Quotes from book
A Shropshire Lad

A Shropshire Lad is a collection of sixty-three poems by the English poet Alfred Edward Housman, published in 1896. After a slow beginning, it rapidly grew in popularity, particularly among young readers. Composers began setting the poems to music less than ten years after their first appearance. Many parodies have also been written that satirise Housman's themes and stylistic characteristics.

“Loveliest of trees, the cherry now
Is hung with bloom along the bough.”
No. 2, st. 1.
A Shropshire Lad (1896)

“His folly has not fellow
Beneath the blue of day
That gives to man or woman
His heart and soul away.”
No. 14, st. 3.
A Shropshire Lad (1896)

“And silence sounds no worse than cheers
After earth has stopped the ears.”
No. 19 ("To an Athlete Dying Young"), st. 4.
A Shropshire Lad (1896)