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To An Athlete Dying Young by A.E. Housman
To An Athlete Dying Young by A.E. Housman
Poetic analysis of an athlete dying young
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Housman's "To An Athlete Dying Young"
A. E. Housman's "To an Athlete Dying Young," also known as Lyric XIX in A
Shropshire Lad, holds as its main theme the premature death of a young athlete
as told from the point of view of a friend serving as pall bearer. The poem
reveals the concept that those dying at the peak of their glory or youth are
really quite lucky. The first few readings of "To an Athlete Dying Young"
provides the reader with an understanding of Housman's view of death.
Additional readings reveal Housman's attempt to convey the classical idea that
youth, beauty, and glory can be preserved only in death.
A line-by-line analysis helps to determine the purpose of the poem. The
first stanza of the poem tells of the athlete's triumph and his glory filled
parade through the town in which the crowd loves and cheers for him. As Bobby
Joe Leggett defines at this point, the athlete is "carried of the shoulders of
his friends after a winning race" (54). In Housman's words:
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. (Housman 967).
Stanza two describes a much more somber procession. The athlete is being carried
to his grave. In Leggett's opinion, "The parallels between this procession and
the former triumph are carefully drawn" (54). The reader should see that
Housman makes another reference to "shoulders" as an allusion to connect the
first two stanzas:
Today, the road all runners come,
Shoulder high we bring you home,
And set you at the threshold down,
Townsman of a stiller town. (967)
In stanza three Housman describes the laurel growing "early" yet dying "quicker
than a rose." (967) This parallels "the 'smart lad' who chose to 'slip betimes
away' at the height of his fame" (Explicator 188). Leggett's implication of
this parallel is "that death, too is a victory" (54). He should consider
himself lucky that he died in his prime and will not out live his fame. Housman
says:
Eyes the shady night has shut
Cannot see the record cut,
And silence sounds no worse than cheers
After earth has stopped the ears. (967)
Leggett feels that "death in the poem becomes the agent by which the process of
change is halted" (54). In the next stanza symbolism is used as the physical
world is in Leggett's terms, "The field where glories do not stay" (54). "Fame
and beauty are represented by a rose and the laurel, which are both subject to
decay," Leggett explains (54). The athlete dying is described here by Housman:
My initial response to the poem was a deep sense of empathy. This indicated to me the way the man’s body was treated after he had passed. I felt sorry for him as the poet created the strong feeling that he had a lonely life. It told us how his body became a part of the land and how he added something to the land around him after he died.
“Pass On” written by Michael Lee is a free verse poem informing readers on grief, which is one of the most difficult obstacles to overcome not only when losing a loved one, but also in life itself. “Pass On” successfully developed this topic through the setting of an unknown character who explains his or her experience of grief. Despite Lee never introducing this character, readers are given enough information to know how they are overcoming this difficult obstacle. In fact, this unknown character is most likely the writer himself, indirectly explaining his moments of grief. One important piece of information Lee provides is the fact that he has experienced loss twice, one with his grandfather and the other a friend who was murdered by the
Throughout life, an individual must undergo many obstacles to reach their life's climactic point of success. Regrettably, an individual may not be able to enjoy their life's highest point of accomplishment-because they are deceased! For example, in “A Letter to His Wife, 1861”, Sullivan Ballou (1861) died in the First Battle of Bull Run, a war led by former President Abraham Lincoln. Ballou wrote a letter to his beloved wife named Sarah; the delivery of the letter was contingent upon his death. Ballou fought for what he believed in- civil rights, and the safety of his country; I believe Ballou reached the climactic point in his life when he died for his country: a war hero.
“Death, the end of life: the time when someone or something dies” (Merriam-Webster, 2014). The definition of death is quite simple, the end of life is inescapable. I chose to write about death and impermanence because it is something we all must inevitably face. People often deal with death in a number of different ways. Although it is something that we must eventually face, it can be hard to come to terms with because the idea can be hard to grasp. Some of us fear it, others are able to accept it, either way we all must eventually face it. In this essay I will look at two different literary works about death and impermanence and compare and contrast the different elements of the point of view, theme, setting, and symbolism. The comparison of these particular works will offer a deeper look into words written by the authors and the feelings that they experiencing at that particular time.
"Overview: “To an Athlete Dying Young”." Poetry for Students. Ed. Mary K. Ruby. Vol.7. Detroit: Gale Group, 2000. Literature Resource Center. Web. 5 Apr. 2011.
In this poem, the speaker’s encounter with death is similar to a courtship. In the first stanza of the poem the character Death is introduced as playing the role of the speaker’s suitor. In this way, this poem about death takes on an unexpected light tone, giving the reader a sense that the speaker is content to die and able to approach it with a sense of calm. Death’s carriage is also introduced in this stanza serving as a metaphor for the way in which we make our final passage to death. The final line in this stanza introduces a third passenger in the carriage. Both the uses of Immortality, the third passenger, as well as the use of Death are examples of personification.
Death is a reality that can be interpreted in many ways. Some people fear the possibility of no longer living and others welcome the opportunity for a new life in the afterlife. Many poets have been inspired by death, be it by the approaching death of loved ones or a battle for immortality. Just as each poet is inspired differently, each poem casts a different hue of light on the topic of death giving readers a unique way to look at death.
The phrasing of this poem can be analyzed on many levels. Holistically, the poem moves the father through three types of emotions. More specifically, the first lines of the poem depict the father s deep sadness toward the death of his son. The line Farewell, thou child of my right hand, and joy creates a mental picture in my mind (Line 1). I see the father standing over the coffin in his blackest of outfits with sunglasses shading his eyes from the sun because even the sun is too bright for his day of mourning. The most beautiful scarlet rose from his garden is gripped tightly in his right hand as tears cascade down his face and strike the earth with a splash that echoes like a scream in a cave, piercing the ears of those gathered there to mourn the death of his son.
The speaker started the poem by desiring the privilege of death through the use of similes, metaphors, and several other forms of language. As the events progress, the speaker gradually changes their mind because of the many complications that death evokes. The speaker is discontent because of human nature; the searching for something better, although there is none. The use of language throughout this poem emphasized these emotions, and allowed the reader the opportunity to understand what the speaker felt.
After the Commercial Law came the Penal Law. This had to do with the issue of crime. The laws were unusually harsh do to their ineducation. Despite this the wealthy class usually enjoyed more freedom from the law than the lower classes. There was no jury in the court back in the times of Babylon. The code of Hammurabi was like an eye for an eye punishment. If you killed someone than you would be killed.
Both systems of laws set out an objective which is to control the people and punish those who against the law. However Hammurabi’s Code was very extreme compared to what we have today in the U.S. If a man was charged for stealing in todays society he will most likely be arrested and depending on what he stole or what he did to steal he will be given a sentence to serve time in prison. If a man was charged for stealing in the Babylonian Empire he will either have his hands cut off or be put to death. Going back to the U.S justice system which is enforced , Hammurabi’s Code was not enforced but recommended to those in his kingdom. Another big difference between the two systems was the procedures they both took. There’s no account on what procedures people of the Babylonian Empire took to over see that there was justice. It is also known that the Babylonian did not treat all of its people equally which would make the law unequal as well. The U.S believes everyone is equal under the law which means a rich man has the same rights as a man without any money at all. If they are both accused the same crime they will both be investigated the same and convicted the same. If a slave under Babylonian law was convicted for the same crime as his master the slave will receive a harsher punishment. Although Hammurabi’s code was a little gruesome and extreme it shared one key component that we in the U.S use today. They too believed in the principle of “innocent until proven
...ple. The way that Frost uses body language, shows how distant that the couple is becoming. There are many ways that people can handle grief, this poem is just one way that two people handle their lost. “Home Burial” also gives the “morbidness of death in these remote place; a women unable to take up her life again when her only child has died. The charming idyll” (Robyn V. Young, Editor, 195).
In conclusion, the poem helps you to realize and accept that just like birth is natural, death is a natural process in life. No matter what, death is inevitable. But instead of holding on to the sad memories, you can use the happier memories to cope and deal with the loss of a loved one or family pet. However, you are able to be at peace with the fact that you loved them until the end.
The poem basically tells a story about the death of the captain of a ship men crew. The speaker of the poem is a sailor of the ship crew. He grieves mournfully about the death of his respectfully captain. Gloomy and dreary atmospheres are vividly sensed throughout the poem as the speaker lamenting the captain’s death.
Funeral Blues by W. H. Auden is a short poem that illustrates the emotions that he is dealing with after the love of his life passes away. The tone of this piece evokes feelings that will differ depending on the reader; therefore, the meaning of this poem is not in any way one-dimensional, resulting in inevitable ambiguity . In order to evoke emotion from his audience, Auden uses a series of different poetic devices to express the sadness and despair of losing a loved one. This poem isn’t necessarily about finding meaning or coming to some overwhelming realization, but rather about feeling emotions and understanding the pain that the speaker is experiencing. Through the use of poetic devices such as an elegy, hyperboles, imagery, metaphors, and alliterations as well as end-rhyme, Auden has created a powerful poem that accurately depicts the emotions a person will often feel when the love of their live has passed away.