An Athlete’s Departure (A Discussion on three Messages from A. E. Housman’s To an Athlete Dying Young) When in high school, the glory days of being the shining star of athletics is such a sweet victory. The crowd chants your name and the state knows the skills you can display. Your body is still growing and gaining muscle; a new exciting discovery to unfold every new season. The feeling of setting records could not be replicated in any other shape or form. No one could take it away from you, other than yourself. Could death itself shatter those dreams, or allow the name to ring on forever? In A. E. Housman’s To an Athlete Dying Young, Houseman portrays that death is a good thing in a young athlete’s life as they will never have to see their records broken, earth would not be allowed to limit abilities with age, and their name will never be forgotten while they are still living. To start, an athlete will never have to see their record’s broken if they die young as explained by A. E. Housman in, To an …show more content…
Housman is that death is a good thing for a young athlete because their name will never be forgotten while they are still living. There are many reasons why Housman could be trying to get this point across in this poem. Lines 17 through 20 read, “Now you will not swell the rout of lads that wore their honors out, runners whom renown outran and the name died before the man.” There are many incidents when age will get to the best of someone and they will not be able to do the same things they were able to at one point in their life. While they might have been an incredible athlete in their prime, the prime during their old age barely even knows who they are. Those records have probably been long broken and forgotten about. Their once remembered and praise name, died before their passing. They were not the athletes they used to be, and people do not even recognize their once incredible
“Ex-basketball Player” seems to have a more negative tone than “To an Athlete Dying Young.” Though, both a talk about former athlete’s glorious past when the runner in the first dies and the athlete in the second retired. In the poem ‘To an Athlete Dying Young” the runner dies at a young age of natural causes even though his fame does not but while in “Ex-Basketball Player” the fame of Flick washes away in his growing of age. The tone of “To an Athlete Dying Young” overall is much more positive since the poet praises the young athlete as "smart" to leave a world where glory does not remain and can only vanish. It is far better to die young, as Houseman suggests, than to join the many who had enjoyed glory but now have faded. Dying young
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
Both poems have a propitious view of the theme of death. In “To An Athlete Dying Young” Houseman praises the young athlete for dying relatively young. He says “smart lad…not stay (9-10).” Houseman tells the athlete that he was smart to die at a young age because he can no longer witness his glory fade away as he gets older. His interpretation of death is very ironic. Many people consider it a tragedy when an athlete dies young because the athlete cannot further his career anymore, but Houseman argues that an athlete should not further his career because once he is old, he is a shell of his former self. By taking his life during a young age, the athlete gave himself eternal life in people’s mind. Moreover, in “Crossing The Bar”, Tennyson describes death as something people should not fear. Tennyson k...
Housman tells the athlete to take his fame to his grave with him so he can now always be remembered for his great performance and no one else could top him. “There is no clear definition of time or space in the poem. It could take place at any time in ancient or recent history and in any country, and therefore, the theme is universal” (Overview: “To an Athlete Dying Young”). Some critics think that this is the only time in his life that he was congratulated for a positive accomplishment, but we’re not sure how old this athlete is or where/when this poem occurs. Then all of a sudden those accomplishments go away and mean nothing anymore because now the athlete has died young, but that is not the
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.
It is obvious to the reader that the speaker and the young athlete have a very close and personal relationship. The speaker describes the athlete as someone he admires. He speaks directly to the athlete congratulating him for dying at top of his game. In the first stanza, the speaker reminds the athlete of the time not too long ago when the young athlete won a race and was carried and celebrated in by the people in his town. Housman uses this to compare it to the present time as the town once again carries the athlete on their shoulders, but now his dead and is being taken to the cemetery. Housman here is saying to the athlete that even though he is now dead, he is still being honored by his people and will be remembered for his accomplishments and for bringing home victory. The speaker also says Now you will not swell the
Athletics are not about winning and losing, it is about getting the most out of
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
In conclusion we have seen how death can take a big effect on a person who is close to death and love one's family and friends. Death is a major part of life that all of us will go through one day. Even though we can't avoid death there are ways that we can deal with death in healthy manners. There is no time limit on how long it takes to heal from the mark death has made, but with the right attitude and the proper steps taken, anyone can move on in life.
To begin, the poem, “To an Athlete Dying Young” was created by E.A. Housman. E.A Housman was an English scholar and a poet who is best known for his cycle of poems. “To an Athlete Dying Young” is about a great athlete who has just passed away. The townspeople are very sorrow and bring him to his grave. The author is trying to persuade the audience that the athlete dying was not so bad, because he died at his highest achievement. Likewise, this can be proven with figurative language which were added into the poem. To conclude, imagery and personification make the meaning of the poem.
To an Athlete Dying Young is a poem filled with many different elements that A.E Housman was able to spin into a telling of both sorrow and a kind of awkwarning in light of a death of a young star runner. The different literary elements made this poem come alive and made the connections more relevant for modern time.
In A. E. Housman’s “To an Athlete Dying Young”, the author explores the idea of dying young, but still being remembered by those who live on by using the honor and pride of young athletes as a familiar setting. Dying with a name worth remembering is seen as favorable to outliving a person’s honor.
Death is the one great certainty in life. Some of us will die in ways out of our control, and most of us will be unaware of the moment of death itself. Still, death and dying well can be approached in a healthy way. Understanding that people differ in how they think about death and dying, and respecting those differences, can promote a peaceful death and a healthy manner of dying.
Sport, according to the oxford dictionary, can be defined as an activity involving physical exertion and skill in which an individual or team competes against another or others for entertainment. Sport may seem like just another, simple five letter word yet it has the power and aptitude to teach humanity such fundamental and intellectual life lessons. In my speech I will explore these vital lessons, such as failure, success, perseverance, teamwork, tolerance, responsibility and discipline by exhibiting how each lesson can be learnt and utilised.