Part 1 of Essay
“To An Athlete Dying Young” The time you won your town the race We chaired you through the market-place; Man and boy stood cheering by, And home we brought you shoulder-high. To-day, the road all runners come, Shoulder-high we bring you home, And set you at your threshold down, Townsman of a stiller town. ....

Part 2 of Essay
.... briefer than a girl's. Dying young is considered by most to be one of the most tragic of fates. The specter of deeds not accomplished and a life unlived haunts the funeral “…set you at your threshold down” (Housman l. 7), and causes the grief to reach a higher level. Most people desire to live to a ripe old age and they would be aghast to have a premature death viewed through a positive light. Yet a “positive funeral” is exactly the driving force behind A.E. Housman̵ ....