William Cullen Bryant's Thanatopsis And To A Waterfowl

William Cullen Bryant solved many a problems in his life by listening to the world around him. As a taoist, Bryant believed that God would reveal himself in messages and symbols seen in nature. This belief is seen throughout Bryant’s writings, most popularly referencing the issue how one should approach life and death. Bryant’s poems Thanatopsis and To a Waterfowl illustrate Bryant’s fears life and death, and how through conversations and interactions he has with nature he is taught that neither is to be feared. As Bryant personifies nature in his poetry, it is obvious how he feels towards life and death, he feels they should be embraced as neither are truly as terrifying as many believe them to be.

Bryant is one who feels that God will guide him through life, and more importantly show him how important it is to embrace life. In To a Waterfowl, Bryant watches a waterfowl fly into the distance, and to Bryant this bird represents life. The waterfowl is flying with the guidance of nature, which Bryant believes is the guidance of God, and begins to think that the waterfowl is a metaphor for his life, by writing “He who, from zone to zone, Guides through the boundless sky thy certain flight, in the long way that I must tread alone, will lead my step aright” (Lines 30-34). By writing this, Bryant is demonstrating how he feels about

Similar to To a Waterfowl, Bryant’s poem