Eric Jones April 29, 2013 Poetry Analysis Outline D.2

Alfred Edward Housman Alfred Edward Housman was born in Fockbury, Worcestershire, England, on March 26, 1859, the eldest of seven children. A year after his birth, Housman's family moved to nearby Bromsgrove, where the poet grew up and had his early education. In 1877, he attended St. John's College, Oxford and received first class honours in classical moderations. Housman became distracted, however, when he fell in love with his heterosexual roommate Moses Jackson. He unexpectedly failed his final exams, but managed to pass the final year and later took a position as clerk in the Patent Office in London for ten years. During this time he studied Greek and Roman classics intensively, and in 1892 was appointed professor of Latin at University College, London. In 1911 he became professor of Latin at Trinity College, Cambridge, a post he held until his death. As a classicist, Housman gained renown for his editions of the Roman poets Juvenal, Lucan, and Manilius, as well as his meticulous and intelligent commentaries and his disdain for the unscholarly.

Poem

Annotation Annotated Poem

Some questions about “To An Athlete Dying Young” 1. What is the dramatic situation of the poem? (What is taking place literally?) Its talking about someone that had won their town the race and then they had pass away. Which cause everybody to miss him/her. 2. Who is the speaker in the poem? (Or, at least, what do we know about him/her?) The author 3. To whom is he or she speaking? Who is the audience of the poem? Its speaking to no one. its telling you about someone. 4. Where is the setting of the poem? Where is the speaker? When does it take place? It took place in a small little town. 5. What is a possible theme of the poem? You don’t know what you have good till it’s gone. 6. Write one line from the poem that you think tells the theme or main conflict of the poem. Now you will not swell the rout Of lads that wore their honours out, Runners whom renown outran And the name died before the man. 7. Why does the speaker feel compelled to speak out? You don’t know what you have good till it’s gone. 8. What kinds of patterns are there in the poem? Does the poem rhyme? Does it have a particular rhythm or beat? Does it have a visual pattern when you look at it? It has ends rhyme with AABB in each stanza. 9. How does the poet use language? Is it elevated or fancier language? Is it more vernacular, colloquial, or casual? This poem use Latin English. 10. What do you think is the most important line of the poem? Why do you think so? (townsmen of a stiller town.) because its telling you that the athlete is now a townsman of the cemetery. 11. What images does the poet use to make his or her point? End rhymes 12. What is the tone (mood) of the poem at the beginning, at the end, and overall? Happy, and then calm, and then sad.

What I Had learn from reading this poem is that you don’t know what good till it gone. Theme