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
yo ....
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.... 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 firs ....
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Word count: 1631
Page count: 6 (approximately 250 words per page)