To an Athlete Dying Young (A.E. Housman)

Linda Arellano

Srygley, Cheryl

AP Literature

To an Athlete Dying Young (A.E. Housman)

HE 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,	5
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 where glory does not stay,	10
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	15
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.	20
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	25
Will flock to gaze the strengthless dead,
And find unwithered on its curls
The garland briefer than a girl's.

1. First Impression: Initially the poem opens with a sort of reminiscence of the athlete’s life and then moves on to his/her premature death. The poem goes on to talk about the funeral; the author makes a comparison of how the athlete was once carried on the shoulders on men when he won a race and now he is carried on the shoulders in a casket. Due to the nature of the poem, it strikes the reader with the athlete’s death. The reader is also impacted by the author’s emphasis on the physical glory of the character.

2. Paraphrase:

a. The time you won a race for the town

b. We carried you through the market-place;

c. Everyone stood cheering

d. And we brought you home shoulder high

e. Today all runner come

f. Shoulder-high we bring you home

g. And set you at your doorstep

h. Townsman of a even quieter town

i. Smart boy, to slip before time away

j. From field where the glory does not stay

k. And early through the laurel grows

l. Withers quicker than a rose

m. The night shut your eyes

n. Can’t see the record cut

o. And silence sounds no worse than cheers

p. After earth has stopped the ears

q. Now you will not swell the riot

r. Of people that wore their honors out

s. Famous runners who outran

t. And the name died before the man

u. So set, before the echoes fade,

v. The army on the edge of the shade

w. And hold to the low beam up

x. The still-defended challenge-cup

y. And around that worshiped head

z. The crowd will gaze at a dead body

aa. And find a young man

bb. Dead before it was even his time

3. Syntax and Word Choice: The title of A. E. Housman’s poem gives away much of what the poem will be about. To an Athlete Dying Young is a 7 stanza poem of four lines each. Every stanza has an aabb rhyme scheme throughout the entire poem. Except for the last stanza, every stanza has the word “And” at the beginning of either the 3^rd or fourth line. This poem also contains alliteration on every stanza as well as the repetition of the vowel “o”.

4. Imagery: Initially the poem immortalizes this young athlete who has brought honor to the town, therefore there is the imagery of a boy being carried through the streets of his town, “We chaired you through the market place; Man and boy stood cheering by, And home we brought you shoulder-high.” On the second paragraph of the poem, the scenery becomes dark and quiet, for this time the athlete returns shoulder high only that instead of cheering there is mourning; “Shoulder-high we bring you home… Townsman of a stiller town” There is also the imagery of flowers and plants, laurels, roses and garlands in particular. The overall imagery is that of victory and death.

5. Figurative Language: The poem itself seems to be a paradox, for the athlete was very famous when he brought back the town’s glory, nevertheless when he died he became even more famous. Other than that, the poem doesn’t have similes or personifications. There were also no uses of hyperbole or metaphors.

6. Tone: The poem’s tone is grief-filled, for the death of someone is often not something that is celebrated. The poem talks about the life of an athlete that ended at a very pre-mature stage, nevertheless he won the love and appreciation of the town to the point that people seemed to pour to pay their respects to this athlete. Therefore I also believe that the author portrayed a tone of grief and respect to this athlete.

7. Theme: As the title hint’s the reader, To an Athlete dying Young, the poem has a prominent theme of death. Nevertheless it also has a theme of glory and invincibility. Initially the athlete is placed on this sort of pedestal and worshipped greatly for his accomplishments, to the point that it almost makes him look vain. The abrupt death leaves everyone in the town silent, in the last stanza clearly depicts how they all gather around and look in surprise.

8. Conclusion: In addition to the first impression, I believe the author did a great job in paying his respects to this athlete and many others who lose their lives at a very young stage.