E Housman describes how a young athlete accomplishment is remembered because he died while still in his glory. The theme is keeping your glory, during and after life. The irony is that the same crowd of townspeople who previously carried the athlete on their shoulders after he had won a race now carries him to his grave. Throughout the poem, the narrator emphasizes the idea that it is better to die young at your peak than die old and without glory.
In the first line the poet presents a praised young athlete that is being remembered because he won a race for his town. Lines two through four are describing how the townspeople congratulated and honored the athlete due to his victory of the race. Line two it states, "We chaired you through the market-place" and line four reads, "And home we brought you shoulder high". These lines describe the townspeople reaction. The narrator points out the fans of the athlete as men and boys. The book "Poetry for Students" states that this could be " the classical Greek concept of the love of males for the physical beauty of the perfected young male body".
Lines five through eight are describing the townspeople reaction of the death of the athlete. Lines five reads, "Today, the road all runners come" suggest that he has died just as any other runner and it does not matter who you are, you will eventually die. Line six the townspeople are carrying him "shoulder-high" but this time they are carrying him in a coffin to his grave. Using the words "shoulder-high" tells you the townspeople still honor him. In line seven the narrator uses the word "threshold" meaning a new beginning or life. For example, when the groom carries the bride over the threshold it means a new beginning. In this case it means the athlete is starting his life in the world of the dead. Line eight is saying that the athlete is now a "townsman of a stiller town". Meaning he is a townsman of the dead.
Considering the poem "The Cadaver,"" readers gain a perspective and lens into a medical professional's life as literary techniques enhance the audience's perception of the distressing events they are exposed to every day. Utilizing methods of imagery and metaphor, the physical words come to life, dr...
When I first attended this class, I was eager to have the instructors show me the relationship between science and poetry, as I could not construct a meaningful connection between the two subjects myself. ... Now, however, I do not doubt that science and poetry are related having learned that both the scientist and the poet utilize keen analysis, previous observations, and a "hands on" approach to learning. ... Similarly, the poet may take years to create poetry that is based not only on personal experiences, but the observed experiences of others. ... In conclusion, I am now able to cons...
The following analysis investigate, separately, a passage from Whitman's "Song of Myself" and Emily Dickinson's poem 334 -see Appendix- focusing on thematic contents and on the formal aspects which lead to their interpretation. ... The letters of Emily Dickinson Emily Dickinson distinguished herself not only for her poetry but also as writer of letters sent to friends, relatives. ... Dickinson transcended not only poetry conventions of her time (by her free-verse, her particular use of punctuation and capitalization) but also epistolary ones, especially those for women,...
On a closer analysis, Heaney is describing the process of writing poetry: the process of unravelling of thoughts and experiences within himself. ... Through this comparison of a simple man to a being with supernatural powers, the reader is indeed left with a sense of marvel and admiration of how beautiful and profound poetry is. Typical of Heaney's early poetry is the simplicity in his style of writing. ... Heaney describes this process of inventing poetry in other poems such as "The Peninsula" and "Follower". He uses everyday mundane tasks to describe the art of writing poetry, as in "...
Nature Imagery SYMBOL ANALYSIS There's a lot of nature in this poem. ... If that sounds familiar to you, that's probably because it's the most common meter in English poetry. ... (In the poetry biz, a syllable pair that contains a stressed syllable followed by an unstressed syllable is called a trochee.) ... Small substitutions like this are fairly common in poetry, so just be on the lookout for any metrical oddities. ... ANALYSIS SPEAKER The speaker of "The Soldier," is the soldier. ...
As I researched for other classes I stumbled upon Intro to Poetry, to me I find most if not all music to be a form of poetry which is the reason I added the class to my schedule. ... This paper begins by introducing the argument between whether poetry and music are directly related, I will do this by demonstrating other scholar's thoughts on the matter of music and poetry along with my thoughts. ... How does music relate to poetry? ... In this essay Jay Rogoff first discusses the connection between music and poetry and references the works of Jon Stallworthy in "The Norton Anthology of...
Meaning in poetry is created from the reader making the connection between the literal and the metaphorical, and in doing so, "reading between the lines." At first glance, Yeats" poetry may seem to be merely spontaneous emotion, however, after close literary analysis, it is clear that Yeats" poetry is often fairly systematic and reveals an assortment of reoccurring ideas. When analysis of Yeats" works is undertaken, especially when discussing Yeats" ideas and thoughts expressed through his poetry, it is often useful to consider the context of the poems. ... These regularly reiterated ideas are...
Poetry Analysis of Robert Browning's "Porphyria's Lover" While reading "Porphyria's Lover" the main idea that stood out most in the poem was love. ... Robert Browning uses elements of poetry such as the speaker, rhyme scheme, and rhythm to accentuate the theme in the poem. ... The elements of poetry chosen by Robert Browning ingeniously tie together to draw attention to the theme. ...
Cummings" poetry invites readers to contemplate connotative intention, mull over multiple meanings, and inspect the effectual usage of syntax. ... Popular in Dickenson's poetry, hyphens at the end of a line are meant to symbolize unwritten words. ... Cummings" incorporation of distinct devices elevates his writing, which is the pinnacle of poetry. By coupling atypical punctuation and cautious wording with extended metaphor and symbolic description, Cummings achieves poetry that can be read forwards or backwards and interpreted in multiple dimensions. ...