Comparison of Two Poems: An Athlete Dying Young and Ex-Basketball Player

Introduction

In life, everyone has a memory that they would like to go back to, or experience again and again in their present life, and/or in their future life. In equal measure, everyone has regrets from their pasts and the choices they made, and at one point or another the wish of having to experience some of the unforgettable moments. The two poems; To An Athlete Dying Young and Ex- Basketball Player share a similar message that surrounds the unforgettable moments that an athlete and a former basketball player had during the glorious days that they had, shining in fame. Both poems share the stories of the lives of the athlete and the former basketball player after their days of fame and glory. This is despite the difference that occurs where in An Athlete Dying Young, the athlete faces a fateful demise in his glorious days, and in the Ex- Basketball player, the player faces life of suffrage and mental torture as a result of his fame fading away as he grows older.

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To an Athlete Dying Young by A. E Housman is a short artistic poem that is composed upon the unprecedented early demise of a young, celebrated athlete with so much fame and fortune in his prime days of his career. The poem is quiet and written in a melancholy tone that brings about the theme of comfort in death. The poem also blends together simplicity in form and style to capture a classic celebration poem that is released from difficult endeavors in life (eNotes 3). John Updike's Ex Basketball Player is a short poem of five stanzas that describes the life of a former high school basketball star turned gas station attendant, Flick Web, whose life appears to have hit a rock bottom. The author of the poem reiterates on the need for a star to retire and die during his hay days rather than suffer the trauma and mental torture that surrounds languishing in problems and poverty until old age despite having reached a prime time in his/her career. It is evident that these two poems complement each other with their plots and message appearing similar in context and style (Jason 2).

The authors of the two poems seem to have a similar school of thought in the composition. The Ex Basketball Player poem suggest that it would have been a great idea for Flick Web to die at an early age during his prime age rather than gracelessly fading away into old age. To an Athlete Dying Young praises the athlete who was smart enough to leave a world of glory and fame in his prime success age of his career instead of subjecting himself to the disappointments that life brings as one retires and suffers in the normal world where fame and fortune is not on the table anymore. The message in these two poems are on the premise that a person's future may become tainted as a result of being obsessed with fame and fortune. In most cases, the fame and fortune comes to an abrupt end without a prior warning (McGraw Hill Education 13).

The moods in the two poems appear to differ slightly in the sense that in the poem Ex- Basketball Player, the author appears to remit a sad tone and anger in equal sense, and there is a happy and joyous mood in the poem To An Athlete Dying Young. The somber mood in the first poem is as a result of the former basketball player, Flick, failing to accomplish his dreams despite possessing so much talent and glory in high school. The abrupt end in his career is what fills the author with so much anger, where Flick never showed any signs of prolonging his glorious career and his talent wasting away to the point that he does a common man's job of being a service attendant. On the other hand, the author of the poem; An Athlete Dying Young displays a joyous and contented mood in his poem as he is full of praises for the athlete's early demise while still at the peak of his career. The author is seen supporting the premise that the athlete will forever be a legend since he did not allow himself to vanish from fame and fortune. The author's joyous mood is also depicted his argument that an individual can retain his glory only by suffering demise at the peak of his career (Lee 7).

In both poems, the theme of downfall is well portrayed, where both authors seem to take a look at the advantage of having an early death for people who are glorious in their career. Fame fades so early and when not careful, one may not realize enduring suffering and loneliness in a blink of an eye. Flick suffered a metaphorical death by allowing himself to fade away despite having so much talent, the author seems to play the downfall theme in a straightforward manner. In the poem; An Athlete Dying Young, The author is full of praise for the death of the young athlete, who suffered demise in his hay days as an athlete and not allowing himself to suffer the pain of being forgotten. The downfall theme is embraced in a positive manner in the poem, where the author incepts an interesting approach to death. Both poems paint misfortune as a common occurrence in the society, where a person's dream may end up being unfulfilled, leading to one's failure in failing to achieve prosperity in their lives. The misfortune message is clear where in one poem the player ends up working in a gas station, and in the other poem the athlete faces an early demise (Lee 6).

"An Athlete Dying Young" sets up various literary elements that brings about the characterization and the plot of the poem so as to make the message easy to understand by the reader. The setting of the poem is the glorious and ultimate demise of a young athlete who was at the peak of his career, and won the championship competition major that became the talk of the town. He makes his town so proud that he is celebrated as a hero in the town. The narration of the poem is in first person, where the author blends the poem as a first hand story of the dead young athlete's friend. The theme of the poem is the death of the young athlete being taken as a positive cause that is hugely applauded by the author. The tone begins to show sadness and sorrow but as it progresses, joy and happiness is portrayed by the author who does not shy away from celebrating the sudden death of the early athlete.

The use of figurative language is utilized in the poem; An Athlete Dying Young, where metaphors and similes are the most dominant. The use of metaphor in the short poem is in the narration of the statement that there is a road that all runners come, which is to mean the road to the cemetery to insinuate that it is the path for all. Another metaphor is in the author's description of townsman of a stiller town, to mean the young athlete has moved from the town where he was celebrated and respected to becoming an occupant of a new town after his death. Simile is present in the poem, where the author describes how a life withers quicker than a rose to compare the laurel plant to the life of a rose. The use of figurative language is also present in the poem; Ex Basketball player, where the author uses them in depth to capture the readers' attention and put the message forward, making the two poems share in this similarity.

Conclusion

In conclusion, these two poems have greater similarities than differences, where both authors are seen to embrace a common writing style so as to capture the attention of the readers and also make the message easy to grasp. It is inevitable that these two poems complement each other in depth, where the authors seem to have a common point to drive that it is better to die at a young age when one is at the peak of their careers than to live until old age embracing suffrage and discomfort in the aftermath of a glorious career.

Works Cited

eNotes. "What are the poetic elements in "To an Athlete Dying Young" by A. E. Housman." eNotes 2 August 2018: 2-4.

Jason, Philip. "Ex-Basketball Player- The Poem." Critical Guide to Poetry for Students (2018): 1-10.

Lee, Nikki. ""Ex-Basketball Player" by John Updike and "To An Athlete Dying Young" by A.E. Houseman." Prezi 6 February 2014: 1-8.

McGraw Hill Education. Sports in literature, Softcover students edition. New York: McGraw-Hill Publishers, 1999.