To an Athlete Dying Young Analysis

Author: Poetry of Alfred Edward Housman Type: Poetry Views: 3834

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.

To-day, the road all runners come,
Shoulder-high we bring you home,
And set you at your threshold down,
Townsman of a stiller town.

Smart lad, to slip betimes away
From fields were glory does not stay
And early though the laurel grows
It withers quicker than the rose.

Eyes the shady night has shut
Cannot see the record cut,
And silence sounds no worse than cheers
After earth has stopped the ears:

Now you will not swell the rout
Of lads that wore their honours out,
Runners whom renown outran
And the name died before the man.

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.

And round that early-laurelled head
Will flock to gaze the strengthless dead,
And find unwithered on its curls
The garland briefer than a girl's.

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||| Analysis | Critique | Overview Below |||

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Notice Housman says, "Smart lad..." and he speaks very well of the athlete's past accomplishments. That being said, one gets the feeling Housman is just trying to make the most of a horrible tradgey (a young death). I never felt like Housman was suggesting we should all die young. He is doing what most poets do to console others and (mostly) ourselves, and he does it brilliantly.
Teresa K

| Posted on 2009-11-18 | by a guest

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I agree, this poem is a wonderfull text and i have now devoted a room in my house to it. brilliant.
Matthew Bottom,
Deputy Head of SNHS

| Posted on 2009-10-01 | by a guest

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this poem really got to my heart. housman is a great writer and his peices are too.
Oliver M

| Posted on 2009-09-30 | by a guest

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This is my favorite poem for reasons that are too numerous to mention. Some of these become apparent when the poem is read aloud as one can hear the cadence as well as the manner in which he groups similar sounds. The perspective of this poem, and one that most comments have missed, is that of irony. Housman is not advocating an early death but rather denigrating those who lives are lived only as memories of earlier successes. It is a reminder that all fame is fleeting. His use of irony, then, in the apparent advocacy of the hero's early death, is intended to shock us into a realization of the meaningless of a life defined only but a single exemplary moment.

| Posted on 2009-06-19 | by a guest

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can i get a full analysis please of the whole poem, i have to do it for an exam

| Posted on 2009-04-14 | by a guest

.: :.

He makes a point very well, and that makes him a good writer. However, it does not make him a wise person. Dying young even in a blaze of glory is not a good thing if the young person does not know where that young person will spend eternity. It is better to live out the 120 years which the bible says man is appointed even if that person is totally unknown to his/her companions and peers. The only exception would be for people who know where they are going and are not afraid because they know Who holds their hand along life's way. (Jesus Christ) I watched my father die, and it was good for him to have time to repent of his sins. I thank God for letting him go like that: on a sick bed wasting away until after he was ready to go.

| Posted on 2009-04-11 | by a guest

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Well i love this poem so much because i understand what the speaker is saying,its bad to die young but come on its good to die young being remembered, and successfull on what your dreams was. i rather die knowing that i did something in my life at least.dont spent most of your young life not doing anything ,do something that would make you and your love one's happy.because you never know when that time of death will come for you

| Posted on 2009-04-07 | by a guest

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I definitely think the poem is pretty good. I mean, I am not saying that I am for "young death" but I mean, the author does a good job on explaining why it is a good thing. The poem is about an athlete who dies at a young age after his victory and how it is good that he did due to the fact that everyone will remember him, rather than him living and seeing others beat his records and be forgotten while still alive.

| Posted on 2009-04-01 | by a guest

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Haha, I just want to say to the person who said, "Don't call him a bum, try and write one yourself" ....I wrote a poem and got it published my freshman year and the poem I wrote was in my sixth grade english class! :]

| Posted on 2009-03-31 | by a guest

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its abour a young athelete obviously and he dies when the race is over, but he wins first place, so he made a record and everyone clapped and he won therefore he died knowing triumph and he died being victorious and he will not live to see someone else beat his record.

| Posted on 2009-03-24 | by a guest

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i guess it may be a good poem in the eyes of others. Its just not my type of poems. It could be because i dont really understand the meaning of it. Like i said this may be a good poem and i may change my mind later when i figure out the meaning. I wont say it is bad because every poem has its own meaning and point that the writer was trying to get throught to the reader.

| Posted on 2009-03-04 | by a guest

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"Housman is a bum! his poems are not good at all. i tried to read this but i fell asleep. i mean honestly, unless your emo or suicidal its bad to die young. The End" LOL. couldnt have said it better myself.

| Posted on 2009-03-01 | by a guest

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He was a classic scholar so he was certainly influenced by stoicism, so the idea of dying young to preserve glory makes sense.

| Posted on 2009-02-23 | by a guest

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Housman is relating the poem to the Boer Wars, the time in which his poem was written. He was trying to inspire the young soldiers to go out and fight for their country during the war. He says that it is OK for them to die for their country, they would have achieved something great and become a hero and therefore their glory will forever be remmembered. Rather than if they live on, their glory will be lost with history, it is more likely for someone who died for their country to be remmembered than someone who fought and lived on.

| Posted on 2009-02-10 | by a guest

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His Poems are great. Don't call him a bum! you try and write a poem and get it published.

| Posted on 2009-02-02 | by a guest

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Housman is a bum! his poems are not good at all. i tried to read this but i fell asleep. i mean honestly, unless your emo or suicidal its bad to die young. The End

| Posted on 2009-01-28 | by a guest

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I agree with the very smart person who posted about Moses Jackson's brother. He/she should probably win a Nobel prize!

| Posted on 2008-10-03 | by a guest

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A. E. Housman was just sad about his crush, Moses Jackson's brother, dying an early death. He's simply trying to find a way to cope with his death by convincing himself that it's good to die young. For real.

| Posted on 2008-10-03 | by a guest

.: the story['s greatness :.

That story was great. like one ofthe unknown people i dont agree either butt he has a point. if your one of those people looking for that kind of greatest then die young. but i think its better to have learned about mistakes, mature with age, go through different tribulations and watching others grow is the bestpart of life not being adored for running or winning a ribbon. but to express a pro, martin luther king jr. died young as he had just helped out with the equality among all races. and everyone i mean evryone knows about him.

| Posted on 2008-06-06 | by a guest

.: Early Death :.

Houseman sees the futility of fame. Achievement dies much before the achiever. So, go young. Achieve and leave. Do not attempt to live on the residuals, they run out much too soon.

| Posted on 2008-03-10 | by a guest

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Housman challenges traditional ideas about death and proposes that perhaps dying young is the best time to die. When one's glory is at their peak. He makes the point, that if one is to live beyond this stage of life that they will die without their greatest achievments. Everything that young people accomplish will eventually die before their physical body does. For example: their name, reputation, glory, youth, and beauty. Housman introduces a new view on death, that being one which is positive. I am not saying that I agree with him, I believe dying young is very tragic but I do think that it is nice to read a new take on life while turning on a new light.

| Posted on 2006-04-17 | by Approved Guest

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