Theme in Housman’s “to an Athlete Dying Young”
Theme in Housman’s “To an Athlete Dying Young”
By
Genea Cannon
Dr. A. Kantor
English 1302
6 March 2009
“To an Athlete Dying Young” by A. E. Houseman
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.
Today, 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 where 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 honors 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-laureled head
Will flock to gaze the strengthless dead,
And find unwithered on its curls
The garland briefer than a girl’s.
Thesis and Outline
Thesis: Housman uses visual imagery, double-meaning words, and life cycles to develop a theme of fading glory.
I.Visual Imagery
A. Presence
B. Effect
II.Double-meaning Words
A. Presence
B. Effect
III.Life Cycles
A. Presence
B. Effect
Genea Cannon
DC English 1302
Dr. A. Kantor
3/6/09
Theme in Housman’s “To an Athlete Dying Young” In Alfred Edward Housman’s “To an Athlete Dying Young”, the theme of fading glory is evident throughout the piece. Knowing and comprehending the theme is important to understanding the poem. Housman uses visual imagery, double-meaning words, and life cycles to develop a theme of fading glory.
Visual imagery is used in many ways to present the theme. In the first stanza, the narrator is remembering the day that the runner won a race for his town. When
By
Genea Cannon
Dr. A. Kantor
English 1302
6 March 2009
“To an Athlete Dying Young” by A. E. Houseman
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.
Today, 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 where 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 honors 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-laureled head
Will flock to gaze the strengthless dead,
And find unwithered on its curls
The garland briefer than a girl’s.
Thesis and Outline
Thesis: Housman uses visual imagery, double-meaning words, and life cycles to develop a theme of fading glory.
I.Visual Imagery
A. Presence
B. Effect
II.Double-meaning Words
A. Presence
B. Effect
III.Life Cycles
A. Presence
B. Effect
Genea Cannon
DC English 1302
Dr. A. Kantor
3/6/09
Theme in Housman’s “To an Athlete Dying Young” In Alfred Edward Housman’s “To an Athlete Dying Young”, the theme of fading glory is evident throughout the piece. Knowing and comprehending the theme is important to understanding the poem. Housman uses visual imagery, double-meaning words, and life cycles to develop a theme of fading glory.
Visual imagery is used in many ways to present the theme. In the first stanza, the narrator is remembering the day that the runner won a race for his town. When
Cited: Cummings, Michael J. “To an Athlete Dying Young”. Cummings Guides. 27 Jan 2009. 3 March 2009. . Housman, A. E., “To an Athlete Dying Young.” The Collected Poems. London: Jonathan Cape, 1939. Napierkowski, Marie Rose, and Mary K. Ruby, eds. “To an Athlete Dying Young.” Poetry for Students. Vol. 7. Detroit: Gale, 1998.