Athlete Dying Young Figurative Language

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There are many important factors to a poem that an author must use illustrate and convey the meaning of a verse. A.E Housman uses these types of text to perfection in “To An Athlete Dying Young”. This poem is unique due to the exceptional use of imagery, symbolism, and figurative language. In the poem “To An Athlete Dying Young,” A.E Housman uses repeated imagery of death and victory. Housman states “The time you won your town race, We chaired you through the marketplace, Man and boy stood cheering by, And home we brought you shoulder-high.”(Line 1-4), illustrates the imagery of victory. Triumph is also later demonstrated in his writing when the people in the town carried him through the town in celebration. The feeling of death is felt …show more content…

The leaf is characterized as a human’s death and is parallel to a leaf being plucked out of a tree as a human is removed out of the earth. The symbolism in “To An Athlete Dying Young” helps the reader recognize that glory and fame will fade away as one dies. In addition to imagery and symbolism, figurative language is key in the poem, “To An Athlete Dying Young.” The figurative language used in the poem is personification and apostrophe. Housman states, “Eyes the shady night has shut,” (line 13) and “After earth has stopped the ears”(line 16) to use personification because earth cannot stop a person’s ears and night can’t shut because earth has no hands. Moreover, A.E Housman uses apostrophe as he states, “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”(line 1-4) so the reader can conclude that the speaker is speaking to the athlete as he is still living. The reader can acknowledge that the speaker is remembering the athlete’s young life and says that dying young is better than dying in his or her high point in their career. Also, the reader can come to a conclusion and feel how the athlete and the speaker had a very good

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