AP Essay on the Death of a Young AthletePoems often enchant readers with diction and tone because the literary organization further conveys the poet's purpose. A. E. Houseman's "To An Athlete Dying Young" glorifies the untimely deaths of young athletes while Robert Hamblin's "On the Death of the Evansville University Basketball Team in a Plane Crash, December 13, 1977" condemns untimely demise. Through contrasting language, organization, and tone, Houseman and Hamblin's poem offers two contrasting perspectives on the young athlete's death. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original EssayHouseman and Hamblin use two opposing forms of diction that further describe their purposes. On the one hand, Houseman's poetry strictly follows traditional organizational rules. Each stanza has four sentences with a distinct rhyme scheme. On the other hand, Hamblin's poetry roams free without boundaries. Lacking a rhyme scheme, his poetry remains extremely disorganized. Each poet specifically adopted their respective diction because they convey their opinions on the premature deaths of young athletes. By advocating the death of adolescents during athletics, Houseman's poem depicts conformity and acceptance through his organizing diction, thus associating childhood death with the traditional status quo. However, Hamblin takes another position, criticizing a young athlete's sacrifice for athletics, through his disorganized poetry because the chaos in his writing describes his rebellious anguish towards this fateful issue. Houseman's triumphant tone and Hamblin's shocked tone further establish their purpose because their tones describe their state of mind towards the issue and influenced the reader's opinions on the topic. Throughout Houseman's poem, he evokes a sense of approval and pride in the lives of these latter athletes by describing a sense of accomplishment. When Houseman describes “the challenging cup still defended,” he uses a victorious tone because it glorifies the achievement of athletic success, thus valorizing the triumph over life. Hamblin, however, constructs a bitter scene that denounces the athletic climate: “So shout omniscient coaches, warning priest, shout. Swear, nibble ass, make us work…” The poem illustrates the disgusting presence of athletic trainers to emphasize the side effects of an athletic life. In other words, he strikes a dismayed tone by suggesting that all the suffering of athletics, including death, fails to provide adequate rewards. The tone of each poem achieves the respective authors' purpose because it provides a deeper sense of emotion that strengthens their arguments for or against premature death. Please note: this is just an example. Get a custom paper from our expert writers now. Personalize EssayThrough diction and tone, each author develops a stronger platform to strengthen their position on the premature death of young athletes. Although the basic plot of the poem addresses their beliefs, it fails to capture the true essence of the author's meaning. Diction and tone help provide a deeper level that truly encapsulates the author's purpose.