Questions on "To An Athlete Dying Young"Â Â ?

Question

Why is the athlete a "smart lad"? In what regard? Why is he going to "slip away" to? What is the meaning of the phrase "From fields where glory does not stay"? Explain the metaphor? What is the nature of the glory being referred to? Where is it of a temporary, transitory nature? Is there such a thing as permanent "glory"? What would one have to do to achieve it? Explain. What is the significance of the references to the "laurel" and the "rose"? What is the meaning of the reference to "withers quicker"? Why choose that particular word? What relation does it have to glory? 

Answer 1

I'm not going to attempt to answer all of those questions, but I will give you a brief synopsis. I hope it helps.

The author is referring to the death of an athlete, who obviously died before his time, but in doing so, he died with his fam in tact. Most people's achievements are long forgotten by the time they pass, but in this case, the achievement was still fresh, and in a sense made the loss of the athlete even greater. The athlete "went out on top" so to speak.

Hope this helps you answer some of your questions.