William Cullen BryantBryant was an American romantic poet, journalist, and editor of the New York Evening Post. He was born on November 3, 1794, in a log cabin near Cummington, Massachusetts. He was the second son of Peter Bryant, a doctor and later a state legislator, and Sarah Snell. His maternal ancestry traces back to passengers on the Mayflower. This picture shows Bryant and Cole is the Catskills. This picture shows nature and how they are immersed in it. This is relevant to Thanatopsis because during the story, Bryant takes the reader to different landscapes.
One example of romanticism in this text is the love of nature. "She has a voice of gladness, and a smile/And eloquence of beauty; and she glides.." This quote explains that he associates nature with happiness. It shows the beauty and why he loves nature.
Another example of romanticism in this text is the supernatural. "To that mysterious realm, where each shall take/His chamber in the silent halls of death..." This quote explains that he believes in a mysterious realm after death. This is a supernatural belief because it is explainable. The theme of this poem is to not be afraid of death. "...approach thy grave,/Like one who wraps the drapery of his couch/About him, and lies down to pleasant dreams." This quote explains that the author doesn't want anyone to be afraid of death and to approach it as if you were lying down to sleep. |
This picture shows a flower dying in the winter. In the poem, Bryant is using flowers dying in winter as a metaphor for women when they die.
One example of romanticism is the use of nature. "And now, when comes the calm mild day, as still such days will come, To call the squirrel and the bee from out their winter home; When the sound of dropping nuts is heard, though all the trees are still, And twinkle in the smoky light the waters of the rill..." This quote shows how vividly he portrayed nature. He uses nature to compare to human life.
Another example of romanticism is the supernatural. "In the cold moist earth we laid her, when the forests cast the leaf, And we wept that one so lovely should have a life so brief: Yet not unmeet it was that one, like that young friend of ours, So gentle and so beautiful, should perish with the flowers." This quote shows how his friend has died like that of a blossoming flower. This is supernatural because he talks about death. The theme of this text is the death of a loved one. "Where are the flowers, the fair young flowers, that lately sprang and stood In brighter light and softer airs, a beauteous sisterhood? Alas! they all are in their graves, the gentle race of flowers.." This quote shows how the author is comparing the lives of young women to those of flowers. Here, he is saying that the death of his loved one was like that of a flower because she had blossomed but died so soon. |