“To an Athlete Dying Young” by A. E. Housman, 2/23/12

“To an Athlete Dying Young” by A. E. Housman

The time you won your town the race
We chaired you through the market-place;
Man and boy stood cheering by,
And home we brought you shoulder-high.

To-day, the road all runners come,
Shoulder-high we bring you home,
And set you at your threshold down,
Townsman of a stiller town.

Smart lad, to slip betimes away
From fields were glory does not stay
And early though the laurel grows
It withers quicker than the rose.

Eyes the shady night has shut
Cannot see the record cut,
And silence sounds no worse than cheers
After earth has stopped the ears:

Now you will not swell the rout
Of lads that wore their honours out,
Runners whom renown outran
And the name died before the man.

So set, before its echoes fade,
The fleet foot on the sill of shade,
And hold to the low lintel up
The still-defended challenge-cup.

And round that early-laurelled head
Will flock to gaze the strengthless dead,
And find unwithered on its curls
The garland briefer than a girl's.

REACTION

This poem is one that makes the reader realize just how short life is and how important it is to live life to its fullest. The poem is slightly melancholy in the fact that it was written to mourn the loss of a great athlete, but it is also happy in the sense that it is meant to celebrate the life of the athlete. The poem seems to be about death and it uses various figurative language devices. This poem is very easy to read and is all around a very well structured poem that it very interesting.

PARAPHRASE

When you won your big race, the whole town celebrated you. Today, however, the racers return, and we are laying you to rest. The glory of athletes does not last forever. Most of the time it fades faster than it came. Now that you are dead, you cannot see or hear the accomplishments of the people after you. Now you are dead, and your name has died as well. A lesson to all: before your name dies because you do, step out of the fame and defend your title. Live your life apart from just the races.

SWIFTT

Syntax/Word Choice- The rhyme and meter are also very important in this poem. The rhyme scheme is in AABB format, producing a then and now feeling. This is how it once was, and now this is how it is and how it will be. The meter is also important. Each line has eight syllables and when reading this poem, it seems to set a pace, much like the footsteps of a runner. This is important not only because the poem is about the life and death of a runner, but because it also shows the pace of life and life after death. It shows that life still goes on, and that life does not stop because of a death. In fact, life can erase any evidence of a deceased person's life. The author makes great use of words and phrases such as “The time you won your town the race” to show that the athlete was a great person who accomplished a lot. Wordsworth then uses phrases and words such as “before its echoes fade” and “The garland briefer than a girl's” to show that those living only briefly care about the dead and memory of such things quickly fades.

Imagery- In the poem “To an Athlete Dying Young,” Housman uses the repeated imagery of victory and death. Housman uses the image of victory when saying that the athlete “won your town the race” and he was a “smart lad to slip…” away from life and maintain his fame. Housman then uses the image of death when describing the athlete’s cemetery: “townsman of a stiller town.” Housman also uses various words having to do with burial. He also uses the image of a young athlete dying but being remembered and revered.

Figurative Language- There are two prominent literary devices used in this poem, personification and apostrophe. Personification can be seen in the lines "Eyes the shady night has shut" and "After earth as stopped the ears". Night cannot shut, and earth obviously cannot stop one's ears, it has no hands. Yet in this poem these two lines provide the reader with the feeling that death is a natural and peaceful bliss for this man, protecting him from seeing his glory fade and his fame forgotten. Apostrophe can be seen in the opening stanza "The time you won your town the race/ We chaired you through the market-place;/ Man and boy stood cheering by,/ And home we brought you shoulder-high." The speaker here is speaking to the runner as if he is still alive. By speaking in this manner throughout the poem, it feels as if he is reminiscing on the young man's life, and then reassuring him that dying young is better than dying after one's prime. This brings the reader into the poem, and makes them feel a connection to both the speaker and the young man.

Tone- Initially one might say that the tone of this poem would be saddening or depressing, but it is more of a mourning, celebratory tone. Housman is mourning the death of the athlete throughout the poem. The celebratory aspect of the tone comes in when Housman says “And silence sounds no worse than cheers”. This and similar quotes from the poem show that the people of the town are not just mourning the loss of a great athlete, but celebrating the great life that the athlete had.

Theme- The theme of “To an Athlete Dying Young” is the celebration of death. Housman makes it obvious that life doesn’t last long, neither does youth nor fame. As time goes on, these things will change. Life is a never ending race to achieve as much as possible before death. If one dies with achievements, they will be remembered and honored. This apparent in this poem because that is what this entire poem is, it is the author saying the athlete accomplished so much, is remembered, and is now dead. However, in being remembered, you lost everything because you died.

CONCLUSIONS

My initial reaction was very close to how I feel now. This poem was structured very well and is very easy to read. This poem is one that makes the reader realize just how short life is and how important it is to live life to its fullest. The tone of the poem is slightly melancholy in the fact that it was written to mourn the loss of a great athlete, but it is also happy in the sense that it is meant to celebrate the life of the athlete. The major theme of the poem is death. Housman also makes great use of various figurative language devices.