To An Athlete Dying Young Analysis

Short Lived

(A literary analysis of the three messages portrayed in “To an Athlete Dying Young”)

Athletics, they’re everywhere you look. In schools, on the television, and even in a local park: sports are a part of everyday life. It all started when you were a little kid and played on a local soccer team, or even football in the school yard at recess. The amount of different sports ranges anywhere from: soccer, football, basketball, to even track and cross country. Almost anything can be made into a sport. In A.E. Houston’s poem “To an Athlete Dying Young” the main character was once praised in his town for winning a local race. He brought much fame to not only himself, but also his town. Tragedy struck when his life was taken at a

An athlete makes a name for himself the second he steps foot out on the pitch, no matter the sport. Eventually they will all be known for the greater good, or even bad. “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.” (Houston, lines 21-24) Here Houston goes on to say that because the athlete died at such a young age the record will always be his. People will remember what achievements that he accomplished. Not only will he be remembered for what he did do, but he will also be on people’s minds when they think of what he could’ve gone on to do. If an outstanding high school athlete’s life is taken too soon, all of the community and even those from surrounding towns will always want to know what he could’ve been. Would he have gone on to college, or even the pros? Nobody knows, but he will always be on someone’s mind as they go through life. When an athlete dies young there is so much that a person can wonder about them and what they could’ve been and because of this they will always be

Many people believe that life is some really long drawn out thing, but what they don’t realize is that it can be taken from them at any moment. No one knows when the day will come that they will be on their death bed. Your life can end at any moment and that time is short. Everywhere that you go there is going to be some form of hurt. Dying young was good for the young athlete, because he will never live to see his record be broken. An athlete makes a name for himself the second he steps foot out on the pitch, no matter the sport. Not only will he be remembered for what he did do, but he will also be on people’s minds when they think of what he could’ve gone on to do. Much can be taken from Houston’s poem, and these are the most important to be