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“To An Athlete Dying Young” by A.E Housman describes how a young athlete accomplishment is remembered because he died while still in his glory. The theme is keeping your glory, during and after life. The irony is that the same crowd of townspeople who previously carried the athlete on their shoulders after he had won a race now carries him to his grave. Throughout the poem, the narrator emphasizes the idea that it is better to die young at your peak than die old and without glory. In the first line the poet presents a praised young athlete that is being remembered because he won a race for his town. Lines two through four are describing how the townspeople congratulated and honored the athlete due to his victory of the race. Line two it states, ”We chaired you through the market-place” and line four reads, ”And home we brought you shoulder high”. These lines describe the townspeople reaction. The narrator points out the fans of the athlete as men and boys. The book “Poetry for Students” states that this could be “…the classical Greek concept of the love of males for the physical beauty of the perfected young male body”. Lines five through eight are describing the townspeople reaction of the death of the at