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Life Reflected In William Cullen Bryant's Poetry

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William Cullen Bryant William Cullen Bryant was a man with many different abilities and he was well-rounded between political, religious, and writing matters. He had very strong opinions on matters that greatly influenced the United States. William Cullen Bryant had many historical and political contributions through his life as a writer and a free-willed man.
William Cullen Bryant had a very successful early life. He was considered to be a puritan since a young age. “The religious training the young boy received at his hands left such a mark upon him that Bryant the mature poet has sometimes been called a puritan” (Unger 151). Bryant was pushed by his father and his teachings to be a puritan and keep up puritan ways. Coming from Puritans, …show more content…

He had such a riveting way with his poetry. Bryant lets his mind free, and differs from other poets and he writes in a way that is unmistakably his own (Unger 152). His poetry had a way of inspiring others, and his work was so unique it was phenomenal. Being a fireside poet created awareness for National American Literature, and it gave the idea that poetry played a beneficial role in “the world of human affairs and sympathies” (“Bryant, William Cullen” 3). Bryant was a such a famous poet along with Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, John Greenleaf Whittier, Oliver Wendell Holmes, and James Russell Lowell. Through all of their works, like Bryant, they showed values of the mind and the true desires of the mind in such respectful ways. “In Bryant’s poetry and literary criticism, he promoted nationalism and individualism for American Literature” (“Bryant, William Cullen” 3). Two of Bryant’s most famous works were, “Thanatopsis,” and “To a Waterfowl.” These works were very inspiring and had many aspects of romanticism. Bryant had a way with his words and he will mostly be remembered by those famous …show more content…

“These diverse issues included slavery, sectionalism, the national bank, currency stabilization, the creation of Central Park, the need for prison reform, labor rights, copyright laws, and freedom of the press (“Bryant, William Cullen” 3). Bryant didn’t want to be in politics but he used his writing to show his opinion on all of his political related topics. Although he did not intend to be in politics, that was a very strong area for him. Bryant joined the Democratic Party and made the Post an organ of free trade, free speech, abolition, and workingmen's rights. He later was a founder of the Republican Party (“William Cullen Bryant” 1). The topic of slavery was one of Bryant’s biggest struggles. He had a very strong opinion against slavery and was in some cases considered to be an abolitionist. Bryant devoted his time to trying to stop the spread of slavery. Bryant's beliefs against slavery hurt the Evening Post and was eventually hated in the south because of his edits against slavery. He put up the slogan above the masthead of the editorials: “Free Soil, Free Labor, Free Trade, and Free Speech,” which was the slogan for the Barnburner wing of the Democratic Party, which made people hate him even more (“Bryant, William Cullen” 3). Bryant thought in a way that slavery would dissipate on it’s own, but however that was not the case. With many issues legally among the savery, he began to write immensely

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