In "To an Athlete Dying Young," the poet writes an elegy for a young, athletic man who recently passed away. This is naturally a sad subject, and the poet does begin his writing with a sad and somber tone of pity.
However, the author makes use of the structure of the poem in order to surprise his readers. Despite the sad tone of the first stanza, as the poem progresses, the tone becomes one of satisfaction and praise, which comes as a surprise to the reader.
The author is able to use each stanza to present different and contrasting ideas. While he agrees that dying young is a shame, he reflects on how quickly youth is gone, and on how many men lost their reputation by the time they became old. He claims that, by dying young, the athlete will never have to face old age, decline or loss of glory. Therefore, despite the sadness, the author is able to obtain some positive ideas from the situation.