skills

          Poem Summary

Lines 1-4

In the first stanza of “To an Athlete Dying Young,” the speaker presents a remembered image of a young athlete, a runner, on a day when he had won a race for his town. That the athlete is a runner might evoke an association with the Greek Olympiad, an ancient athletic competition. Lines 2 through 4 establish the reaction of the townspeople to their competitor’s victory. It is clear that the athlete was much lauded, and he was placed on a emotional/psychological pedestal as well as a physical one, wherein he was brought home “shoulder-high” through the town’s marketplace. Line 3 singles out the admirers as men and boys. This could suggest the classical Greek concept of the love of males for the physical beauty of the perfected young male body.

Lines 5-8

These lines tell us that the athlete is again being carried “shoulder-high” by the townspeople; this time, however, pallbearers are carrying him in a casket to his grave. The phrase “The road all runners come” signals the speaker’s awareness of the mortality of all people. Line 7 continues the narrative by telling us that the body is lowered and “set” at a “threshold.” The “threshold” may literally be the physical edges of a grave, but it could also refer to the boundary between earthly reality and the world of the dead. The “threshold” thus becomes the entryway to the place where the dead athlete will spend eternity.

Lines 9-10

Here, the diction, or language, of the poem begins to change subtly from the simple words and direct statements of the first two stanzas to a more lofty or lyrical manner of expression. This coincides with the speaker’s shift from simply relating the plot of his story to his philosophical interpretation of events. In lines 9 and 10, the speaker suggests that the athlete was “smart” to die and leave the natural world, where “glory does not stay.” The speaker implies that, as the athlete had grown older, or as time progressed, the townspeople would not remember his victory and, perhaps, other runners would supplant him as victor of the town race. This potential outcome points to the idea that the world, in general, is made up of people who are fickle, with feelings so changeable that they might hold someone up as a hero or as an object of love at one point in time, only to later forget them.

Lines 11-12

In these lines, Housman introduces the laurel as a symbol of victory, but also of victory’s ephemerality and of the delicate shortness of life, especially youthful life. The laurel wreath was traditionally worn by victorious Greek athletes; it is also a symbol for poets, who, in ancient times, would receive “laurels” for winning poetry competitions. The idea of a laurel leaf representing the brevity of physical beauty and strength is furthered by its comparison to the feminine and delicate rose, which grows early in the season and withers and dies quickly (but not as quickly as the laurel). The speaker continues to express the concept of glory fading early and of youthful male beauty being short-lived.

Lines 13-16

In this stanza, the speaker reinforces the idea that it is wise to “slip” away into death at the peak of youthful athleticism, while still lauded as a hero. The athlete will not have to see his record being “cut” (broken) nor wait for the inevitable time when the cheering stops.

Lines 17-20

These lines emphasize, and perhaps intensify for us, the speaker’s observation that all athletes, at some point, fade in their ability to perform and to win. Their “renown” eventually outruns them: because they can no longer uphold their athletic reputation by sustaining their peak performance, their reputation, or “name,” dies before they do. Since the hero-athlete of this poem has died while at his peak, he will not have to become part of this “rout” (crowd) of has-been athletes.

Lines 21-24

The action progresses in these lines, and the persona speaks to his fellow townspeople, directing them to place the athlete’s body down at its grave quickly before his record or reputation and the townspeople’s memories of his victory fade. Housman’s choice of the word “set” in line 21 not only poetically echoes his use of the same word in line 7, but it makes us feel that a permanence can occur in the dead athlete’s reputation and glory — that the swift running foot can be “set” like concrete to remain just the way it was when the beautiful young man died. The fact that the speaker hurries the townspeople to “set” the “fleet foot” down at the edge of the world of the dead (“the sill of shade”) before the foot’s “echoes fade” emphasizes how quickly our youthful lives pass. In lines 23 and 24, we are given the image of the victor’s challenge-cup still being celebrated as it is held out toward the “low lintel,” or ornament over the door to the world of the dead. This stanza particularly demonstrates the tension between the idea that life is full of vibrancy and energy and the concept that it might be advantageous to die young. The images of this section of the poem are, on the one hand, those of the “fleet” foot of the athlete, representative of all that life can offer in terms of vitality and celebration of physical being, and, on the other hand, the image of the challenge-cup forever belonging to the victor after death, something that could not happen in life.

Lines 25-28

The last stanza of “To an Athlete Dying Young” presents the image of the dead athlete having passed through the threshold into the world of the dead. He is wearing the laurel wreath of victory, and in the phrase “early-laureled” we are reminded that both his victory and death occurred during his youth. The dead who come to gaze at him are “strengthless,” seemingly in contrast to the athlete, who is still depicted as young and strong because he was “smart” enough to die in his youth. The garland is expressed as “unwithered,” reiterating Housman’s theme of the permanent victory an early death might provide. The garland is “briefer than a girl’s,” meaning, perhaps, that the garland usually (in the natural world) withers more quickly than the rose Housman introduces in line 12, but that here it will live forever as a symbol of a glory that will not fade as it would with the passage of earthly time. If we accept that Housman is also using the laurel-leaf garland as a symbol of poetry, or the poet, then we might interpret these last lines to mean that the poem itself, as a garland of words, represents the only permanence — that art

            We chaired you through the market-place;

And home we brought you shoulder-high.

From fields where glory does not stay

And silence sounds no worse than cheers

Of lads that wore their honours out,

The fleet foot on the sill of shade,

Will flock to gaze the strengthless dead,

Dying young is considered by most to be one of the most tragic of fates. The specter of deeds not accomplished and a life unlived haunts the funeral "...set you at your threshold down" (Housman l. 7), and causes the gri

The poem is easily understood and paints a vivid picture in the mind of the beholder through the simple diction and lyric beauty. The image burned into the eyes of the reader is that of a hero being paraded down the streets, remembered for his great deeds and accomplishments. "The time you won your town the race we chaired you through the market-place; Man and boy stood cheering by... Set you at your threshold... Fields where glory does not stay... Early though the laurel grows it wither quicker than the rose... Eyes the shady night has shut... Silence sounds no worse than cheers... Fleet foot on the sill of shade... Find unwithered on its curls, the garland briefer than a girl's" (ll. 1-3, 10-13, 15, 21, 27-28). One can not just stand in awe at the incredible picture painted by this great artist. With use of simple diction and a present rhyme scheme the images that can be painted in a poem are powerful and appreciated.

Housman is a truly exceptional poet. His purpose is to instill a sense of emotion, be it happy or sad, fear or love. He applies his simple diction as a tool to reach all people, not just the educated. His purpose and images are clear and so are his poems.

Housman truly followed what he felt. Housman believed that poetry should have a physical effect on the reader, a sensation akin to love or fear. "To an Athlete Dying Young" is interpreted differently by people yet everyone feels something when reading this exemplary poem. Fear is the most common sensation

            Poetry Analysis Paper

Athletes around the world are granted with fame very frequently. These athletes set records, win medals, and get the crowd going. If a famous athlete were to die at the peak of their young life, the sport would still continue. A.E Housman shows this in his poem, “To an Athlete Dying Young.” "To an Athlete Dying Young" by A. E. Housman is a poem with symbols of youthful death, glory, and fame.

To die young as an athlete is a lucky time to die according to the poem. In the poem it says,
"Smart lad, to slip betimes betimes away from fields where glory does not stay" (Houseman 9-
10). It says the athlete is smart for dying when he did, as the glory fades away as his life
continues. This concept of youthful dying athletes is also supported where it says, "A Shropshire

Lad is a book which begins in death and concludes in an eternal life of shared art and love"

(Martin).A Shropshire Lad is the book where this poem was first located. Although death is a

major symbol in this poem, laurel is also a good representation of glory.

The glory, or the is represented by a garland wreath (laurel), which is a symbol of the athlete's glory in his life. In the poem says, "And early through the laurel grows it withers quicker than a rose"(11-12). The withering is referring to the glory an athlete receives for winning. It was smart for this athlete to die young at the peak when the glory was still there, as opposed to dying older when nobody remembers him. This glory where it says, "The laurel,[. . .] is a symbol of victory for both athlete and poet" (Exploring Poetry). The glory is a representation of the theme. It

represents the poem itself according to Martin, "...the poem itself is the laurel wreath bestowed
on the young man, and it is the wreath which guarantees a life beyond death.” (Martin). The
glory is a major theme of the poem along with the theme of fame.

Fame is seen through out this poem. This athlete's fame would never have lasted if he were to
continue his life. The poem says, "Now you will not swell the rout of lads that wore their honors
out"(Houseman 17-18). Other athletes wore their fame out, but this particular athlete never had
to see the day where his honors left him. In ways its better to at the peak of fame, rather than
having to see all of the fame leave your life as you grow older. Martin says, "the beauty of the
youth achieves its peak" (Martin). This theme of fame is relevant to the poem as the other themes
explained.

An athlete is always bound for fame, glory?, and death, but it is never really experienced all at
the same time. For this to happen to someone, it would make things much more tragic for the
fans, and help this athlete stay memorable in the future. This concept is proven true in many
cases. If one can remember any athlete to die at the peak of their life, it wouldn't be surprising.
An athlete that dies like this is remembered much more than an athlete that dies at an old age.