Analysis of Housman's Poem To an Athlete Dying Young
...aring silence will be the same as hearing cheers because the athlete did not live long enough to experience any sound other than cheers. “Smart lad to slip betimes away From fields where glory does not stay” (linens 9-10). The speaker is saying that it is good for the athlete to dye while his fame is still at its peak. Seeing the athlete dye in his prime is better than seeing him live without his glory and fame. The memory of him being victorious is far more joyous than remembering him being defeated. The speaker uses verbal irony to convey the purpose of the poem. “To-day, the road all runners come, Shoulder - high we bring you home, And set you at your threshold down, Townsman of a stiller town”(lines 5-9 To An Athlete Dying Young ). This quote is ironic because the intended meaning of it is different from the literal meaning. They do not really bring him to the threshold of his home. They bring him to his grave. The stiller town of which he will be townsman is in the spiritual world. Another example of verbal irony is in lines 13-14. “Eyes the shady night has shut cannot see the record cut.” The shady night is not an actual shady night. It is death. The implied meaning is that a dead athlete cannot see his own records as they are broken. It is better for an athlete to dye young while he is still a winner. “Now you will not swell the r...