Thanatopsis Poem Analysis

The second poem which I exceptionally enjoyed was “Universtiy Hospital, Boston”. It is written to someone who is receiving hospital care with lush and thriving trees around them. This poem comes right after many harsh winter poems, and just before the optimistic spring poems. Because of its placement and themes, I believe that it is the first poem which begins the transition from winter to spring, and as such it has a harsh bite, but not without some greater optimism. In the middle of the third paragraph, Mary Oliver writes, “and how many died / staring at the leaves of the trees” (42). This is a sad image, and maybe slightly depressing. However, I also belive this image is supposed to be bittersweet; looking at beautiful trees as I die would make me happy, and it seems like a decent way to go.

Two literary pieces, “Do Not Go Gentle into That Good Night” by, Dylan Thomas and “Because I Could Not Stop for Death” by, Emily Dickinson are both poems that discuss the topic of death. While there are some similarities and comparisons between the two poems, when it comes to the themes, both poets writing styles are quite different from one another which makes each poem unique. Thomas and Dickinson both use identical figurative language devices and other literature symbolisms as they explain their main themes which contrasts the differences to the concept of death. These distinct variations between poems are apparent in both the form, and how the choice of words is used in the poems. Both of the authors have presented two very different ideas on death. The poems are well distinguished literature devices, they share minor similarities and differences between each other and how they present the meaning of death to a toll.

Death is a natural cause from the human condition. There are three poems that explore death. “Thanatopsis” by William C. Bryant, “Dust in the wind” by Kansas, and Don't fear the reaper.” by Blue Oyster Cult.

Chuck Palahniuk once said, “The first step to eternal life, is you have to die.” In William Cullen Bryant’s poem “Thanatopsis”, he does not mention eternal life or anything religious, but speaks about death. He tells his readers that death is a natural thing and they should not worry about it. William Cullen Bryant, in his poem “Thanatopsis”, portrays a comforting view of death. Throughout the poem, Bryant encourages his readers by explaining that in death they are not alone, that death, like life, is a natural process, and that they will be among some of the finest people who walked the earth.

Death is part of the human life cycle, approximately 151,600 people die each day. Everyone wonders how they will die, if they suffer, if it’s tragic or if it’s just simply peaceful. In each of the three poems the main focus is death. Each poem shows a different feeling about death. “Thanatopsis” by William Bryant, “Don’t Fear the Reaper” by Blue Oyster Cult and “Dust in the Wind” by Kansas, all have different meanings of death.

Both "Do not go gentle into that good night" and "Death Be Not Proud" see death as an opponent; however, one sees it as an adversary that is already defeated while the other sees it as an enemy that must be defeated. In "Death Be Not Proud"

To begin, the speaker of the poem “Thou famished grave” presents a resentful and aggressive attitude towards death. The poem, addressed to a “ famished grave” (1), personifies a grave as a starving beast that can “roar” (2), “gnaw” (3), and has “dismal jaws” (7). This represents death in a negative way because the description of the beast make it seem unpleasant and to be feared. Furthermore, the poem includes words and phrases when addressing the grave that follow the theme of starvation, such as, “famished grave” (1), “Gnaw thine own sides, fast on” (3), and “I cannot starve thee out: I am thy prey” which emphasizes that the beast of death is starving to take someone’s life. This animal-like aggressiveness adds to the already negative image of the beast. This imagery also shows how the speakers thinks of death since it comes from her words which shows that she sees death in a very negative way. Due to this, the speaker is angry and does not want to give death what it wants, which is to take someone’s life. Additionally, although death is something normally feared, the speaker shows that she is not fearful by saying “I have no fear / of thy dark project” (3-4) when speaking to the grave. She expresses that she does not want to die and her “heart is set / On living” (4-5), which explains her resentfulness towards death. She also understands that death is inevitable as she says, “I cannot starve thee out: I am thy prey / And thou shalt have me; but I dare defend / That I can stave thee off” (6-8). This shows that even though she knows that she will one day die, she still doesn’t want to give death what it wants and will fight as long as she can

Death is a scary thing no one wants to think about it. But if you are a living thing and are human you will die.Everyone around you will die. Nothing that is alive around you today will last for ever. So when it’s time comes, you have to remember the good times and say your goodbyes. “Thanatopsis” written by William Cullen Bryant, “Don’t Fear The Reaper” written by Oyster Cult, “Dust In The Wind” written by Kansas. Each poem talks about death within the poem. They all look at life and death in different ways how to remember life with others around you, there point on when you die how your gone forever. Nobody knows what death is like because they haven’t experienced it. That explains why all three poems look at death differently.

In these three literary pieces a prevalent theme is death. Death may be defined as the end-ing period of physical life. However, throughout the development of these stories, it was possible to distinguish plenty of physical but even non-physical death as well. This absolutely

First, tone is a very important aspect of the poem “Thanatopsis.” While reading the poem, the reader may feel a slight change in the tone of the poem. At first the poem seems as though it were about nature and its beauty. For example, in the poem Bryant writes “She has a voice of gladness, and a smile/And eloquence of beauty, and she

With close reference to the ways each poet uses language, compare and contrast what the speakers in the poems say about rural life. You should include relevant contextual material. Which poem do you find more interesting? Give your reasons.

"Death, Be Not Proud" has an unusual theme compared to other poems about death. This poem talks about God rendering death's power useless. It speaks about death positively, instead of a gateway to Hell, it is instead a path to Heaven. At the beginning, it seems this poem is a letter taunting death, saying that one day, death will be no more. It compares death to sleep, saying that eventually, people will awaken for eternity. This poem has a great way of intertwining death and Christianity together in a motivational letter.

The poem begins with the poet noticing the beauty around her, the fall colors as the sun sets “Their leaves and fruits seemed painted, but was true, / Of green, of red, of yellow, mixed hue;” (5-6). The poet immediately relates the effects of nature’s beauty to her own spiritual beliefs. She wonders that if nature here on Earth is so magnificent, then Heaven must be more wonderful than ever imagined. She then views a stately oak tree and

In each poem, the poets share distinct views on the perception of death. While Dickinson’s poem is structured to present her central theme of accepting death peacefully and agreeable. On the other hand, the poem Do Not Go Gentle into That Good Night by, Dylan Thomas uses rejection and denial in the process to present his poem’s theme. Both narrators distinguish death with detailed words or phrases. For example, in Dickinson’s poem she states, "Because I could not stop for Death, he kindly stopped for me" (1-2).

Some of the poems and essays I have read during this class were relatable to me. Being away from college, I have struggled with not being at home. I have become a different person when I am at school, but when I am home, I feel like I am my normal self again. Some of these authors of the poems and essays that I have read throughout this class has struggled with being somewhere where they don’t belong and that they are someone else when they are not home. Unlike the other poems and essays we have read throughout the course. I enjoyed reading the ones about “home” because I actually understood what they are going through and that I can relate. Some of these poems and essays include “Going Home” by Maurice Kenny, Postcard from Kashmir”, by Agha Shahid Ali, “Returning” by Elias Miguel Munoz and “Hometown” by Luis Cabalquinto. All of these poems deal with duality.