To an Athlete Dying Young The poem To an Athlete Dying Young by A. E. Housman is a piece about one o
f the most tragic fates. That fate, of course, is dying at a young age. The first thing that must be
determined is who is telling the poem. I believe it is an older man, one who had been a champion of
sorts in his younger days. He seems to know and understand what the athlete had felt and what would
have become of him. Lines eleven and twelve are good examples that show that the speaker has had so
me experience with success. The lines read, "And early though the laurel grows It withers quicker th
an a rose." To comprehend this, you must first know what a laurel is. In ancient times, it was a typ
e of decorative wreath made for distinguished and honored people. The athlete never actually had one
of these, as the word laurel is only used to convey how proud the townspeople were of the young ath
lete. Now that we know what a laurel is, we can now understand the full effect of lines eleven and t
welve. The speaker is perhaps saying that the glory and praise of being a winner will fade very quic
kly, as it did with him. Through the speaker's thoughts, you start to get a glimpse of what his life
may have been since his youth: his own records broken, his skills diminished, his name forgotten. I
nstead of being a poem about the death of the athlete, the poem becomes a statement about the life o
f the speaker. In line eighteen, as one of "the lads who wore their honors out," the speaker seems t
o be also mourning his own personal demise as a star athlete. Now that we have postulated who the sp
eaker is and all of his thoughts, we can now determine where the poem is occurring. I believe it is
taking place at a funeral or some sort of funeral procession. The speaker seems to be observing the
deceased athlete, so he must be on display in some manner. Also, the poem is about an athlete in a s
mall town. The entire community is stricken with grief and is mourning the loss together. This is ev
ident in lines five and six: "Today, the road all runners come, Shoulder-high we bring you home..."
Line five shows us that everyone is coming to the funeral, even his competitors and the other runner
s. Also, the use of "we" is a signal of the entire community gathering to honor the young lad. They
were together in celebration of his victory and now are together in mourning his death. The tone of
To an Athlete Dying Young is definitely one that many will remember after reading it. The first stan
za tells about the past accomplishments and celebrations of the athlete. "The time you won your town
the race" shows his success in the past. The tone starts out to be one of pride for the athlete, bu
t soon it changes to a very melancholy and solemn one. The next three stanzas are very depressing an
d tell of a young man who's "Eyes the shady night has shut." The final stanzas are perhaps the most
dreary of all. They look to the future, a future of things undone, a life unlived, and a young man d
ead too soon. The tone of the story is very poignant and one that cannot easily be shaken from memor
y. The tone may be a very depressing one, but the theme is even more piercing. The theme of To an At
hlete Dying Young is not apparent after one reading. I gave it much thought and have come to one eer
ie conclusion; the speaker is viewing the premature death in a positive light. To most, that is a te
rrible or even sinful thing to contemplate, but it is indeed what the speaker is conveying. The them
e of this poem is that it is better to die as a young champion than to grow old and be forgotten by
all those who surpass your one-time greatness. He calls the dead athlete a "smart lad" for dying as
a champion and not remaining in the "fields where glory does not stay." He then compares early death
to growing old and being forgotten in the lines "And silence sounds no worse than cheers After eart
h has stopped the ears." That is a very powerful statement. The speaker honestly believes that it is
just as well to die young and be praised as it is to live out the rest of your life and be forgotte
n. The line "Runners whom renown outran" also indicates the theme. That line conveys the message tha
t the fame and glory is only temporary, and it is better to perish before "the name died before the
man." The last two stanzas paint a picture that the death was a type of victory for the athlete. He
died without the taste of defeat; he died a champion. The theme may be rather ugly, but it is one th
at many people can understand.
athlete dying young poem athlete dying young housman piece about m
ost tragic fates that fate course dying young first thing that must determined telling poem believe
older been champion sorts younger days seems know understand what athlete felt what would have becom
e lines eleven twelve good examples that show speaker some experience with success lines read early
though laurel grows withers quicker than rose comprehend this must first know what laurel ancient ti
mes type decorative wreath made distinguished honored people never actually these word laurel only u
sed convey proud townspeople were know understand full effect lines eleven twelve speaker perhaps sa
ying glory praise being winner will fade very quickly with through speaker thoughts start glimpse li
fe have been since youth records broken skills diminished name forgotten instead being poem about de
ath becomes statement about life line eighteen lads wore their honors seems also mourning personal d
emise star have postulated thoughts determine where occurring believe taking place funeral some sort
funeral procession seems observing deceased must display some manner also small town entire communi
ty stricken with grief mourning loss together this evident five today road runners come shoulder hig
h bring home line five shows everyone coming funeral even competitors other runners also signal enti
re community gathering honor they were together celebration victory together mourning death tone def
initely many will remember after reading first stanza tells past accomplishments celebrations time y
our town race shows success past tone starts pride soon changes very melancholy solemn next three st
anzas very depressing tell eyes shady night shut final stanzas perhaps most dreary they look future
future things undone life unlived dead soon tone story poignant cannot easily shaken from memory dep
ressing theme even more piercing theme apparent after reading gave much thought come eerie conclusio
n viewing premature death positive light most terrible even sinful thing contemplate indeed conveyin
g theme this better champion than grow forgotten those surpass your time greatness calls dead smart
champion remaining fields where glory does stay then compares early growing being forgotten silence
sounds worse than cheers after earth stopped ears powerful statement honestly believes just well pra
ised live rest your line runners whom renown outran indicates conveys message fame glory only tempor
ary better perish before name died before last stanzas paint picture type victory died without taste
defeat died rather ugly many people understandEssay, essays, termpaper, term paper, termpapers, ter
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