Housman's "To An Athlete Dying Young"
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A. E. Housman's "To an Athlete Dying Young," also known as Lyric XIX in A
Shropshire Lad, holds as its main theme the premature death of a young athlete
as told from the point of view of a friend serving as pall bearer. The poem
reveals the concept that those dying at the peak of their glory or y ....
Middle of paper
.... 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. (Housman 967).
Stanza two describes a much more somber procession. The athlete is being carried
to his grave. In Leggett's opinion, "The parallels between this procession and
the former triumph are carefully drawn" (54). The reader should see that
Housman makes another reference to "shoulders" as an allusion to connect the
fir ....
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Word count: 1631
Page count: 6 (approximately 250 words per page)
