"An Irish Airman Foresees his Death" was written in the midst of World War I, during which many Irish soldiers were fighting for the “King and country” of Britain despite the oppression Ireland was experiencing from its English rule. Yeats waited until the conclusion of the war to publish this poem, fearing backlash in response to its critical and ironic attitude towards Ireland’s role in battle. The poem depicts a fighter pilot flying over or towards a battlefield. At this point in history, airplanes were still relatively new and would have appealed to the sense of adventure present in many young men. Thus, the poem offers a contrast of the horrors of war juxtaposed against a unique and exciting lived experience before death.