During the prime years of a person’s life or career, they often do not realize that youth and success are dwindling. As they age, the unavoidable aspect of death becomes more significant. A.E Housman, the author of “To an Athlete Dying Young,” conveys that everything in life is not going to be happy all the time, but people need to deal with what they have before it is too late. The audience will learn the entire lifecycle of an athlete and how age is a big factor in this. The theme is mortality and natural transitions throughout life. The speaker of the poem uses extended metaphor, personification, and an oxymoron to show that the athlete should die young so that he will be remembered as a youthful and successful human. In the poem, the extended
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The author specifies that “After earth has stopped the ears” is one form of personification because the earth cannot stop ears (line 16). The earth represents the man and how he does not pay attention to others around him due to the fact that he is no longer receiving recognition. Therefore, he has stopped his ears from hearing what society has to say about him. Stopping his ears is an example of decaying and proving that he should have died young. Now he is decaying and becoming older, but if he died young, he would have been remembered as a superior athlete. The following quote also points out that his death should have been sooner in his life: “Eyes the shady night has shut,” shows that night represents death (line 13). The author focuses on decay and how the athlete’s life would be better if it ended earlier. The purpose of this illustration is to inform the reader of the eradication of himself and his career. Also it gives an insight into how the athlete is important to the community and how he is no …show more content…
Leggett. This author exemplifies exactly what all the claims made in this paper show about death and how their is no point in living a successful life because it is all going to end eventually. Leggett notes that “Death is the only sure refuge from the ‘trouble’ that is life” which provides context that death is the only way to escape problems in life (Leggett 192). This quote shows that death at a young age is better for immortality, but in some ways Housman has different opinions on life. B.J. expresses that many of Housman’s poems are either about wanting to die or wanting to live. In one of A.E.’s poems, “A Shropshire Lad,” he takes a different approach to life and basically says that life is worth living. Either way to look at it, Housman brings up many great points about living a great life and making the most out of it whether dying or living. The only important thing is immorality which is how any person wants to be
The author specifies that “After earth has stopped the ears” is one form of personification because the earth cannot stop ears (line 16). The earth represents the man and how he does not pay attention to others around him due to the fact that he is no longer receiving recognition. Therefore, he has stopped his ears from hearing what society has to say about him. Stopping his ears is an example of decaying and proving that he should have died young. Now he is decaying and becoming older, but if he died young, he would have been remembered as a superior athlete. The following quote also points out that his death should have been sooner in his life: “Eyes the shady night has shut,” shows that night represents death (line 13). The author focuses on decay and how the athlete’s life would be better if it ended earlier. The purpose of this illustration is to inform the reader of the eradication of himself and his career. Also it gives an insight into how the athlete is important to the community and how he is no …show more content…
Leggett. This author exemplifies exactly what all the claims made in this paper show about death and how their is no point in living a successful life because it is all going to end eventually. Leggett notes that “Death is the only sure refuge from the ‘trouble’ that is life” which provides context that death is the only way to escape problems in life (Leggett 192). This quote shows that death at a young age is better for immortality, but in some ways Housman has different opinions on life. B.J. expresses that many of Housman’s poems are either about wanting to die or wanting to live. In one of A.E.’s poems, “A Shropshire Lad,” he takes a different approach to life and basically says that life is worth living. Either way to look at it, Housman brings up many great points about living a great life and making the most out of it whether dying or living. The only important thing is immorality which is how any person wants to be