Comparison and contrast of 2 poem To an Athlete Dying Young - Housman and Ex-Basketball Player - Updike - Essay Example

The two poems are similar in theme, tone, diction and persona but differ in content as well as in form. Ex-basketball Player describes the life of a once-famous basketball player named Flick Webb. The lines “Berth’s Garage/ Is on the corner facing west, and there / Most days, you'll find Flick Webb, who helps Berth out.” indicate that Flick works at a gas station. The succeeding lines describe the feats of the former hard-court star followed by the duties he performs at the gas station.

The lines stating “He was good: in fact, the best. In ’46/ He bucketed three hundred ninety points,” clearly narrates the accomplishments of Flick and describes his excellence in his sport. The next stanza tells the reader about Flick’s way of living in contrast to his basketball star status with the lines “He never learned a trade, he just sells gas,/ Checks oil, and changes flats.” Updike effectively used figurative language in depicting the ex-basketball player. A blend of Similes and Personifications can be identified in the poem.

The Simile “His hands were like wild birds.” compares the rapid motion and adeptness of Flick’s hands to the swift movements of wild birds. “The ball love Flick” is an example of Personification used by the poet in the Ex-basketball Player; the line shows that the inanimate ball possess the ability to love Flick. The ball loving Flick simply means that the player has excellent skills in handling the ball. (Trudell 342) Other Personifications in the poem are the lines “Beyond her face toward bright applauding tiers/ Of Necco Wafers, Nibs, and Juju Beads” (343) as well as the stanza “Flick stands tall among the idiot pumps—/ Five on a side, the old bubble-head style,/ Their rubber elbows hanging loose and low.

/ One’s nostrils are two S’s, and his eyes/ An E and O. And one is squat, without/ A head at all—more of a football type.” (342) Necco Wafers, Nibs and Juju Beads are candies lined in the shop where Flick spends his time when not at work. These were described to be arranged in “applauding tiers” which are similar to the assortment of audiences seated during a ball game. The line expresses that the exceptional attainment of the former basketball star is merely a memory in the eyes of the poem's speaker.

English poet Alfred Edward Housman’s poem To an Athlete Dying Young is about a runner who wins races but died at a young age. Housman expresses the feeling of great loss over the death of the young achiever. Personification is noticeable throughout the poem, examples of Personification in To an Athlete Dying Young are the lines “Eyes the shady night has shut”; “After earth has stopped the ears:” as well as “And the name died before the man.” The shady night which was endowed with the capability to shut the eyes of the lad can be equated to death which can shut the eyes of a person.

The earth that is capable to stop the ears means that they young man cannot hear anything because he was dead and buried under the earth. The two lines effectually describe the state of a deceased person. The line “name died before the man” is included in the stanza where the poet advises other runners to make the most out of time while they can still conquer races before their name dies or before they are surpassed by new runners and before they are laid to rest like the young athlete. Housman also used Hyperbole in the poem which is evident in the line “