Bring on the tough stuff - there’s not just one right answer.
- Why do you think Housman chose quatrains for this poem? Do you think the strong rhyme helps or hurts the poem? Why or why not?
- The athlete in the poem was a runner. Would the poem be different if the athlete participated in a team sport? Why or why not?
- When you read the poem for the first time, what did you imagine to be the cause of the athlete's death? Does it matter how the athlete died? Why or why not?
- Does Housman use the athlete's youth simply to make the poem super-super-sad, or is there more to it? If there is more to it, what is it? (Hint: There's more to it.)
- When read aloud, "To an Athlete Dying Young" doesn't really sound like a poem about death. Why doesn't it? Why do you think Housman wanted this poem about death to sound the way it does?