To an Athlete Dying Young Essay Questions

Describe the style of “To an Athlete Dying Young.” How does it relate to the poem’s subject matter?

The subject matter of “To an Athlete Dying Young” is typical of Romantic poetry. It aims to conjure feelings of sadness in the reader by depicting a pathetic and tragic scene. However, the style defies Romantic norms because it is extremely minimalist, characterized by monosyllabic words and a strict metrical and rhyme scheme. The severity of the style counteracts the sentimental subject matter, and suggests that the poet may not share the speaker’s convictions.

Identify one aspect of figurative language in “To an Athlete Dying Young” and discuss it in connection to the poem’s themes.

In the fifth stanza, Housman writes of “runners whom renown outran.” The phrase personifies renown as a runner, in order to describe those athletes who ended up outliving their own fame. By personifying renown, Housman also blurs the line between fame and personhood, a theme which also informs the next line of the poem, where he writes that for these runners “the name died before the man.” By depicting renown as akin to the runners, he suggests that for athletes, losing fame is not so different from losing one’s life.