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To start, Housman uses alliterations throughout his poem, which allows one’s mind too mentally, connect to the author’s message. Housman starts his poem with “The time you won your town the race” (line 1), which allows readers to connect a human relationship with the athlete in the poem, and sets a positive tone for normally mournful topic. In addition, he uses connotations like “stiller town” (8) which compares to a cemetery in a town. This connotation, which is, used early in his poem acts as a element of foreshadowing to the concept of dying young, as a positive, which Housman focused later on in his poem. Furthermore, imagery is very common within his poem, using phrases like “Shoulder-high we bring you home” (6). This line sends imagery of the athlete being carried shoulder high for celebration, or how someone is carried in a coffin shoulder high to the cemetery. Housman use of alliterations shows how people will honor one’s death more than mourn. This helps overcome the human nature fear of dying and being forgotten after. Housman puts one’s mind at ease that people will remember one’s achievements and never forgets the person who did pass
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Even though, the common person views dying at a young age as a mournful event, Housman addresses, the beneficial aspects of the athlete’s young death. In this line “Cannot see the record cut,” (14) Housman conveys the idea that the athlete will never have to face the agonizing pain of seeing his own records being defeated by another athlete. In addition, an athlete’s ultimate goal is to achieve to the best of their abilities, dying young prevents one from watching their own abilities fade away due to growing older, or due to an injury acquired playing their sport. Housman in the poem is able to avoid the negative effects, which is commonly associated in human nature after a person dies young. Every athlete or person has to die at some point. Housman’s poem expresses that dying young and at the most successful peak of one’s career, is best because, it prevents oneself from watching their own achievements be out done by someone
Even though, the common person views dying at a young age as a mournful event, Housman addresses, the beneficial aspects of the athlete’s young death. In this line “Cannot see the record cut,” (14) Housman conveys the idea that the athlete will never have to face the agonizing pain of seeing his own records being defeated by another athlete. In addition, an athlete’s ultimate goal is to achieve to the best of their abilities, dying young prevents one from watching their own abilities fade away due to growing older, or due to an injury acquired playing their sport. Housman in the poem is able to avoid the negative effects, which is commonly associated in human nature after a person dies young. Every athlete or person has to die at some point. Housman’s poem expresses that dying young and at the most successful peak of one’s career, is best because, it prevents oneself from watching their own achievements be out done by someone