Complete Study Guide for An Irish Airman Foresees his Death - W.B. Yeats

W.B. Yeats - 'An Irish Airman Foresees His Death' (CCEA Aligned)

This comprehensive study pack offers a multi-layered approach to teaching W.B. Yeats’s 1918 elegy. Designed specifically for the CCEA English Literature specification, it explores the poem’s core tensions of identity, conflict and existential choice.

WATCH THE ENTIRE VIDEO TO SEE WHAT IS INCLUDED IN THE PACK!

What’s Included:

• Expert Video Analysis: A deep-dive exploration of the airman’s paradoxical position, breaking down complex concepts like nihilism and the "lonely impulse of delight" through engaging visuals.
• Quote & Theme Analysis PDF: Detailed annotations focusing on Major Robert Gregory’s background and Yeats’s use of antithesis, polysyndeton and parallelism to show emotional detachment.
• Visual Revision Poster: A high-impact graphic summarising the conventional reasons for war that the airman rejects (law, duty, public men) vs. his true internal motivation.
• Comprehensive Study Guide: Includes a glossary of literary terms (from Caesura to Celtic Revival), a 10-question comprehension quiz with a full answer key and high-level essay prompts.
• Prompt Cards: 12 flash cards that can help students first approach the poem, focusing on context, structure, voice and language.
• Poem Comparison Grid - A grid showing possible poem comparisons based on comparable themes / structure / language.

Key Learning Outcomes:

• Understand the historical context of an Irishman fighting for the British RAF during the rise of Irish nationalism.
• Analyse how form and structure (iambic tetrameter and ABAB rhyme) create a sense of "balance."
• Evaluate the stoic and detached tone characteristic of Yeats’s later work.

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