For many, the thought of death is the most frightful thoughts possible. However, William Cullen Bryant views death simply as a musing to which nature’s power can soothe. In Bryant's work “Thanatopsis,” he exposes nature’s empowerment through a filter of death. This is done using writing styles of the Romanticism period. “Thanatopsis” perfectly exhibits the characteristics of romantic writing in order to reveal Bryant’s true intention of nature’s comfort. Through the romantic characteristic of idealism, Bryant draws a tie between death and nature’s overwhelming power to soothe death. Idealism focuses on the aspects of oneself as well as world betterment. As Bryant discusses death, he explains how humans view it as making them “grow sick at heart” (13). He paints a vivid and horrific depiction of death. However, as the poem progresses, the reader is urged to “Go forth, under the open sky, and list / To Nature’s teachings…” (Bryant. 14-15). Bryant suggests that by going outside and listening to the great outdoors, the thought of death will disappear. As the negative thoughts vanish, they are replaced by a happier state of mind. This calm and joyful state of mind allows …show more content…
The emotions evoked throughout this poem are all consoled by nature. This is done through Bryant’s succorless descriptions of death. In the beginning of the poem the reader is afraid that “Shalt thou retire alone…” (Bryant 32). However, as the poem progresses, it claims that the reader could not wish for a “Couch more magnificent” to die in (33). Bryant uses nature and nature’s past to comfort the scared reader. He does this by evoking the consoling thought that human death is a good thing because nature will be there embracing the death. The feelings of loneliness are encircled by nature’s calm and valiant deathbed. This portrays the tremendous power of nature over the intuition of human
My initial response to the poem was a deep sense of empathy. This indicated to me the way the man’s body was treated after he had passed. I felt sorry for him as the poet created the strong feeling that he had a lonely life. It told us how his body became a part of the land and how he added something to the land around him after he died.
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.
Millay’s poem “Thou famished grave” explores death’s inevitable success and the speaker’s resistance against it to gain victory within loss. The first way Millay achieves this is through the animalization of death. The poem describes death throughout with words such as, “roar” (2) and “jaws” (7), which leads to a portrayal of death as a predatory animal. A further description in the poem of the speaker as “prey” (9), helps to strengthen this portrayal. As a result, this animalistic depiction of predator and prey shows death’s advantage and dominance over life. In addition, it shows that the speaker is like a gazelle being hunted by a lion. They will not stand motionless and be defeated, but will run away to survive death and “aim not to be
A person should live life without fearing death and think of death as a pleasant rest. In the poem Bryant says, "When thoughts/Of the last bitter hour come like a blight/Over thy spirit,"(8-15). This quote implies when a person fears death he should listen to nature. He also states, "So live, that when the thy summons come to join/The innumerable caravans, …Thou go not, like a quarry-slave at night, /Scourged to his dungeon."(73-78). He explains here that a person should live life without fearing death. In the following lines the poet states, "approach thy grave, /Like one who wraps the drapery of his couch/About him, and lies down to pleasant dreams."(79-81). By this quote the author is saying a person should think of death as a plea...
In “Thanatopsis” Bryant gives nature a healing sympathy towards humanity when he needs it most. When humanity is having bad thoughts about death nature tries to help him feel better about it. Bryant wrote "She glides/ Into his darker musings, with a mild/ And healing sympathy" ("Thanatopsis" 5-7). The dark thoughts that he has nature tries to get into his mind to make him forget about those thoughts and just live his life. Nature also wants humanity to feel happy and to not worry about things such as death. Nature tells him that death is apart of life and to not worry. Bryant wrote "Approach thy grave/ Like one who wraps the drapery of his couch/ About him, and lies down to pleasant dreams" ("Thanatopsis" 79-81). When it comes for humanity to approach its grave he will lie down with nothing but pleasant dreams of its life that just passed and nature will take care of him while he is in his resting place. Nature cares for humanity and she does not want him to have dark thoughts and worry about death because it is natural for living things to die.
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 glides.”(4-5) Here, the tone is happy and elegant. Also, the reader is under the impression that nature is a safe and beautiful place. However, as the reader continues on, one may notice a sudden shift in tone. Bryant writes, “Into his darker musings, with a mild/And gentle sympathy, that steals away/ Their sharpness, ere he is aware.”(6-8) Here, the tone shifts to dark and gloomy. Throughout the poem Bryant uses numerous words or phrases that relate to death. One very noticeable instance of this is in lines nine and 11. Bryant uses the words such as shroud, pall, and narrow house. Shroud and pall are both word related to coffins. A shroud is a cloth used to wrap a body before burial. A pall is the cover to a coffin. This depicts the sinist...
William Cullen Bryant wrote a poem regarding the passing of people from this world into the afterlife which he called “Thanatopsis”. The word Thanatopsis is actually a Greek word meaning ‘meditation on or contemplation of death’. It is the opinion of some readers that this poem expresses a traditional religious view of afterlife in heaven where as others who read it see it as a process that only involves our rejoining with nature. Bryant made references to heaven, nature and spirits which contribute to the discussion on both sides of the argument. Poetry, just like every other form of art, is subject to interpretation. After taking a closer look at Thanatopsis it will be easier to see just why these people cannot seem to agree. Bryant made
In literature, themes shape and characterize an author’s writing making each work unique as different points of view are expressed within a writing’s words and sentences. This is the case, for example, of Edgar Allan Poe’s poem “Annabel Lee” and Emily Dickinson’s poem “Because I could not stop for Death.” Both poems focus on the same theme of death, but while Poe’s poem reflects that death is an atrocious event because of the suffering and struggle that it provokes, Dickinson’s poem reflects that death is humane and that it should not be feared as it is inevitable. The two poems have both similarities and differences, and the themes and characteristics of each poem can be explained by the author’s influences and lives.
The two poems, “Do Not Go Gentle into That Good Night”, by Dylan Thomas and, “Because I Could Not Wait for Death”, by Emily Dickinson, we find two distinct treatments on the same theme, death. Although they both represent death, they also represent it as something other than death. Death brings about a variety of different feelings, because no two people feel the same way or believe the same thing. The fact that our faith is unknown makes the notion of death a common topic, as writers can make sense of their own feelings and emotions and in the process hope to make readers make sense of theirs too. Both Dickinson and Thomas are two well known and revered poets for their eloquent capture of these emotions. The poems both explore death and the
Who does not cower in fear upon the thought of death? Almost everybody does! However, people have differing views on the abstract idea of dying. In examining the poem "Because I Could Not Stop For Death? by Emily Dickinson and "Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night? by Dylan Thomas, it is evident that the poets use contrasting and comparative techniques in their unique presentations of the concept of death. In the poem "Because I Could Not Stop For Death? Emily Dickinson presents the idea of acceptance of death, whereas in the poem "Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night? Dylan Thomas presents the idea of refusal and opposition to death. Despite the differences in theme, these two poets both use similar figurative language devices, such as metaphors, personification and alliteration as they explore their contrasting ideas pertaining to the concept of death. Through the use of their same literacy techniques, both of the authors have presented two very different perceptions on death: Dickinson's message is acceptance whereas Thomas?is rejection.
First of all, the speaker starts her poem personifying death as a kind gentleman who comes to pick her up for her death journey. It is obvious if the reader looks at “He kindly stopped for me” (2). T...
In Emily Dickinson’s “Because I Could Not Stop for Death,” she uses the structure of her poem and rhetoric as concrete representation of her abstract beliefs about death to comfort and encourage readers into accepting Death when He comes. The underlying theme that can be extracted from this poem is that death is just a new beginning. Dickinson deftly reassures her readers of this with innovative organization and management, life-like rhyme and rhythm, subtle but meaningful use of symbolism, and ironic metaphors.
The speaker started the poem by desiring the privilege of death through the use of similes, metaphors, and several other forms of language. As the events progress, the speaker gradually changes their mind because of the many complications that death evokes. The speaker is discontent because of human nature; the searching for something better, although there is none. The use of language throughout this poem emphasized these emotions, and allowed the reader the opportunity to understand what the speaker felt.
As “Thanatopsis progresses, the tone of nature becomes darker and more death oriented, but it still conveys a component of consolation to them. When it is said that, “Bryant had written that, although in death one may lose his "individual being . . . to mix forever with the elements, / To be a brother to the insensible rock," nature taught that one may learn to approach death with trust by living life” (Kagle 152). In this passage, Bryant is saying that once we die, our physical bodies will return to nature forever. He says that a person should prepare for death by living a meaningful life and trusting in nature. To make nature come across as a powerful force, Rio-Jelliffe states that, “Enhancing nature's grandeur heightens the attractiveness of man's final resting place, but contrarily, intensifies rather than mitigates feelings of sorrow and loss which, from the start, imbues natural objects in the body of the poem” (Rio-Jelliffe). A possible reason as to why Bryant chose a more somber tone in parts of “Thanatopsis” is for the effect of making nature appear more powerful. People both fear and respect power. The fearing of God is a prevalent part of most Puritan literature. This fear caused people to obey and trust God’s word in order to save their souls from damnation after they had died. Similarly, Bryant wants to get the reader to trust the power and grace of nature so that death will be
By rethinking the carpe diem theme, Andrew Marvell makes his point more effectively than many other poets working with the same ideas. Using the methods described above, he makes the ideal scene of timelessness more concrete, so that when it is swept away the alternative seems all the more frightening and imperative. In this way he recreates a feature of real life- death is imperative, but trivialities can often make it seem distant. Invariably, however, it will greet us all.