“Thanatopsis” by William Cullen Bryant
Name ___________________________
Make the Connection
Romantic poets looked to nature for lessons – lessons that we too can learn by looking around us. One of the everpresent lessons of nature is the organic cycle of birth, growth, death, and rebirth.
Think of some of the ways that nature reminds us of this recurring cycle. Do you find this aspect of nature disturbing or
comforting?
Title Background
Thanatos – Greek: death
Opsis – Greek: sight
What do you think this poem will be about?
Reading Inverted Sentences
In order to maintain his meter and create certain sound effects, Bryant makes use of inversion – a reversal or
rearranging of the usual word order in sentences. The usual word order in English sentences is subject, then verb, and
then object or complement. If you are having trouble understanding a line or passage, look for the subject and the verb,
and then restate the sentence in normal English word order.
Paraphrasing and Summarizing
With your group, on a separate sheet of paper, summarize what you think the poem is about (the action of the poem).
Then create a paraphrase of your assigned stanza.
Theme
Bryant composed the first version of “Thanatopsis” when he was only sixteen years old, during solitary walks in the
woods. Despite his youth, though, or perhaps because of it, he tackled the most serious questions a poet can explore:
What happens to us after we die, and how should we think or feel about death? Bryants answers to these questions
represent the theme of this poem.
After reading the poem once, re-read lines 17-72, where the “still voice” of Nature speaks. What spiritual “teachings”
does Nature offer?