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To An Athlete Dying Young Poem Analysis

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Looking for poems to compare for this essay was hard but after the tragedy that struck USF this weekend gave me an insight of poems to choose. I choose “To an Athlete Dying Young” by A.E. Housman, “Where the Sidewalk Ends” by Shel Silverstein, and “If We Must Die” by Claude McKay because of the themes that represent life in the moments of dying and where our lives go in the future. In the poem “To an Athlete Dying Young” the author expresses the athlete winning a big race or game and how the whole town comes together and is cheering them on. Comparing this scenario to the poem “Where the Sidewalk Ends” and how coming to the end of a sidewalk is similar to a life ending and where they will go. Housman stats, “From fields where glory does not stay” (10) and comparing this line to “This is a place where the sidewalk ends,” (1) told by Silverstein. These lines from both the poems reflect off each other because the wins that the person received on the field will not stay with the field but rather with the person in spirit. Comparing this to the second line with the sidewalk ending is when an athlete passes away at a young …show more content…

“If we must die, O let us nobly die,/ So that our precious blood may not be shed,” (5-6) expressed by McKay that when we die do it in a peaceful way rather than tragically where we are bleeding to death. Silverstein exclaims, “And we’ll go where the chalk-white arrows go,/ For the children, they mark, and the children, they know/ The place where the sidewalk ends.” (14-16) Choosing these few lines compared to McKay lines is how we should really pass away. We should choose which way we want to go like heaven or hell and tragically or peacefully. Sometimes God makes the decision for us and takes us sooner than everyone thought. He takes us when we are just starting our lives and not when we are old and gray and ready to go to

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“Execution” by Edward Hirsch is about an adult recollecting his thoughts about his high school football career and especially how his coach inspired him because his authoritative role model was battling cancer. The speaker talks about the coach’s goal for “perfect execution” and the infinite strategies the coach would draw up in order to reach his goal. The speaker concludes with their team’s loss against “the downstate team” and how they were ironically defeated by “perfect execution.” A superficial reader might assume that the poem was about the disappointing results that came from his team working hard to reach a goal, but the author’s use of impersonal tone and irony in the fact that their team’s loss is caused by “perfect execution” shows how a strong force can be conquered even when putting your best foot forward when accepting a challenge. Have you ever been a part of a team that seemed invincible and you lost?

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The narrator’s changing understanding of the inevitability of death across the two sections of the poem illustrates the dynamic and contrasting nature of the human

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Historical Literary Lens on “If We Must Die” by Claude McKay Claude McKay’s poem ‘If We Must Die’ portrays historical exploitation and oppression and the challenges the black community went through during the period of slavery. Through the poem, McKay calls for the unity of the black community to stand up against social injustices, and if they must die, they do so honorably as he quoted saying, "If we must die—oh, let us nobly die. " The emphasis on the idea of an honorable death exemplifies how the black community was subjected to fatal exploitation during slavery, and the only way out was by fighting back, even if outnumbered and overpowered.

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Evaluation of if we must die by claude Mckay The criteria that if we must die by claude Mckay was evaluated with includes how effective the author was at appealing to his target audience as well as how well he conveyed emotional and thematic expectations of his political beliefs. These criteria were chosen because they most closely fit the This poem is effective at appealing to its target audience at the time of publishing and conveyed the emotional and thematic expectations of his political beliefs. The author is already defeated and as he states “if we must die” which is very telling that he has already accepted defeat however at the same time the author is also contradicting this with things that the reader could still do and have honor where

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Also in Housman poem he mentions how a rose fades away fast, the rose in the story I would say is symbolizing his death and could also be symbolizing the love people had for him and also the respect. The poem is an elegy, because Housman is mourning his death. Housman poem seems like he is talking to the dead athlete, as if he is still living. The tone would be sadness,

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For instance, the quote for that reason shows people can be brave along with trying to stop the racist things that are happening. Another quote from the story is “ If we must die, O let us nobly die” What Mckay means by this is, We can see this in, to die nobly for that reason it will mean that they are brave. For instance,

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Two poems that are often compared and contrasted are "The Road Not Taken" by Robert Frost and Langston Hughes' "Mother to Son." Both poems discuss themes of choices and obstacles, but they present these themes in very different ways. "The Road Not Taken" is written in a contemplative, introspective tone, while "Mother to Son" is written in a more direct, conversational tone. Additionally, "The Road Not Taken" is written in rhymed verse and is set in the countryside, while "Mother to Son" is written in free verse and is set in an urban environment. Due to the fact that they are so similar and yet different, these two poems provide an interesting discussion about the various ways in which poets can convey similar themes.

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“To an Athlete Dying Young” is is a poem that conveys the fragility of life and fame to any readers who are intelligent enough to comprehend the underlying message. Essentially, it’s a poem about a boy who wins a race, but his fame quickly fades away and proceeds to die. As you can tell, this author writes very upbeat and happy content. The theme is that “fame fades fast,” which happened to this boy shortly before his untimely death. This poem uses a lot of great metaphors, such as “And early though the laurel grows, It withers quicker than the rose,” which not only serves as a metaphor for the fact that fame ends before life, but it is also a beautiful use of foreshadowing the next stanza where his death occurs.

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To an athlete dying young is set in a town and cemetery in England in the 19th century during the funeral of the young athlete (User, BCD. “Cummings Study Guide). “The time you won your town the race/ And home we brought you shoulder-high”. When the young man won the race, the townspeople were so happy, they carried him home on their shoulders.

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One of the most celebrated work of Claude McKay was his poem “If we must die”, which Mckay penned in 1919 at a time when serious racial riots were occurring in the US involving white assaulting black people. McKay wrote this poem in response to these riots which took lives of many black

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Alfred Edward Housman, also known as A.E. Housman was most popular for his poem, “To an Athlete Dying Young.” In this poem, Housman poses the idea that the best way for an athlete to achieve greatness is to die before his fame dies. Housman’s difficult childhood led him to write poems with a very bleak outlook on life. “To an Athlete Dying Young” encompasses some of the feelings A.E. Housman felt as a child. This thought provoking poem convinces readers to think about life, death and the loss of glory (“Death in Poetry: A.E. Housman”).

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He wants black people to know their death may be imminent, be that as it may, their cause will be remembered. They will not be overcome with fear as the white man expects. They will fight to the death and prove to their white adversary that black life is meaningful. I feel that Claude McKay wrote this specific poem out of retaliation of the Red Summer that coincided with America’s Red Scare. White America felt like anyone that wasn’t native born, protestant, and shared traditional American values posed a threat to the country.

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They must have felt close to the same as the words of McKay, “If we must die, O let us nobly die,

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The very last line of the poem, “Pressed to the wall, dying, but fighting back!”, was the most powerful line of the whole sonnet. McKay really emphasizes that even if they die fighting back it will still be in honor. They will fight

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In the poem it explain “ “If we must die, O let us nobly die, So that our precious blood may not be shed In vain; then even the monsters we defy Shall be constrained”. This is stating that he believes that people African Americans shouldn’t be giving up even matter what and stand up for their rights. Also, Mr.Mckay stood up to try and show that what is happening isn’t right and fair because of how people white and African-Americans fighting . I know this because in the text it states “ Though far outnumbered let us show us brave, And for their thousand blows deal one death-blow!

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