The Tide Rises, The Tide Falls

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Recommended: The theme of death in poetry

Romanticism, a movement in the arts and literature that originated in the late 18th century, emphasized inspiration, subjectivity, and the primacy of an individual. The writers of the mid-18th century focused mainly on a sublime life and what was needed to fulfill it. Many authors wrote about the ideal human and what makes them and their lives supreme. Three features that stand out when it comes to a sublime life are nature, death, and emotion. Many find that if a person spends more time surrounded by nature, they become more in touch with themselves and others. Others say that when people become content with death they live a happier life. Emotion is also something that is needed when it comes to a sublime life, because if there was no emotion …show more content…

Although Longfellow also depicts the thought of death. However the poem that really talks about death is William Cullen Bryant’s “Thanatopsis.” “Thanatopsis” is about being content with death and not being scared of it and how that is a part of having a sublime life. His poem also describes how emotion is also a characteristic in an ideal life. Emotion is something that everyone has to have and the poem “A Psalm of Life” is a good way to portray emotions. All three of these poems have some portion of each characteristic, some just more than the …show more content…

In lines one through thirty he talks about death. Bryant says “The all-beholding sun shall see no more”(Bryant line 18) meaning when a person dies they will not ever see the light of day again. When writing this poem he was calm and content, not afraid of death. In lines 73 through 76 he states, “So live, that when thy summons...in the silent halls of death.” Bryant is saying live life to the fullest and to never take anything for granted. Although the poem “A Psalm of Life” by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow is about emotion, death is a topic that is in this poem. For example, he states, “beating funeral marches to the grave”(Longfellow lines 15,16). Some say being content with death and not being scared of it leads to a better life. Death happens and it is a part of life so be calm and accept it. Although “A Psalm of Life” by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow talks about death, it is more about emotion. He is serious throughout the poem, but he also has a lot of hope. Longfellow wants to portray the feeling that life is priceless and that people can give others a purpose. When he says “Life is real! Life is earnest!”(Longfellow line 5) he is trying to portray the idea to live life to the fullest. A lot of the poems that have been talked about all depict the idea of living life to the fullest. “A Psalm of Life” can help people who are down strive to be better and live to the

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