A. E. Housman's 'To an Athlete Dying Young'

A. E. Housmans To an Athlete Dying Young, also known as lyric poem XIX in A Shropshire Lad, holds as its main substructure the premature death of a young jockstrap as told from the point of public opinion of a hotshot serving as p solely bearer. The poem reveals the concept that those dying at the peak of their idealisation or youth are real quite lucky. The get-go few readings of To an Athlete Dying Young provides the referee with an understanding of Housmans view of death. Additional readings reveal Housmans attempt to aim the classical idea that youth, beauty, and glory can be keep only in death. A line-by-line analysis helps to determine the conclusiveness of the poem. The world-class stanza of the poem tells of the jocks merriment and his glory filled arrangement through with(predicate) and through the townspeople 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 Housmans words: The time you won your town the race We chaired you through the market place; Man and boy stood cheering by, And mug we brought you shoulder-high. (Housman 967). Stanza two describes a much more somber procession. The athlete is being carried to his grave.

In Leggetts opinion, The parallels between this procession and the former triumph are carefully drawn (54). The reader should see that Housman makes another character 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 assemble you at the door down, Townsman of a stiller town. (967) In stanza three Housman describes the laurel growin! g early yet dying quicker than a rose. (967) This parallels the smart lad who chose to... If you want to get a full essay, indian lodge it on our website: OrderEssay.net

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