Name_____________________________________________Date________________________________Pd______
“Thanatopis” Literary Analysis Paragraph
Your task is to write one paragraph that answers the following question:
How is “Thanatopsis” an example of Romantic poetry?
This paragraph should follow the format of a basic body paragraph (we talked about this in class) and should not
be about the same topic as the model we did in class. In following the format of a basic body paragraph, you
should include the following:




A topic sentence
Elaboration on the topic sentence
1-2 specific examples
o This includes a set up, the example itself, and a follow up
A summary sentence
In writing your paragraph, make sure to keep everything unified and coherent. Basically, this means that
everything in the paragraph should relate to the topic of the paragraph (stated in the topic sentence) and make
sense. Remember that each sentence should connect to the sentence before it and after it. This helps your
paragraph flow well instead of sound choppy and incoherent.
Your paragraph should be in final paper format. See my website if you need to review this.
Here is a list of words you are not allowed to use in your paragraph unless they are in a direct quote from the
poem:
I, We, You, Us, Me, My, Our, Your, Quote, Quotation
If you hit Control + F, you can open a search box in Word and search for these forbidden words so you can correct
them before turning in your paper.
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1 Pd. Sample Paragraph (this is not in final paper format)
One key characteristic of Romanticism is the love of Nature. Romantics often turned to Nature for
inspiration and life lessons. In Bryant’s “Thanatopsis” the speaker opens by telling the reader that Nature mirrors
one’s moods. When one is happy, nature is happy, and when one’s thoughts turn to darker subjects, nature
“glides / Into his darker musings, with a mild / And healing sympathy . . .” (5-7). Furthermore, when one begins
thinking about the darkest of thoughts, death, the speaker encourages him to seek Nature to cope with his sad and
somber feelings:
When thoughts
Of the last bitter hour come like a blight
Over thy spirit . . .
.................................
Go forth, under the open sky, and list
To Nature’s teachings . . . (8-10, 14-15)
As the poem continues, Nature helps the reader see how death is not something that should be feared but
something that should be accepted and approached like “*lying+ down to pleasant dreams” (81). Both the
speaker’s advice and Nature’s lessons about how to approach death provide comfort and inspiration when facing
the inevitability of death. By turning to Nature to guide him in his time of need the speaker, like a true Romantic,
shows his love of Nature.
Luke Skywalker
S ample Paragraph in final paper format
Mr. Ezzell
8th ELA
January 27, 2014
Romantic Characteristics in Bryant’s “Thanatopsis”
One key characteristic of Romanticism is the love of Nature. Romantics often turned to Nature
for inspiration and life lessons. In Bryant’s “Thanatopsis” the speaker opens by telling the reader that
Nature mirrors one’s moods. When one is happy, nature is happy, and when one’s thoughts turn to
darker subjects, nature “glides / Into his darker musings, with a mild / And healing sympathy . . .” (5-7).
Furthermore, when one begins thinking about the darkest of thoughts, death, the speaker encourages
him to seek Nature to cope with his sad and somber feelings:
When thoughts
Of the last bitter hour come like a blight
Over thy spirit . . .
.................................
Go forth, under the open sky, and list
To Nature’s teachings . . . (8-10, 14-15)
As the poem continues, Nature helps the reader see how death is not something that should be feared
but something that should be accepted and approached like “*lying+ down to pleasant dreams” (81).
Both the speaker’s advice and Nature’s lessons about how to approach death provide comfort and
inspiration when facing the inevitability of death. By turning to Nature to guide him in his time of need
the speaker, like a true Romantic, shows his love of Nature.
1st Pd. Sample Paragraph with Notes
Topic Sentence
Title of Paragraph
Romantic Characteristics in Bryant’s “Thanatopsis”
Titles of short,
published works like
poems are put in
quotation marks.
One key characteristic of Romanticism is the love of Nature. Romantics often turned to Nature
for inspiration and life lessons. In Bryant’s “Thanatopsis” the speaker opens by telling the reader that
Nature mirrors one’s moods. When one is happy, nature is happy, and when one’s thoughts turn to
darker subjects, nature “glides / Into his darker musings, with a mild / And healing sympathy . . .” (5-7).
Furthermore, when one begins thinking about the darkest of thoughts, death, the speaker encourages
him to seek Nature to cope with his sad and somber feelings:
Notice
how you
do not
indent the
next line
after the
long
quote.
When thoughts
Of the last bitter hour come like a blight
Over thy spirit . . .
Ellipses Line of periods
.................................
Go forth, under the open sky, and list
To Nature’s teachings . . . (8-10, 14-15)
When quoting 3 lines of poetry or less,
use slashes ( / ) to indicate line breaks.
When quoting 4 or more lines of poetry,
indent one inch from the left margin and
keep formatting as close to the original as
possible.
Ellipses (. . .) indicate part of a line has
been left out. A line of periods indicate a
line or more of the poem has been left
out.
As the poem continues, Nature helps the reader see how death is not something that should be feared
but something that should be accepted and approached like “*lying+ down to pleasant dreams” (81).
Both the speaker’s advice and Nature’s lessons about how to approach death provide comfort and
inspiration when facing the inevitability of death. By turning to Nature to guide him in his time of need
the speaker, like a true Romantic, shows his love of Nature.
Can you spot the different components of a
body paragraph in this paragraph?
 Topic Sentence
 Elaboration of topic sentence
 Specific example with set up and
follow up
 Summary sentence
Does the entire paragraph flow well and stay
on topic?
Do the examples relate to the topic sentence?
In ending your paragraph, it’s usually
a good idea to try to summarize the
main point of your paragraph. In
other words, try connecting back to
the beginning of the paragraph.
Notice how we connect back to the
love of nature here at the end.
2nd Pd. Sample Paragraph with Notes
Topic Sentence
Title of Paragraph
Titles of short,
published works like
poems are put in
quotation marks.
Romantic Characteristics in Bryant’s “Thanatopsis”
One key characteristic of Romanticism is the love of Nature. Romantics loved Nature because
they saw it as being pure and as something they could learn from. In “Thanatopsis” the speaker advises
the reader to look to Nature to give him advice about how to deal with thoughts of death:
*See box
in bottom
right
corner
about how
to
punctuate
long
quotes.
When thoughts
Of the last bitter hour come like a blight
Over thy spirit . . .
..................................
Go forth, under the open sky, and list
To Nature’s teachings . . . (8-10, 14-15)
Notice how we follow up the long
quote with a bit of plot summary.
While plot summary is often
necessary in literary analysis, you
want to make not too include too
much plot summary. Likewise, you
want to make sure that what you
summarize relates to the topic of the
paragraph.
As the poem continues, Nature helps the reader see how death is not something that should be feared
but something that should be accepted and approached like “*lying+ down to pleasant dreams” (81). In
true Romantic fashion, “Thanatopsis” shows the reader how Nature can both inspire and provide
comfort, and the speaker’s advice to look to Nature in times of need shows the Romantic’s true love of
Nature.
Can you spot the different components of a
body paragraph in this paragraph?
 Topic Sentence
 Elaboration of topic sentence
 Specific example with set up and
follow up
 Summary sentence
Does the entire paragraph flow well and stay
on topic?
Do the examples relate to the topic sentence?
Pay attention to what comes at the
end of your quotes. In this paragraph,
the line numbers from the poem are
included in parentheses after the end
quotation marks. Notice how the
period comes after the parentheses,
not inside the quotation marks.
*Please note that long quotes are
punctuated differently. Long quotes
(4 or more lines) are indented one
inch and formatted as close to the
original poem as possible. You do not
use quotations marks and end
punctuation (periods, questions
marks, etc.) go before the
parentheses.
3rd Pd. Sample Paragraph with Notes
Title of Paragraph
nd
2 sentence = topic
sentence
Romantic Characteristics in Bryant’s “Thanatopsis”
Titles of short,
published works like
poems are put in
quotation marks.
“Thanatopsis” incorporates several elements of Romanticism throughout the poem. One
element the poem explores is the Romantic’s love of nature. Romantics often saw nature as a source of
inspiration and as a source of knowledge. The speaker in “Thanatopsis,” for example, encourages the
reader to look to nature when contemplating one of life’s greatest fears, death:
When thoughts
Of the last bitter hour come like a blight
Over thy spirit . . .
.................................
Go forth, under the open sky, and list
To Nature’s teachings . . . (8-10, 14-15)
Avoid floating quotes! All quotes
should be attached to a dialogue tag
(The speaker says...), attached to your
own words, or incorporated into your
own sentence.
Notice how we’ve attached to long
quote to our own words with a colon
and incorporated the smaller quote
into our own original sentence.
As the poem continues, Nature helps the reader see how death is not something that should be feared,
but something that should be accepted and approached like “*lying+ down to pleasant dreams” (81).
The speaker, like any true Romantic, knows that nature can provide comfort and support for these dark
thoughts and that nature can even serve as a guide to help with accepting the inevitability of death. In
looking to Nature for support and comfort, the speaker illustrates the Romantic’s love of Nature.
Can you spot the different components of a
body paragraph in this paragraph?
 Topic Sentence
 Elaboration of topic sentence
 Specific example with set up and
follow up
 Summary sentence
Does the entire paragraph flow well and stay
on topic?
Do the examples relate to the topic sentence?
Making small changes in quoted
material can sometimes make it
easier to include certain quotes in
your paper. Small changes include
adding or deleting a letter to a word
or altering the verb tense to better fit
your sentence. Use brackets [ ]
around the small changes you’ve
made to indicate changes to the
original text
Notice how we use brackets around
“lying” because we changed the verb
tense from “lies” in the original poem
Name____________________________________________________Date_________________Pd_____
“Thanatopis” Literary Analysis Paragraph Rubric
A. Topic Sentence
 Clear
 Correctly Placed (1st or 2nd sentence of paragraph)
____/4
B. Explanation of Topic Sentence/Transition
 Topic sentence is thoroughly explained
 All sentences relate to each other
 Paragraph flows smoothly from sentence to sentence
____/4
C. Specific Examples
 Clear/Make sense
 Relate to the paragraph topic
 Are part of your own sentences or attached to your own words (no floating quotes)
 Framed (set up, example, follow up/explanation)
____/4
D. Summary/Wrap Up
 Ends similar to how paragraph began
 Ties everything together
____/4
F. Grammar/Mechanics
 Contains few, if any, errors in punctuation, capitalization, and spelling
____/4
G. Final Paper Format/Style
 Heading, title, spacing, page numbering, etc. follow correct final paper format
 Varied sentence structure and word choice
 Avoided personal pronouns (unless in a quote) and other forbidden words
 Maintains consistent verb tense
____/4
Scale
4 = Excellent
3 = Above Average
2 = Average
1 = Below Average
0 = Poor/Missing
TOTAL:
_____/24
TOTAL AVG. _____/4
GRADE:
_______