April 16, 2009: Journal Entry

A. E. Housman (1859-1936)

-"One of the most gifted of late-Victorian and early-modern poets (Horton 677)."
-"Academic failure" to "leading classical scholar (Horton 677)."

Noted Works:
To An Athlete Dying Young
-theme: cruelty of the world is unjust
8 'O Clock
-execution

Analysis of When I Was One-And-Twenty
When Housman was "one-and-twenty," he had heard a wise man's advice. The man's advice was to, if anything, give everything away but his heart. Of course, Housman only being a young bachelor of twenty one would never listen to advice from anyone. However, he does learn his lesson at the end. He is taught not to gamble his heart away like a gambler would "give crowns and pounds and guineas (Horton 678)."

Application

I believe that I should take careful caution while dealing with the heart. For my life, the foolish actions that I have taken with "love" was of the most dire consequences. One of my teachers from my old school put it this way: don't give your love away to too many people. If you do, once you get married, the pieces of your heart will be with two, six, or eight people instead of wholly with your husband.

Here's my poem that I wrote in class (my advice that I'd give).

Hello, my younger brother
Here's my advice to you:
Listen to our mother,
Not like how I would do.

Don't be one of those boys
Who hang around Town Center
With your devices and expensive toys.
I know you can do way better.

Here's my other advice to you:
Don't you dare wear your pants too huge.
I'm telling you, it's not cool.
It will never be cool if you do.

Aaron, this is my last advice:
Treat all girls with care.
Be gentlemanly, kind, and nice.
If you don't, then beware!

Horton, Ronald A. British Literature for Christian Schools. Greenville: Bob Jones University Press, 1992.