“Thanatopsis” By William Cullen Bryant
Use your poem and each other to answer these questions.
1. The Greek words thanatos (personification of death) and ‘opsis’ (vision) create
the word “Thanatopsis.” How do the meanings of these words contribute to the
meaning of the poem?
2. Define the following words; consider the context of the poem: shroud, pall,
narrow house, and sepulcher. How do these words and their meanings impact the
meaning of the poem?
3. Is this a poem about life or is this a poem about death? Explain your answer.
4. The tone of this poem shifts. What is the tone in the first part of the poem? When
does the tone shift? What is the tone after the shift?
5. “Thanatopsis” is an ELEGY. What is an elegy? What are the conventions of an
elegy? What elements of “Thanatopsis” meet those conventions?
6. Find two examples in the poem that demonstrate the use or incorporation of
GLORIFICATION OF NATURE.
7. Find two examples in the poem that demonstrate the use or incorporation of
FOCUS ON IMAGINATION OR INTUITION.
8. Find two examples in the poem that demonstrate the use of incorporation of
HUMAN NATURE OR INDIVIDUALISM.
9. How would you describe the tone of the poem in Lines 1 through 31?
10. What evidence (specific examples) do you have to justify your answer to
Question 9?
11. How would you describe the tone of the poem in Lines 32 through 72?
12. What evidence (specific examples) do you have to justify your answer to
Question 11?
13. How would you describe the tone of the poem in Lines 73 through 81?
14. What evidence (specific examples) do you have to justify your answer to
Question 13?
15. What advice does the speaker give the audience at the end of the poem?