William Cullen Bryant Analysis

In the poem “Thanatopsis” the desire to connect with nature is expressed throughout. Unlike “Rip Van Winkle,” Thanatopsis has a very deep meaning within it, not just a whimsical story. The poem explains that we as humans should embrace death and know that we are a part of the ever cycling earth. We have a bigger purpose. William Cullen Bryant personified nature in his poem. He made nature woman-like by calling nature her and she. “To him who in the love of Nature holds Communion with her visible forms, she speaks a various language…” (171) He also expressed this beautiful simplicity and vulnerability to nature and man. “The hills rock-ribbed and ancient as the sun, - the vales stretching in pensive quietness between; the venerable woods – rivers that move in majesty, and the complaining brooks that make the meadows green…” (171) This poem seems to connect with nature in a different way. It’s almost like it embodies nature along with human to create a smooth transition or meld of the two, and I think that is what creates the desire to connect with nature for the poem.

Bryant had thoughts that were triggered by nature. Bryant often speaks of birds, flowers, the sky, bodies of water, and fields which lead to Bryant taking notice of his surroundings. Bryant’s love for nature is nothing short of amazing. Nature speaks to his heart, which allows nature to be more of a feeling than just trees, birds, plants, etc. Bryant’s writing is charming and simplistic. Bryant is fond of nature’s beauty. He never speaks of the “ugliness” in nature. He has a way of making everything come alive and seem even more beautiful than what it already is.

In the William Cullen Bryant's "Thanatopsis, we see a romantic trait of nature, where the poem states that nature has a voice of gladness and eloquence of beauty. This excerpt, "The golden sun, the planets, all the infinite host of heaven are shining on the sad abodes of death," is a good example of being a part of nature. Another good example is, "Earth that nourished thee shall claim Thy growth." Nature is described as a

In the romantic era, British authors and poets focused on nature and its influence. Two of those poets, Charlotte Smith and William Wordsworth, wrote many pieces on the beauty of nature and their personal experiences with the beaches of England. In “Far on the sands” and “It is a beauteous evening,” Smith and Wordsworth describe their respective experiences on the shore at sunset. Both authors use structure, theme, allusions, and imagery to effectively convey their perceptions of nature. While the sonnets share a setting and the topics of nature and tranquility, Smith’s has a focus on introspection and Wordsworth’s is centered around religion. These have different focuses which achieve different effects on the reader.

William Cullen Bryant was well known for writing poems on nature, and he beautifully shows us the Romanticism view of one of their key themes. As with numerous other poems from the Romanticism Period, Bryant uses the imagery and ideas of a woman to convey his love for nature. An example of this trait is in the poem, “Thanatopsis”, Bryant’s most famous work. The first three lines of the poem shows both his love for nature and that he is going to use the image of a woman for the rest of the poem. “To him who in the love of nature holds/ Communion with her visible forms, she speaks/ A various language; for his gayer hours” He expressly says

As I mentioned earlier as a child Theodore Roethke spent a lot of his time in the greenhouse his father and uncle owned. He observed nature and its true beauty in unique ways. The years he spent in that greenhouse truly helped him become successful in his writing career. A good number of his most famous works, as well as his less notable works reference nature in some way. I will discuss some of these poems showing the references to nature and repeated themes. Roethke tends to relate life and death to nature using imagery and detailed descriptions to captivate the readers.

I believe that in the questions posed by Gary Bryant can be concluded with the following answers. For question number one I believe that the means are not morally evil and are merely just distasteful. I think so because of the fact that it is an infant that is being captured, it really hits people in that spot that makes them think that it is wrong. As for question number two I believe that the end is a real good and not something that only appears so. I think like brought up in the text, it shows that there is a problem of people in situations like this and with getting help. I also believe that it is a good opportunity to inform on the places to get help especially to those students on campus to avoid a similar situation. As for the third

William Cullen Bryant’s “Thanatopsis”, fits the definition of Romanticism because it talks about not only human emotions, but Cullen’s poem also refers to nature. Cullen expresses, “she has a voice of gladness, and she glides into his darker musings with a mild and healing sympathy” line 4-7. Cullen is speaking about human emotions while really connecting with nature.

In composing these two poems at such a young age, Bryant proved how critical it was for him to live his life to the fullest. Bryant had a very clever ultimate goal with these two poems: to figure out how to view life and how to prepare for death. Both theories rounded him into one of the most gifted, well-respected writers of his time.

Although both Dickinson and Baudelaire write to motivate readers to appreciate nature, Baudelaire uses personification to convey the symbolism of nature. In, “Correspondances,” Baudelaire begins the poem personifying nature as a temple that can communicate with us. He says, “The pillars of nature’s temple are alive/ and sometimes yield perplexing messages” (1-2). This personification is significant because nature is not talking with us, but figuratively it is telling us something about ourselves that

William Cullen Bryant was a well-known American poet. Bryant was known for his verses in “Thanatopsis” and “To a Waterfowl”. The young poet started his literary career in England but shortly after expanded his career back into the United States. Along with Bryant’s enthusiasm for poetry Bryant had a passion for journalism. In 1826 Bryant became working for New York Evening Post. According to Poetry Hunter, Bryant began to succeed at the newspaper and eventually became editor and part-owner. Into his later years Bryant began giving lectures at universities, parks and museums. Bryant continued to excel in his literary passions until his death in 1878.

Secondly, nature play a huge role in the romantic era literature. During this time writers used nature to describe things from a different perspective. Margaret Cavendish “Song by Lady Happy, as a Sea-Goddess” uses the environment throughout the poem. This poem explains how loneliness can cause you to become desperate in ways that are unexplainable. The narrative of this poem is a women who is alone on an island or area surrounded by water, she uses siren in order to lure people in. Cavendish portray the fishes as the individuals the narrator lure in from the sea. “On silver waves I sit and sing, And then the fish lie listening: then resting on a rocky stone I comb my hair with fishes bone” (Cavendish 5-8). Once the

Throughout Christopher Marlowe, Sir Walter Raleigh, and William Carlos Williams poems, structure and imagery were used as a way for all three writers to get their view of nature across to the audience. Both Raleigh and Williams used their perspectives and views on nature in a negative way while Marlowe used his views on nature in a positive way as a form of portraying how he feels about his lover to his audience. Although all three men have their different ways on how they each use structure and imagery to get their points across, they all used imagery to get their perspective on nature across but for different reasons.

Walt Whitman and Emily Dickinson are 19th century poets that often wrote about nature. In “Song of Myself” and “Give me the Splendid, Silent Sun”, Whitman writes about the joys of nature and nature in human lives. Dickinson discusses nature in many poems, such as “Nature is what we see”, “Nature, the gentlest mother”, and “I dreaded that first robin so”. While both authors write about nature, they have many different thoughts and observations about nature. Whitman and Dickinson express their ideas about nature through their poems in similar and contrasting ways.

James Baldwin is an exceptionally writer who tested the water with writing. He was a writer who was not afraid to talk about new things that most writers of his time would not do. Most people did not know that Baldwin was actually a part of the civil rights movement. He was a writer who tried to write out and explain to the black experience to the white people. Even though he was not talking about as much as Martin Luther King and Malcolm X, he was a big part of the civil rights movement. As you read this essay you will see how Baldwin became the writer that he is known to be today and also why he wrote, also learn about how he opened the door to thing that most writers of his time would not talk about.