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Symbolism in modern poetry
Symbolism in modern poetry
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To An Athlete Dying Young Essay Pain is temporary, but glory is forever. It is a common saying to tell athletes when they are on the brink of giving up just so they can give it their all to gain the glory and fame of winning. Many people believe that glory will last them forever, but Alfred Edward Housman is not one of those people. A.E. Housman wrote To An Athlete Dying Young in 1896, in which Housman explicates how dying young and in an athletes’ prime is better than growing old. He uses various elements to get a message across such as a convincing tone, along with vivid imagery and rhythm and structure. The tone in To An Athlete Dying Young is very convincing. Throughout the entirety of the poem, the speaker is trying to convince
While reading the articles I found a connection in the poems Contest, The Jump Shooter, Day and Night Handball. All three of these poems followed a theme about growing old and gaining more wisdom about a sport. The message of these poems is that aging doesn’t change your ability to play a sport, because even though you may not be as strong, or as fast you still have more experience. These authors portray this theme through imagery. The poem Contest creates an image of younger athletes circling around her but she is still able to keep up with them because she has experience from previous years. In the Jump Shooter Dennis Trudell split up the lines of the poem differently because sentences are split into a few lines. It makes the poem feel more
A. E. Housman's "To an Athlete Dying Young," also known as Lyric XIX in A
The speaker addresses three advantages to dying young in To an Athlete Dying Young, by A. E. Houseman, these are an athlete’s glory fading, records broken, and being forgotten. After the athlete’s death, the speaker states that the athlete was right to leave “fields where glory does not stay” (10). Moreover, the speaker implies that the athlete is lucky because he will never live to see the glory of his achievements fade away. Similarly, following the athlete’s burial the speaker states that the athlete “Cannot see the record cut” (14). Furthermore, the speaker implies that an early death is to the athlete’s advantage because he will never see his records and achievements beaten by another athlete. Lastly, the speaker states that the athlete
James, Michael. "Bulk Up, Up, and Away Go All Your Dreams. Even the Most Muscular Athlete Can't Win From a Hospital Bed." High School Sports. Feb. 1989. pp. 18-22
Umphlett, Wiley Lee. “The Death of Innocence: The Paradox of the Dying Athlete.” The Sporting Myth and The American Experience: Studies in Contemporary Fiction. 1975. Lewisburg: Bucknell University Press, 1975. 130-45. Rpt. in Children’s Literature Review. Ed. Tom Burns. Vol. 98. Detroit: n.p., 2005. N. pag. Gale Literature Resource Center. Web. 21 Nov. 2011.
During the last several chapters of the nonfiction novel From Tragedy to Triumph, authors John Tartaglio and Andrew Chapin assert that cowering at the possibility of failure ruins more opportunities than failure itself ever will. While taking readers on Tartaglio’s journey through running the whole 26.2-mile distance of the New York City Marathon, Tartaglio and Chapin want readers to push past their fears and take ownership of their performance. Through the use of rhetorical questions, the authors allow for readers to reflect on the progress they have made on reaching their own goals. Tartaglio and Chapin are attempting to appeal to readers who are struggling to have a positive perspective on a current difficulty they are facing, as well as
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.
In the poem “Alzheimer’s” by Kelly Cherry, the author puts a lot of emphasis on the tone of the poem. This aspect of the poem seems to be very important considering that it changes as the poem continues until the end. The change in tone is very clear from the beginning to the last few words.
Predominantly the poem offers a sense of comfort and wisdom, against the fear and pain associated with death. Bryant shows readers not to agonize over dying, in fact, he writes, "When thoughts of the last bitter hour come like a blight over thy spirit, and sad images of the stern agony, and shroud, and pall, and breathless darkness, and the narrow house, make thee to shudder, and grow sick at heart -- go forth under the open sky, and list to Nature 's teachings." With this it eludes each person face their own death, without fright, to feel isolated and alone in death but to find peace in knowing that every person before had died and all those after will join in death (Krupat and Levine
The start of the 2002 track season found me concerned with how I would perform. After a disastrous bout with mononucleosis ended my freshmen track season, the fear of failure weighed heavily on my mind. I set a goal for myself in order to maintain focus and to push myself like nothing else would. My goal for my sophomore track season was to become a state champion in the 100 meter hurdles. I worked hard everyday at practice and went the extra mile, like running every Sunday, to be just that much closer to reaching my goal. The thought of standing highest on the podium in the center of the field, surrounded by hundreds of spectators, overcame my thoughts of complaining every time we had a hard workout. When I closed my eyes, I pictured myself waiting in anticipation as other competitors names were called out, one by one, until finally, the booming voice announced over the loudspeaker, "...and in first place, your 2002 100 meter hurdle champion, from Hotchkiss, Connie Dawson." It was visions like these that drove me to work harder everyday.
Herrick’s examination of death and decay is without gore or sadness rather he uses positive and beautiful imagery of writing and sun and “raine” (63). The optimistic, excited tone of the poem keeps it from sounding like a lesson rather than a love charm. In lines 65-66, the speaker is romanticizing death by using the infinity of writing to preserve their love in “a fable, song” for everyone to experience (65-66). He wants his love to realize that even though they can be immortalized in words, before that time comes they need to “goe a Maying” to make their story more significant when they are older and when they are gone (70).
There are several death related motifs present in the poem. For instance, the poem opens with a passage from Dante’s Inferno, foreshadowing the theme of death in the poem. The speaker says “I know the voices dying with a dying fall.” He also references Lazarus from the Bible, who was raised from the dead, further developing the death motif. The speaker also seems to be looking back on life, referring to past experiences and his aging, as if he believes his death is imminent. He seems to have an obsession with hiding his age. According to the Psychoanalytic Criticism Chapter, the greater our fear of something is, the greater our obsession becomes (24). The speaker's fear of death has lead him to wear clothes that are fashionable for young people, such as rolling his trousers, and goes to great lengths to cover his age in other ways, such as parting his hair behind to cover a bald spot. The last stanza of the poem has a rather depressing and sad ending, a result of fear of
2) What is the tone of this poem? How do you know? Support your claims!
Jeff Kemp, a retired professional NFL quarterback, once stated, “Sports teach positive lessons that enrich America even while revealing its flaws” (Kemp). Athletics offer so much more than the joy of game day and the thrill of a win. Being involved in sports holds the key to a world filled with passion, excitement, and once in a lifetime opportunities. There is nothing better than seeing the student section arrive in full force or hearing the school fight song chanted before kickoff. However, when life moves on and leaves sports behind, the lessons it has instilled in athletes never disappears. The play calls may be foggy and the jersey will be too tight, but what was innocently learned in the jersey shines out at an older age. Although life lessons can be learned through everyday activities, lessons such as teamwork, self-confidence, and dealing with failure are only truly learned through sports by young athletes.
One of the best representations I could give to someone would be a 93-year old man that almost made it to the Olympic USA table tennis team. Although he has been playing table tennis for 86 years and first started when he was 7 years old he still could not make it past the recreational level. You would think that after 86 years of playing the sport you love you would accomplish your dreams, sadly after all these years he still hasn’t made it to the Olympics, his ultimate dream. Now his dream will forever be left unaccomplished and be left for the next hopeful table tennis player. If this guy who was better than most by far with a crazy amount of dedication couldn’t make it, this just shows how hard it is to make it past the recreational