The athlete in the poem “To An Athlete Dying Young” does not become a memory because he had faced death before his career came to an end. Throughout the poem the narrator often refers to the athlete as a “young lad” to show that he was young. He proves that he is dead when he says “the road all runners come; shoulder-high we bring you home.” (Housman 2). The narrator is trying to assert that the athlete has faced the conflict of death by referring to the life event of death as a “road” that all people take. The narrator is also trying …show more content…
The young lad was famous for winning a race. Regardless, he was expected to lose that honor, in a world where fame does not last. The narrator demonstrates this by saying “From fields where glory does not stay And early through the laurel grows it withers quicker than the rose.” (Housman 3). He is trying to say that in this world as quickly as you rise to fame is as quick your downfall can be. The narrator illustrates this by referring to the laurel as the athlete’s fame, a laurel which symbolizes glory and honor. As a result, the young athlete did not become one of those people who faces the conflict of becoming just a