Life After Ww2

In Walt Whitman’s “The Runner”, Langston Hughes Harlem [Dream Deferred]”, and A. E. Housman’s “To an Athlete Dying Young” all correspond with my life in some sort of fashion. After reading these poems, I found myself reflecting on the fact that all these pieces of work challenge the reader to read between the lines in cases. The authors are credited with using certain literary elements to convey their main point. I was enabled to comprehend the poems to an extent where I could surely relate. The three poets chosen were no fluke for the one concrete reason that they stood out and captivated my attention. The correlation between these poems is quite evident and what it comes down to is the theme throughout is how athlete’s stride for greatness
“The Runner” by Walt Whitman was personally my favorite poem because it took me back to my glorious track days. This poem is very short, yes, but yet it still has a lot to offer. In the second stanza it cites “He is lean and sinewy, with muscular legs.”(Whitman 98). Me being a former track athlete can remember hitting the gym after those grueling workouts. The purpose obviously was to build muscle and more importantly stamina. I looked forward to these gym sessions because here was opportunity to get more defined muscles and when the meets came around I was able to capture attention. “He is thinly clothed-he leans forward as he runs, With lightly closed fists, and arms partially rasi’d.”(Whitman 98). During certain meets at times we would warm up and brace ourselves as competitors for the uncertainty of competition. As sprinters we are taught that getting off the blocks is essential for running a great time. Over the next many practices and track meets I gradually improved and found myself amongst the elite also state championships. This poem in particularly was short and pretty much straightforward. It didn’t take much for me to dissect it and have an input. To the average or passive reader it might come to them as just...