Thanatopsis

Title Thanatopsis is an entrancing poem which portrays death as a sweet return to the ultimate nourisher: Mother Nature. The poet, William Cullen Bryant uses the personification of nature and death, and shifts in mood to not only acknowledge the bitter ache of loss, but to soften the sharpness of the injury, by opening the reader’s mind to the other more positive aspects of death. In addition, he uses grief counselling techniques, and realism to get his message across. In the first couple of stanzas of the poem, there is a heavy use of personification. Nature is portrayed as a sweet, graceful, and comforting figure; a friend, and a shoulder to cry on. Bryant starts off his piece by describing someone who could be seen as a friend, Which…

William Cullen Bryant wrote thanatopsis in 1811, the events within this time period severely impacted the writing of this poem because at the time there was a lot of very violent deaths going on throughout america. Around the time that thanatopsis was written there was an uprising of slaves who broke free from their owners and ran to freedom., about 400 ran but 66 were captured, killed and their heads mounted on stakes along the streets of the town to warn other slaves of their place. The…

Has one ever had the horrifying thought of death? Or where one will end up after their death? Over 70% of humans fear the thought of death, yet death is something no one can escape. In William Cullen Bryant’s poem “Thanatopsis”, imagery, symbolism, and the use of metaphors demonstrate how nature comforts people when they fear death. Bryant’s use of imagery presents a full picture of how nature is a woman who is sensitive to people’s feelings and needs. Nature is not just trees, rocks, and…

I believe that death is not an event that should be feared, and this goes along with the message represented in “Thanatopsis.” On line 80 and 81 it states “Like one who wraps the drapery of his couch about him, and lies down to pleasant dreams.” This line compares death to a warm couch where someone is sleeping comfortable. This shows that William Cullen Bryant does not fear death, but rater sees it as rest. Death happens to each person, so it should not be feared. I also believe that as each…

To Live or Not to Live: The True Message of William Cullen Bryant’s “Thanatopsis” Life and death are common subjects seen throughout different written forms for as long as mankind has been around. This statement is definitely true for the poem “Thanatopsis” by William Cullen Bryant. There is no denying that the general themes are about discussing living as well as dying. However, what is ambiguous is which topic Bryant is trying to advocate for. Although the poem title itself references…

Romanticism was a movement in the 1770s that focused on the primacy of the individual, inspiration, subjectivity, and the belief in the supernatural. Transcendentalism began in the late 1820s and was influenced by other movements such as Romanticism. Romanticism and Transcendentalism can be seen throughout the poems Thanatopsis, written by William Cullen Bryant, and Song of Myself, written by Walt Whitman, respectively. The tenets of Romanticism can be seen be analyzing Thanatopsis,…

Death is considered part of the life cycle. There are many different ideas and opinions about death. Within the three poems “Thanatopsis” by William Cullen Bryant, “Don’t Fear The Reaper” by Blue Oyster Cult, and “Dust In The Wind” by Kansas, the writers all refer to death. Even though the topics of the poems are similar, they all have different points of view towards death. The first poem, “Thanatopsis”, tends to glorify life. In the poem, nature talks to the reader about death and how your…

Death is something that no human being can avoid, it’s part of the life cycle of all organisms. No one wants to know when or how it will happen, which makes death scary. There are some poems written about death. These poems include “Thanatopsis” written by William Cullen Bryant, “Dust in the Wind” written by Kansas, and “Don’t Fear the Reaper” written by Blue Oyster Cult. Death, any way one can think about it, is unavoidable. So in other words, don’t fear something one cannot avoid. All of the…

Death is the action or fact of dying or being killed; the end of the life of a person or organism. Are you afraid to reach your last breath? Is it because you aren’t truly living your life to the fullest? No one really knows the truth about death, it’s the great unknown. While the poems “Thanatopsis” by William Cullen Bryant, “Don’t Fear the Reaper” by Blue Oyster Cult, and “Dust in the Wind” by Kansas, involve death, nevertheless, they differ in their messages. The actual intended point is to…

William Cullen Bryant was an influential Romantic poet in the 1800s. Common themes such as nature appear in many of Bryant’s poems. His poem “Thanatopsis” speaks directly to those who share a “love of Nature,” offering comfort regarding thoughts of death. Bryant’s use of structure, imagery, and selection of detail creates a unique perspective of death. Bryant opens “Thanatopsis” by vividly describing one’s relationship with nature. He creates an image of a humanlike nature by using…