic event that inspired the poem “An Irish Airman Foresees His

Death”?

Answer 1

William Butler Yeats’ poem “An Irish Man Foresees his Death” was published in 1919 in the second edition of his 1917 volume. The death of Lady Gregory’s son Major Robert Gregory in World War I affected W.B Yeats very much as both were his dear friends. Therefore, upon his death he wrote many poems to pay tribute to him. This poem is one of them and it is an effort to materialize Gregory’s views about war, life and death.