To an Athlee Dying Young

A detailed Summary of To an Athlee Dying Young

The poem To an Athlete Dying Young by A. E. Housman is a piece about one of

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 some experience

with success. The lines read, “And early though the laurel grows It withers quicker than a

rose.” To comprehend this, you must first know what a laurel is. In ancient times, it was

a type 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 athlete. Now that we know what a laurel is, we can now

understand the full effect of lines eleven and twelve. The speaker is perhaps saying that

the glory and praise of being a winner will fade very quickly, as it did with him. Through

the speaker’s thoughts, you start to get a glimpse of what his l

growing old and being forgotten in the lines “And silence sounds no worse than cheers

I thought this was an outstanding poem, and its theme was very touching to me. I

Approximate Word count = 1086
Approximate Pages = 4 (250 words per page double spaced)

Category: English

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