“Thanatopsis”
Willam Cullen Bryant
William Cullen Bryant
(1794-1878)
• Journalist and political activist
• Helped establish an American
literary tradition
• Matched the work of European
poets
• Learned Greek and Latin from
his father
• Began writing poetry at nine
• Wrote “Thanatopsis” at 19
• Practiced law briefly
• Helped establish the
“Romantic Movement”
• First American poet to receive
international recognition
Vocabulary:
• Thanatopsis – mediation on death
• Sepulcher – grave; tomb
• Pensive – expressing deep
thoughtfulness
• Venerable – worthy of respect
• Musings – thoughts
• Shudder – shake with fear
• Melancholy – sad
• Patriarch – male leader
• Solitude – alone
• Hoary – gray or white with age
• Solemn – sad
• Brood – offspring; children
• Mirth – happiness; gladness
• Abode – home; place of rest
• Blight - disease
“To him who in the love of Nature holds
Communion with her visible forms, …
• Nature is personified as a
living thing
• Nature is worshipped as
“God”
• Communion is a religious
service
• The visible forms of
nature include everything
that can be seem
• Go to Nature and pray
“When thoughts of the last bitter hour come
like a blight over thy spirit…
• When you think of
death and become
afraid, turn to Nature
for comfort.
• Nature is “God”
• Nature provides
answers to your
questions about death
“Yet a few days, and thee the all-be-holding
sun shall see not more in all his course…
• Sooner or later, you
are going to die
• When you die you
will no longer be seen
on Earth
• You will not be able to
experience those
things you did while
you were alive
“Yet not to thine eternal resting place shalt
thou retire alone…”
• When you die, you will
not be alone
• You will join all those
who died before you
• Kings, queens, peasants,
and paupers will be at
your side
• There are more people in
the realm of the dead
than are alive
• The ground where you
are laid to rest is one
giant tomb
“The hills rock-ribbed and ancient as the
sun – the vales stretching in pensive…
• Description of
“Nature”
• Nature is on giant
tomb
• The beauty of Nature
becomes your
tombstone
“…and what if thou withdraw in silence
from the living, and no friend take note of
thy departure?”
• What if you die alone?
• What if nobody attends
your funeral?
• It does not matter
• Everything that lives
eventually dies
• The old and the young
die
• Death does not play
favorites
“So live, that when thy summons comes to
join the innumerable caravan…”
• Live for today
• Don’t worry about
death
• Don’t be afraid
• Think of it as a
natural occurrence
“Funeral Procession for my Puppy”