Erin Neff

Mrs. Nunley

English 102

April 28, 2002

An Athlete’s Dying Glory

In the poems, “To An Athlete Dying Young” by A.E. Housman and “Ex-

Basketball Player” by John Updike, the poets describe in immense detail how two

athletes’ futures are suddenly and gradually taken from them. These two futures are cut

short in two different ways. In “To An athlete Dying Young” the athlete’s future ends

because of death whereas, in “Ex-Basketball Player” the athlete’s future is lost as he

grows older. The poets use imagery, irony, words, and figures of speech to define the

glories and losses of the athletes.

Both poems have contrasting themes. The theme of “To An Athlete Dying

Young” is: “It is better to live life to the fullest and die at the height of your prime, than

to watch your accomplishments and dreams fade.” Most people would view death as

being tragic, but in the poem it is implied as being a positive omen. In “Ex-Basketball

Player,” the poet emphasizes that, “Glories and accomplishments can gradually fade, but

they are often not forgotten in people’s minds.” Flick, the ex-basketball player, is content

to live with the memories of his past even though his glories were ended in his future.

Although these poems were written 62 years apart, both of these themes can be applied to

athlete’s lives today.

Imagery is strong and evident in both poems. Both poems have visual and

auditory images to convey the lives of both the youth and the ex-basketball player. John

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Updike uses imagery in “Ex-Basketball Player” effectively to contrast the youthful life of

Flick and the adult life of Flick. When Flick was young, he played basketball and had

everything going for him. “Once Flick played for the high-school team, the Wizards. /He

was good: in fact, the best.” (13-14). In contrast, as an adult, Flick lives more of a low-

key lifestyle of an “ex-basketball player,” and hasn’t really made something of himself.

“He never learned a trade, he just sells gas” (19). In lines 20-21, the reader gets the image

that he still has found memories of his high school years. “Once in awhile, As a gag, he

dribbles and innertube.” His life was cut short just like the images of Pearl Avenue.

“Pearl Avenue runs past the high-school/Bends with the Trolley tracks, and stops, cut

off/Before it has the chance to go to blocks” (1-3). Like Flick, the train as never had the

chance to go very far. Although he has fond memories, we are left to think that he is

content with his life now. He doesn’t mind that he now bows to the “applauding tiers/Of

Necco Wafers, Nibs, and JuJu Beads.” instead of fans. The images are striking and they

allow you to experience how Flick might feel.

Housman sensibly uses imagery to reveal the life of the youth and the demeanor

of the funeral. A.E. Housman uses visual and auditory imagery when he connects the

race with the funeral procession. When the youth won the race the townspeople are proud

of him. “Men and boy stood cheering by/And home we brought you shoulder-high.” (3-

4). They also show their appreciation for him when they lay him to rest. “Shoulder-high

we bring you home/And set you at your threshold down,” (6-7).

Both poems successfulness is tremendously due to the poets’ impressive use of

words. In “To An Athlete Dying Young,” the expressions that A.E. Housman uses are

fresh and dignified. He aptly uses words to express and piece together his stanzas, and to

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heighten the overall theme of the poem. “And early though the laurel grows/It withers

quicker than the rose” (11-12). The laurel represents the glories and just how roses

quickly languish so does fame and honor. “Now you will not swell the rout/Of lads that

wore their honors out,” (17-18). These words suggest that the young athlete is lucky to

never have to see his glories fade like many people are faced with. Instead of his poem

sounding like an emotional eulogy, he uses his choice of words to directly address the

deceased runner.

A.E. Housman’s words create a constant end rhyme scheme in each couplet.

AA/BB/CC/DD/EE/ etc. It is full of masculine rhyme, race/place, by/high, down/town,

away/stay, grows/rose, shut/cut, cheers/ears, rout/out, outran/man, fade/shade, up/cup,

head/dead, and curls/girls. The poem also has one instance of eye rhyme come/home (5-

6). This rhyme scheme creates an upbeat tone when most funerals are viewed as being

gloomy and dark.

Although the words in “Ex-Basketball Player” are more general than, “To An

Athlete Dying Young”, it is full of rich connotative language. “Pearl Avenue” indicates

both the town and Flick getting older but not changing. The reference to “Wizards” in

stanza 13 implies that just like magical wizards, the basketball team “Wizards” were

magicians on the court. “Berth’s Garage” holds meaning to the now less glorified life of

Flick.

“Ex-Basketball Player” does not contain a rhyme scheme like “To An Athlete

Dying Young,” instead it is in blank verse. Updike’s choice to not use rhyme is just as

effective as A.E. Housman choice to use rhyme. John Updike uses both end-stop and

run-on lines to make the reader anticipate, yet think about his message. For example: the

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lines “So set, before its echoes fade/The fleet foot on the sill of shade/And hold to the low

lintel up” (21-23) are separated by commas causing the reader to slightly pause before

reading on. Lines 23 and 24 run together with no punctuation, causing the reader to want

to read more. By not using a rhyme scheme, Updike creates more of a relax atmosphere.

Both poets’ use figures of speech to further enlighten the themes of each poem.

Housman utilizes similes to enlighten his ideas whereas, Updike’s poem brings together

metaphors to strengthen his poem. Personifications are prevalent in both, “To An Athlete

Dying Young” and “Ex-Basketball Player.” Housman uses simile in three instances. He

uses a simile to compare how quickly a rose and honors can grow and how quickly they

can wither. “And early though the laurel grows/It withers quicker than the rose” (11-12).

The lines 15-16 “And silence sounds no worse than cheers/After earth has stopped the

ears” implies that death is no worse than seeing your glories fade. The last couplet, “And

find unwithered on its curls/The garland briefer than a girl’s” compares the deterioration

of the athlete to the un-deterioration of the garland, which remains unwithered.

In “Ex-Basketball Player,” there are strong metaphors and one simile. Metaphors

are used to describe the pumps at Berth’s Garage. “Flick stands tall amongst the idiot

pumps/five on side, the old bubble-head style” (7-8). In the next stanza, the poet

compares Flick to the pumps. “Their rubber elbows hanging loose and low/one nostrils

are two S’s, and his eyes/An E and O. And one is squat, without/A head at all—more of

a football type.” (9-12). The poet uses a simile to explain how Flick was when he played

basketball. “…his hand were like wild birds” (18).

In “To An Athlete Dying Young,” the whole funeral takes on life during the

procession. The poet uses the funeral to reflect upon the life of the athlete. He denotes

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the funeral as bringing happiness to the Athlete because upon his death, his champion

status was set. “So set, before the echos fade/The fleet foot on the sill of shade” (21-22).

A.E. Housman literally applies that the runner is better off dead. Housman also

personifies the deceased athlete in the poem. The whole poem is an apostrophe cause

throughout the funeral; A.E. Housman is addressing a dead athlete who cannot respond.

Although the body in the ground is no longer alive, you feel as though he may be

listening to what the speaker is saying.

Personification is strong in “Ex-Basketball Player.” John Updike personifies an

inanimate basketball, “The ball loved Flick” (15) to illustrate that not only the ball loved

Flick but also the admiring fans. The images of Pearl Avenue, “Pearl Avenue runs past

the high-school lot/Bends with the trolley tracks, and stops, cut off /Before it has the

chance to go to blocks.” (1-2), and the gas pumps “Flick stands tall among the idiot

pumps/Five on a side, the bubble-head style” (7-8) represent the realities of an ex-

basketball player’s life.

The ironies that are so prevalent in everyday life are influential in both poems.

Both poets use irony to portray how unpredictable life is. The young athlete in “To an

Athlete Dying Young” glories out lived him. He does not have to see his records broken

or watch new individuals steal the spotlight. “Eyes the shady night has shut/Cannot see

the record cut (13-14). It is implied that the young athlete was a “Smart Lad, to slip

betimes away/From fields where glory does not stay” (9-10). Flick, on the other hand,

outlived his glories. Both him and the townspeople are only left with the remembrance of

his past to admire. “He was good in fact, the best. In ‘46/He bucketed three hundred

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ninety points/A country record still” (14-16). Like Flick, the town clings to the past until

a new hero can come along.

In life, futures can suddenly and gradually be taken away from athletes and

society. Sometimes we see our futures taken away, and sometimes it is taken away from

us without us knowing. In both poems the fame of both athletes did not last very long.

The poets effectively use imagery, words, figures of speech, and irony to illustrate these

losses. Both poems exceptionally pull together their true-to-life themes with these

elements. You can feel for both athletes and their losses in life. Many people would not

like to die in their prime, yet I don’t think that they would particularly want to watch their

dreams fade either.