The Runner
“To an Athlete Dying Young” is about a runner who won a race on behalf of his village. The poem depicts him as beloved by his community. He was quite young, both when he won the race and when he subsequently died, which we know because the speaker refers to him as a “lad.” He’s also classically beautiful, with a head of curly hair.
The Speaker
“To an Athlete Dying Young” is written in the first-person plural. The speaker is a member of the runner’s community; he rejoices with the townspeople when the runner wins the race, and accompanies them when they go to the graveyard to bury him.
