"To an Athlete Dying Young" by A.E. Housman v. "Ulysses" by Alfred, Lord Tennyson

The idea of time is readily articulated in both "To an Athlete Dying Young" by Housman and "Ulysses" by Tennyson, however, through structure and perception, differ quite a bit. While "To an Athlete Dying Young" seems to contain short, succinct sentences that get directly to the point of acknowledging the death of a young man, "Ulysses" has a general use of long and draggy sentences that reflect the over-extended life of an old man. Housman expresses the idea of time to be unpredictable and in many cases, severely limiting to a young life. His perception of how time affects humanity shows some glimpses of admiration as he morbidly jokes about the fact that the athlete died when he was at the peak of his career, giving him pride in death. Though this may be the case, Housman also does not falter in creating a melancholy aura about his poem, when he demonstrates the unfortunate uncertainty of placing trust in time. Similarly, Tennyson indirectly discusses the effects of time on humanity, although his perception seems to be opposed to that of Housman. In "Ulysses," the reader experiences the life of an old man who has out lived his welcome and begins to feel the burden of time weighing down on him. In complete opposition to the previous poem, this piece of writing focuses on what negatives time can bring if one is given too much of it. The man in the poem has become exceedingly old and lost his interest, and fame in the process. With long sentences and a long poem, Tennyson gives the reader a good sense of the consequences that an extreme amount of time can bring. Both these poems by Housman and Tennyson exhibit a view into two extremes of the role of time in human life: dying young and living for too long. In both, "To an Athlete Dying Young" and "Ulysses," the reader can see the two opposing perceptions and approaches to a common theme.