Athlete Dying Young
The elegy “To an Athlete Dying Young” by A. E. Housman follows the speaker as he mourns the death of a highly celebrated, young athlete. Housman asserts for one to achieve eternal greatness in the minds of his admirers he must die closely after reaching his peak performance or face the prospect of having is glory fade. Housman employs a distant, observant tone almost as if the poem’s speaker is a close friend or confidant of the athlete. The speaker chooses to glorify the young athlete’s death, focusing on the idea that dying in his prime he will remain remembered and admired. The height and bliss of glory is contrasted with the bitterness of death, supporting the belief that it is more important for the athlete to die young and be remembered
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The third stanza explains that glory fades and eventually dies, as well as those who were lucky enough to have attained it. With the lines “Smart lad, to slip betimes away/ From fields where glory does not stay” the speaker implies that the athlete was wise to die young because his fame was left intact. The speaker chooses to focus on the brighter aspects of the athlete’s death by touching on how he was undefeated at the time of his demise. Perhaps if the athlete had lived longer, he would have been beaten and disappointed his admirers. The speaker then goes on with the simile “early…the laurel grows/ it withers quicker than a rose.” The laurel, used in ancient Greece to crown Olympic championship athletes, is a symbol of victory. The athlete is fortunate to have passed while the laurel was still situated on his head, rather than after it was taken by another or forgotten. In the next stanza the speaker continues to highlight the positive aspects of the athlete’s early death. As the “shady night” or death has shut the athlete’s eyes, he will not be there to see his records be broken and feel the disappointment of his defeat. The speaker’s use of the oxymoron “silence sounds” helps to emphasize the idea that since the athlete has passed the silence will not bother him, but if he had lived the loss of praise due to defeat would have crushed his spirits and seemed much more
The third stanza explains that glory fades and eventually dies, as well as those who were lucky enough to have attained it. With the lines “Smart lad, to slip betimes away/ From fields where glory does not stay” the speaker implies that the athlete was wise to die young because his fame was left intact. The speaker chooses to focus on the brighter aspects of the athlete’s death by touching on how he was undefeated at the time of his demise. Perhaps if the athlete had lived longer, he would have been beaten and disappointed his admirers. The speaker then goes on with the simile “early…the laurel grows/ it withers quicker than a rose.” The laurel, used in ancient Greece to crown Olympic championship athletes, is a symbol of victory. The athlete is fortunate to have passed while the laurel was still situated on his head, rather than after it was taken by another or forgotten. In the next stanza the speaker continues to highlight the positive aspects of the athlete’s early death. As the “shady night” or death has shut the athlete’s eyes, he will not be there to see his records be broken and feel the disappointment of his defeat. The speaker’s use of the oxymoron “silence sounds” helps to emphasize the idea that since the athlete has passed the silence will not bother him, but if he had lived the loss of praise due to defeat would have crushed his spirits and seemed much more