Analysis of To an Athlete Dying Young in Terms of the Tones, Word Choice, Imageries, Sounds and Symbols Free Essay Example, 1500 words

Choice of the appropriate words in poetry is so important that poets take great pains to find the right word. An effective poet is able to make use of words that suggests both connotations and denotations. Poets often strive for words that point to physical details and solid objects even when they are speaking about abstract ideas (Chapter 3: Word Choice and Word Order 49). On the other hand, there are poets who make use of concrete words that can be immediately perceived with the senses of the reader; there are also poets who employ allusions, rural diction, dialogues, colloquial and formal English, and specific dialects in their poems. In To an Athlete Dying Young" one can come across both concrete and abstract diction. The first two stanzas make use of concrete diction whereby the reader can feel both the processions of the athlete. Expressions such as won the race , chaired , market-place and shoulder-high bring concrete images to the minds of the reader. There is also rur al diction in the poem; diction such as fields , laurel , withers , and rose offer a rural background to the setting of the poem. We will write a custom essay sample on Analysis of To an Athlete Dying Young in Terms of the Tones, Word Choice, Imageries, Sounds and Symbols or any topic specifically for you Only $17.96 $11.86/page A variety of visual imageries dominate the poem. The first two stanzas offer the reader the visual images of the athlete being carried on shoulder-high , first during his victory march and later on his funeral procession. The images of the growth of the laurel and it's withering away in the third stanza bring tactile imageries to the imagination of the reader.