To An Athlete Dying Young Poem Analysis

Mark Twain once said, "The fear of death follows from the fear of life. A man who lives fully is prepared to die at any time." A.E. Houseman, in the tragic poem “'To an Athlete Dying Young," examines the themes of youth and premature death. The poem addresses a young runner who epitomized glory by winning a race and earning the heart of his townsmen. The triumph of the youth's winning of a race is matched by the ironic triumph of his death. The usage of metaphoric language, imagery, sophisticated literature, and rhyming couplets created a complex poem that obtains these subjective themes. The effectiveness of the poem contributes to the overall purpose Housman was trying to propose, for the speaker of the poem examines how the individual in
The speaker is viewing the premature death in a positive light. To most, that is a terrible or even sinful thing to contemplate, but it is indeed what the speaker is conveying. The theme of this poem is that it is better to die as a young champion than to grow old and be forgotten by all those how surpass your one-time greatness. He calls the dead athlete a "smart lad" for dying as a champion and not remaining in the "fields where glory does not stay." He then compares early death to growing old and being forgotten in the lines "And silence sounds on worse than cheers after earth has stopped the ears." That is a powerful statement. The speaker honestly believes that it is just as well to die young and be praised as it is to live out the rest if your life and be forgotten. The line "Runners whom renown outran" also indicates the theme. That line conveys the message that the fame and glory is only temporary, and it is better to perish before the name dies before the man. The last two stanzas paint a picture that the death saw a type of victory for the athlete. He died without the taste of defeat; he died a champion. The theme may be rather ugly, but it is one that many people can