To An Athlete Dying Young

A detailed Summary of To An Athlete Dying Young


Analysis of A. E. Housman's "To an Athlete Dying Young"

Dying young is considered by most to be one of the most tragic of fates. The specter of things undone and a life unlived haunts the funeral and colors the grief to an even darker shade. Most people desire to live to a ripe old age and would be shocked to have a premature death viewed in a positive light. Yet, this is exactly the driving force behind A. E. Housman's "To an Athlete Dying Young." In the poem, dying young and at the height of your career is looked upon as fortunate. Living and watching your laurels wither away is worse than death.

The setting is the funeral of a young champion runner. The speaker begins by talking of when the young athlete won the town race and was carried home "shoulder-high" (line 4). He then makes a reference to the young athlete being carried "shoulder-high"(line 6) down "the road all runners run" (line 5) home. The phrase "shoulder-high" is an expression of irony. The first time it is us


ed in line 4 of the poem it refers to an exciting happy occasion. The second time it is used in line 6, it refers to a casket being carried on the shoulders of others, a sad and mournful time.

Dying was better than lingering on outlasting the glory of his victories. He speaks of how lucky the young athlete was to have died before anyone could break his records or before his accomplishments were forgotten.

Housman's poem "To an Athlete Dying Young" suggests that life is short and glory is even shorter. A way out of this trap is to do a great deed and then slip away from this world unnoticed. Glories have a short duration and records are quickly broken. So the only alternative is to depart before glories wither and records are bettered.

Speaking of how quickly the laurels die, the speaker seems to put himself in the place of the young runner with a knowledge that suggests he, too, once knew these glories. Through the speaker's thoughts and from the sound of experience, the reader g

Some common words found in the essay are:
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Approximate Word count = 672
Approximate Pages = 3 (250 words per page double spaced)

Category: English

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