The poem To an Athlete Dying Young was written by a somewhat famous poet named Alfred Edward (A.E.) Housman. According to Twentieth Century Authors, he was born in 1859 and died in 1936, and was the oldest of seven children. His younger brother was also a well known poet, by the name of Laurence Housman. Something happened to Housman (A.E.) when he went to college, no one is quite sure of what it was, but there was a noticeable difference in his personality from when he left to when he came back. When he left for college, he was always cheerful, outgoing, quick and witty. When he returned, he was much different, he was much darker. Suddenly he was more reserved and quiet, and he preferred to be alone, rather than spend time with friends. According to shropshire.gov, These changes remained permanent for the remainder of his life as he became incredibly secluded from his family, lost the ability to have friendships, and never married. He appeared to be an unpleasant man as he was a harsh critic of other poets’ works; in fact, he was considered to be both ruthless and merciless in his criticism. One can tell that the way in which his poems were written were a direct reflection of what kind of a person he was. Most of his poems were either dark or sad, with some irony, as well as a great deal of intimate feelings. It’s believed that because he had no friends, spouse, or family to talk to that the only way for him to express his feelings at all was to write about them through his poems. This poem, “To an Athlete Dying Young” falls under most of these categories as it has a good deal of sadness and irony to it. Undoubtedly, the change in Housman’s character and personality was what caused his poems to be so exquisite, which is why he and they are still famous and known to this day. In my opinion, this is an absolutely perfect poem to use as an example of Housman’s personality showing up in his work.
In the poem, Housman begins by talking about a runner who won a race, in which he was representing his town. He then goes on to elaborate about the celebration that ensued. The image that Housman gives the reader is the townspeople all celebrating over this great victory, and carrying this young runner on their shoulders in celebration. There have been countless times in the course of the history of athletics where sports heroes who have just won a game or competition are carried on the shoulders of two other people. This is quite important, as the author will make a similar reference later in the poem. The author makes clear that this was a past event, as he is just remembering it. The reader gets the impression that there is a great deal of people standing and cheering for this athlete, perhaps even the majority of this small town. It would be a great moment, to have the winner and the spectators all cheering wildly in the town’s center.
The narrator begins the second stanza by changing the tense to the present. This concludes the fond memory of the race that was won by the young athlete. The narrator again says makes reference to the fact that the runner is being carried “shoulder-high”. This time however, there is no celebration; instead, there is a funeral. The deceased is the same runner that one the race, and as the narrator puts it, he is being brought home. The town and the townspeople are no longer celebrating; they’re not doing anything even close. Instead, they’re in mourning of the passing of this great star. In some funerals, the casket is carried on people’s shoulders. This is the irony that Housman uses and it is quite interesting considering the dramatic mood changes that everyone experiences between the two times when the runner was carried on shoulders. Housman uses irony in many of his poems; it is believed that this is because he had such a dark and secluded life. Normally, when he uses irony, it is to express something that is rather sad or disturbing, this is both.
In the next stanza, the narrator refers to the runner as “smart”, which is interesting considering he is dead. But when the observation is reflected upon, it becomes quite clear to the reader what Housman is intending to say. There are plenty of times in athletics where an athlete will achieve a great deal of glory and fame, but then that glory and fame dies off long before the athlete does. The difference here is that because this young athlete died young, he never has to give up that glory. The narrator uses the metaphor of a rose withering to express his message that glory doesn’t last, usually. This is a terrific example of how something can be so great and beautiful, and then pretty soon, its dead and gone, forgotten.
The fourth stanza is not easy to understand and interpret as the narrator makes a complex point. He starts off by further elaborating to the reader the fact that the runner is dead and that he has closed his eyes for the final time. Then, he tells the reader that the runner will never have to live to see the day where his record is beaten or broken in the race. There will never come a day when he will feel as though he’s been beaten and his accomplishments have relinquished. He was lucky to a certain extent in the sense that he gets to die a champion, he gets to go out a hero. Housman then makes another reference to the change of moods between the day of the race and the day of the feeling. He exclaims that cheering turns into utter and complete silence as people pay their respects to the honored dead. As the next stanza elaborates even further, every athlete gets to a point where his glory days are long behind him and he no longer feels like royalty. The narrator explains how the runner will never have to be like so many other athletes that seemingly faded away, that wore out their honor in the eyes of the public and those who cheered them to victory. The next point that the author makes is quite interesting and something that one might not think about ordinarily even though it happens all the time. And that is that an athlete’s fame, glory, and name recognition will be at its peak just after the athlete has achieved his or her athletic success. But there will come a time when all of that is gone, when most people don’t know who that athlete is. A terrific example in current day culture is Mark Spitz. He was a swimmer that won seven gold medals in the 1972 Olympics. If asked today, more people than not probably wouldn’t know who Mark Spitz is or what he accomplished, even though he is still alive. This is a classic case of an athlete’s name dying before he or she does. The runner in the poem never had this happen to him as he died when he was still at the peak of his glory and fame. He was most likely still being praised up to the day he died, and far after that.
In the beginning of the next stanza, the narrator once again tells the runner that it’s at least somewhat good to die and end his life before the memory of his victory is forgotten. He uses the metaphor of standing on a cliff of shade, or shadows, which represent death. He shows that the runner is, or was on the edge of death. This is yet again a great example of Housman using a simile that grabs the reader and pulls him in. The narrator elaborates that the runner now gets to keep the “challenge-cup”. What this means is that every year, the winner of the race that this runner won gets to have their name engraved on a trophy, a cup. The winner gets to keep the cup for the next year, until he loses the next race. If he wins, he gets to keep it for another year; this process goes on as long as he keeps winning. This is similar to the Stanley Cup, which is the trophy for the winner of the National Hockey League. Because the runner died before the race came around again, so he never had to give up the cup.
The final stanza tells of the runner having an “early-laurelled head”. A laurel is similar to an Olympic crown that is given to all of the medal winners in the Olympics. Obviously, the winner of this race receives one as well. The narrator then tells how all the townspeople, most of not all of whom were present when the runner won the race will all come to the funeral to pay their final respects to the deceased athlete. The last two lines of the poem are both interesting and complex. The laurel isn’t withered as the rose was. This is symbolism for the fact that the runner will never have to lose his glory; it will last long after he has died.
This is a poem of great sadness and tragedy. The young runner who became a champion was hoisted up on the shoulders of all of his fellow townspeople as the winner that he was. He received the challenge-cup for his great victory and was allowed to keep it for a year, until the next race. But unfortunately, he was never required to give it back, as he died before the next race took place. He, unlike most athletes will have his glory and accomplishments remembered long after his death. Most athletes are forgotten long before they actually pass from this earth. The author, Alfred Edward Housman, does a terrific job of using similes and ironies to get his points across to the reader, however dark and disturbing they may be. This poem is incredibly sad and unfortunate, but at the same time, it is a great piece of work by a great and famous poet, A.E. Housman.
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