Question

Which set of lines in this excerpt from W.B. Yeats's "An Irish Airman Foresees His Death" suggests that the speaker's choice to become an airman in the war was influenced by his perception of the futility of life? 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.

Answer 1

The years to come seemed waste of breath, A waste of breath the years behind In balance with this life, this death.

This shows that the airman thought life was futile and basically worthless. In these lines he is saying every breath he took in his past was wasted and every breath he would take in the future would be a waste too.