"To an Athlete Dying Young"?

Question

the poem. ever read it? Who do you think the speaker is and what is his relathionship to the athlete?

Answer 1

I don't think that the speaker is a close friend of the athlete. There isn't any note of personal grief in the poem. In fact the theme of the young athlete being better off dead than growing old and tiresome would point to someone that the speaker doesn't really care about personally.

I think he's essentially just a fan.

Answer 2

I don't think it's too specific, but we can tell something about the speaker.  Here are the lines that have good clues:

The time you won *your town* the race  

*We* chaired you through the market-place;

And *home we brought you* shoulder-high.  

  

To-day, the road *all runners come*,

Shoulder-high *we* bring you home,

  

**And early though the laurel grows  

It withers quicker than the rose.**

  

*Runners whom renown outran  

And the name died before the man.*

Answer 3

It seems pretty clear that the speaker is someone from the athlete's hometown.  Whether he's a close friend is not so certain.  The way in which he uses the word "we" leaves room for more than one interpretation.  Maybe the speaker was one of the townspeople who lifted the victorious athlete and carried him in triumph after he won the race, or maybe he was just an onlooker on that occasion.  Maybe he's one of the pallbearers at the funeral, or maybe he's just a mourner in the crowd.