To an Athlete Dying Young
A. E. Housman (1859-1936)
H English Period 3
Garcia, Jaime
Dumilon, Katrina
Jyu, Grace
Vincent, Stacy
Vocabulary
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Threshold: the beginning point
Laurel: woven into wreaths once used to crown the victors in
contests
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Rout: crowed of people or mob
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Renown: great frame or reputation
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Outran: to run faster or further than (outshine)
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Lintel: the horizontal crosspiece over a door, window, etc.
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Garland: a wreath of flowers, leaves, etc.
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Sill: the horizontal piece or member beneath a window, door, or
other opening.
About the Poet
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Alfred Edward Housman was
born on March 26, 1859 at
Fockbury, Worcestershire,
England.
In 1877 he attended St. John's
College, Oxford
He fell in love with his
heterosexual roommate Moses
Jackson, whom he didn't like
Housman back
He was an atheist for most of
his life
Type of Poem
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Elegy: a poem of lament, meditating on the
death of an individual
It's an elegy because throughout the poem, it
surrounds the theme of death
The dead individual is a young athlete named
Moses Jackson
The poet discusses how Moses Jackson was
involved in his life
Rhyme Scheme
Race a
Cheers h
place: a
ears: h
by, b
rout i
shoulder-high. b
out, i
come, c
outran j
home, c
man. j
down, d
fade, k
town. d
shade, k
away e
up l
stay e
cup. l
grows f
head m
rose. f
dead, m
shut g
curls n
cut, g
girl's. n
Scansion of Meter
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The type of Metric foot is a trochaic starting with
a stressed and flowing by an unstressed syllable
| – stressed
͜ - unstressed
Example:
From fields where glory does not stay
|
͜
|
͜
|
͜
|
Alliteration
Alliteration- occurrence of same letter/sound
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Line 1: The time you won your town the race
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Line 5: … road all runners
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Line 8: … Townsman of a stiller town
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Line 22: fleet foot
Metaphor
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Line 8: stiller town
comparison of a cemetery to a town
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Line 10: fields where glory does not stay
comparison of glory to a person or thing that
leaves
Simile
Simile: a direct comparison of two unlike
objects using “like” or “as”
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Line 12: It withers quicker than the rose
comparison of the growth laurel, a symbol of
glory and victory, to the growth of a rose
Personification
Personification: a figure of speech in which
objects and animals have human qualities
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Line 13: Eyes the shady night has shut
The night does not have the ability to shut
anything.
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Line 16: After earth has stopped the ears
The earth cannot stop the ears.
Diction
The time you won your town the race
We chaired you through the market-place;
Man and boy stood cheering by,
And home we brought you shoulder-high.
To-day, the road all runners come,
Shoulder-high we bring you home,
And set you at your threshold down,
Townsman of a stiller town.
Smart lad, to slip betimes away
From fields where glory does not stay
And early though the laurel grows
It withers quicker than the rose.
Eyes the shady night has shut
Cannot see the record cut,
And silence sounds no worse than cheers
After earth has stopped the ears:.
Diction
Now you will not swell the rout
Of lads that wore their honors out,
Runners whom renown outran
And the name died before the man.
So set, before its echoes fade,
The fleet foot on the sill of shade,
And hold to the low lintel up
The still-defended challenge-cup.
And round that early-laureled head
Will flock to gaze the strengthless dead,
And find unwithered on its curls
The garland briefer than a girl’s.
Tone
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The Tone is glorious in lines 1, 3, and 4
The time you won your town the race
1
Man and boy stood cheering by,
3
And home we brought you shoulder-high.
4
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When it's the other lines it gets dark and depressing.
It withers quicker than the rose.
12
Eyes the shady night has shut
13
And silence sounds no worse than cheers
15
And the name died before the man.
20
Themes
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Celebration of Death
Life doesn't last long, neither does youth or
fame
Life is a never-ending race to achieve as much
as possible before death
If one dies with achievements, they will be
honored and remembered
Interpretation
Original Text
Interpretation
The time you won your town the race
After the athlete won a race, the
townspeople carried
We chaired you through the market-place;
him home on their shoulders while a crowd
stood by
Man and boy stood cheering by,
cheering
And home we brought you shoulder-high.
chaired: carried
To-day, the road all runners come,
Today the athlete is on the road to the
cemetery in a coffin
Shoulder-high we bring you home,
And set you at your threshold down,
Townsman of a stiller town.
Which the townspeople carry and set down
at the threshold of
The tomb, where he will occupy a quiet
town
the cemetery After all human beings run
the race of life, they must travel the road of
death.
Interpretation
Original Text
Smart lad, to slip betimes away
From fields where glory does not stay
And early though the laurel grows
It withers quicker than the rose.
Interpretation
The athlete was smart to
die young before his glory
had chance.
To fade as he grew older
the laurel to a symbol of
victory withers.
Faster then the rose a
symbol of an average life
span.
Interpretation
Original Text
Interpretation
Eyes the shady night has shut
By death he cannot see
Cannot see the record cut,
He died before someone else could beat his athletic
record
And silence sounds no worse than cheers
There is no distinction between cheers and silence
After earth has stopped the ears:
He can't hear because he's dead
Now you will not swell the rout
He will not be known as one of the athletes who lived
Of lads that wore their honors out,
And were long and forgotten when they could no
longer perform
Runners whom renown outran
Fame and glory outran these athletes
And the name died before the man.
so their names died after the height of their fame
Interpretation
Original Text
Interpretation
So set, before its echoes fade,
Makes things right before the fame
ends
The fleet foot on the sill of shade,
The foot on the end of shade
And hold to the low lintel up
To hold up like a beam and have
stability.
The still-defended challenge-cup.
And round that early-laureled head
Will flock to gaze the strengthless dead,
And find unwithered on its curls
The garland briefer than a girl’s .
The trophy is wanted
People gather around the boy
They watch a dead man.
They find his head untouched
the leaf crown shorter than a girl