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To An Athlete Dying Young By A - Online Term Paper

To An Athlete Dying Young By A

Dying young is thought to be one of the most tragic of circumstances. The thoughts of lives wasted, dreams unattained, memories never conceived. It is sad fate uncontrollable by any earthly being. Most people desire to live to a ripe old age as to take full advantage of their time on earth, to experience as much as they can, and would be aghast to have premature death be viewed in a positive light. Yet this thought is the driving force behind "To an Athlete Dying Young" by A.E. Housman. Housman, the speaker of the poem, implies in an ironic tone that it is better to die in one's prime, at the height of glory, as to not suffer from the pain of seeing their accomplishments fade and become ...

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"shoulder-high" he connects the race to the funeral procession. The honor of this treatment was endowed the first time for victory, and the final time for homage. The "threshold" symbolizes the grave of the athlete, his entry into the afterlife.
The ironic tone of the poem becomes forlorn, almost envious as the speaker ponders upon his own past. Satire presents itself in the line "Smart lad, to slip bedtimes away; From fields where glory does not stay". Here Housman expresses that the athlete was in a way lucky to miss watching himself slip from fame, becoming again just another face in the crowd. He implies that he himself experienced the fate of watching his glories die.
"And early though the laurel grows; it withers quicker than the rose". This couplet reflects on the fleeting existence of glory. The laurel represents accomplishments, and the rose life. It is simply saying that although the athlete's glory came early in life, it will not remain memorable in the eyes of ...

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To An Athlete Dying Young By A. (2004, July 28). Retrieved April 23, 2024, from http://www.essayworld.com/essays/To-An-Athlete-Dying-Young-By/11733

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PAPER DETAILS

Added: 7/28/2004 07:24:02 PM
Category: English
Type: Free Paper
Words: 680
Pages: 3

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