William Cullen Bryant (1794---1878)
Thanatopsis
To a Waterfowl
William Cullen Bryant (1794-1878)
William Cullen Bryant's estate in NY
William Cullen Bryant's Homestead
I. A brief biography
William Cullen Bryant was an American Romanticpoet and journalist.1) Born in Cummington, Massachusetts
2) Educated at Williams College, he went on to studylaw at Worthington and Bridgewater and wasadmitted to the bar in 1815. Bryant worked as alawyer in Northampton, Plainfield, and GreatBarrington until 1825 when he married and moved toNew York City and worked for the New York Reviewand then the New York Evening Post.
I. A brief biography
At first an associate editor, he became editor in 1829and remained in that post until his death.
3) As the driving force of this liberal and literatepaper, he was strongly anti-slavery; a founder of theRepublican Party.
4) In 1860, Bryant founded New York MedicalCollege.
5) In his later years, Bryant focused on translatingand analyzing Ancient Greek and Latin works, suchas The Iliad and The Odyssey of Homer.
II. Major works
Thanatopsis
To a Waterfowl
Translated works:
The Iliad and The Odyssey of Homer
III. Thanatopsis
Thanatopsis, written by William Cullen Bryant at the age of 17,is considered to be a masterpiece of American poetry. The titleis from the Greek thanatos ("death") and the suffix -opsis(literally, "sight"); it has often been translated as "Meditationupon Death."Due to the unusual quality of the verse and Bryant's age whenfirst published in 1890 by the North American Review, RichardHenry Dana, then associate editor at the Review, initiallydoubted its authenticity, saying to another editor, "No one, onthis side of the Atlantic, is capable of writing such verses."Although the bulk of the poem was written at age 16, Bryantadded the introductory and concluding lines 10 years later in1821.
III. Thanatopsis
Bryant first wrote this poem when he wasabout 17, after reading the British "graveyardpoets" (e.g. Thomas Gray, "Elegy Written ina Country Churchyard" and Robert Blair,"The Grave") and William Wordsworth'sLyrical Ballads. In particular, there areparallels to Wordsworth’s Lucy Poems,especially "A Slumber Did My Spirit Seal":
III. Thanatopsis
A slumber did my spiritseal;I had no human fears:She seemed a thingthat could not feelThe touch of earthlyyears.
No motion has she now,no force;She neither hears norsees;Rolled round in earth'sdiurnal course,With rocks, and stones,and trees.
III. Thanatopsis
This poem offers a democratic reconciliation withdeath as the great equalizer and a recognition thatthe “still voice” of God is embodied in all processesof nature. During a busy life as a lawyer and editor ofthe New York Evening Post, Bryant wroteaccomplished, elegant, and romantic descriptions ofa nature suffused with spirit.
Thanatopsis remains one of the most widelyreferenced pieces of American verse, and isincluded in a collection called The 100 Best Poemsof all Time edited by Leslie Pockell.
III. Thanatopsis
2. Detailed analysis
The title Bryant chose for this poem is rather fitting,being that "thanatopsis" is the contemplation ofdeath. He begins by telling the reader that if one is incommunion with Nature, then she will give him amessage. This message will tell him how to live hislife, and it will be unique to everyone else who is incommunion with Nature. By receiving this message,he is somewhat connected to everyone in the worldwho has also received a message.
III. Thanatopsis
Anyone who is in tune with Nature will be comforted(by Nature), and each one will be different from thelast person. Later in the first stanza, the poet advisesthat if one is down and are fear-ridden, he should goout and enjoy Nature, who will cause him to realizehappiness, because in the end, all will join Nature inits beauty through Death.
III. Thanatopsis
The second stanza speaks of the comfort one may hope for indeath. It refers to death as a "couch" that is greater than anyother, and it claims that one will not lie in death alone. Thepoem reminds the reader that through death all will be foreverconnected with the greatest men of all time around the world. Itthen describes how Nature is beautiful with "The hills/ Rock-ribbed and ancient as the sun..." etc. Then it portrays even theduller parts of the world (Old Ocean's gray and melancholywaste") as decoration of man's final resting place. The end ofthe second stanza ensures the reader that the dead alone reignsupreme in Nature.
III. Thanatopsis
The third and fourth stanzas are much shorter, butcarry the overall message:The third stanza warns the reader that if he does notlive a full and happy life, no one will notice when heis gone. They will all live life as if nothing happened.But to avoid depicting death as a bad thing, Bryantthen re-ensures his audience that even if one's deathgoes unnoticed, all who lived that did or did notnotice the person's death, will soon join that personregardless, for all are joined in death.
III. Thanatopsis
The fourth stanza is intended to end the poem on ahopeful note, and its purpose is also to drive homethe strongest point in the poem: If one lives life to itsfullest, he may embrace death with comfort andpleasure. He may die peacefully.This poem had three main points it wished to make,the final one being the most important:1) Live life fully in order to die well and comfortably.2) In death, all are joined with Nature and with eachother for eternity.3) This comfort and togetherness in death may onlybe obtained through death.
III. Thanatopsis
3. Questions for discussion
After reading the poem, consider the following questions.
What Greek words were combined to make the title? How dothe meanings of these words contribute to the meaning of thepoem?
---Thanatos (death) Opsis (seeing).The title presents the poemas a way of seeing death.
Define the following words; consider the context of the poem:shroud, pall, narrow house, and sepulcher. How do thesewords and their meanings impact the meaning of the poem?
III. Thanatopsis
---All of these words are associated with death andburial. This furthers the idea of the poem presentinga way of looking at death.
Is this a poem about life or is this a poem aboutdeath? Explain your answer. Answers will vary andshould be supported from text.
The tone of this poem shifts. What is the tone in thefirst part of the poem? When does the tone shift?What is the tone after the shift?
---The tone in the first part of the poem is forbidding,stern, final and then shifts to one of comfort.
III. Thanatopsis
Thanatopsis is an elegy. What is an elegy?What are the conventions of an elegy?What elements of Thanatopsis meet thoseconventions?
---An elegy must move from grief to comfort,must shift from melancholy and mournful tosoothing and comforting. The poem sayswe will not be alone when we die, etc
III. Thanatopsis
This poem was written early in the nineteenthcentury. The type of landscape art during this timeperiod favored sweeping panoramas, wild vistas,untamed landscapes, and views of the sky. Look atThanatopsis as a visual description of a painting.What elements of the poem are like a painting?What images are created in the poem? Whatlandscape is created? Look at all of thedescriptions of nature, etc.
III. Thanatopsis
Thanatopsis is a poem that can be interpretedin several ways.
How is this poem an example of a historical piece?
---It represents part of the view of the time period.
How is this a Romantic poem?
---The speaker hears the voice of nature, turns to nature forcomfort. It presents a William Wordsworth’s nature. Therecurring theme of death seems to be quite constantthroughout the genre of Romanticism. Bryant attempts tomake death a comfortable feeling, referring to the word couchas something you can simply curl up and feel good in.
III. Thanatopsis
How is this a Calvinist poem?
---Look at the poem as religious counsel. Manyelements of Calvinistic beliefs are present.
IV. To a Waterfowl
To a Waterfowl is a poem by William Cullen Bryantthat was first published in 1821. Matthew Arnold, theeminent English critic and poet, called it the “mostperfect poem in the language”.The reason that Bryant chooses a waterfowl of allanimals to write about is because of a specialencounter he had on the way from Cummington toPlainfield，Massachusetts, in December 1815.
IV. To a Waterfowl
It seems that Bryant was walking along andnoticed that the waterfowl was flying aroundoverhead and that he too seemed to be on ajourney alone; then Bryant began to thinkthat he himself was not alone. He realizedthat the waterfowl seemed alone also, but hetoo was being guided by some higher beingand they both would find their way.
IV. To a Waterfowl
Bryant's poem begins with a waterfowl in flight and ahunter below. The bird's instinct allows it to fly tosafety. In spite of the danger, hardships andtemptations on the way, the bird continues its flightto its destination. As the speaker watches the bird,he ponders the mysteries of migration. Bryantparallels the bird's instinct to a "Power." Even thoughhumans have no real instinct to guide them to safety,there is a "Power" or God that will guide them tosafety.
IV. To a Waterfowl
In the last paragraph of the poem Bryant seems tobe comparing our life with God to that of a waterfowl.He says: "He who from zone to zone, Guidesthrough the boundless sky thy certain flight, In thelong way that I must tread alone, Will lead my stepsaright."He is saying that throughout our life wherever we goGod is going to be with us guiding us down the rightpath. And in times when we think we must go alone,he too will be with us then. He never leaves us longenough for us to fall, just long enough for us to learnfrom what we do.
IV. To a Waterfowl
Questions for discussion:
1) Can we interpret the poem in any otherway? For example, can the “Power of care”and the “He” in the poem mean anythingelse?
2) What can we learn from the waterfowl’sflight?
