English III – Mrs. J. Bernard
Romantic Poetry - THANATOPSIS
Comprehension Guide
Name: _________________________________
Date:
_________________________________
Period: _________________________________
Your quiz and/or test will be based on these questions, class discussions, and your ability to
comprehend, analyze, interpret, predict, generalize, paraphrase, compare, contrast, judge, relate,
support, and compose.
William Cullen Bryant
1. What two writers greatly influenced
1. A book of poems that changed his life was Lyrical
Ballads, written by William Wordsworth and
William Cullen Bryant? What was the
Samuel Taylor Coleridge.
name of their book?
2. The philosophy of deism says that divinity can be
2. What is deism?
found in nature.
3. Bryant wrote poetry early on, and by 3. A prodigy
the age of nine, what was he
considered?
4. Bryant was tutored for a career as a
4. Editor, critic, and poet
lawyer. Instead, what three literary jobs
did he hold?
5. The publication of what great poem
5. “Thanatopsis”
secured Bryant’s literary future?
6. Not only a famous literary figure but
also an influential voice in what two
areas?
He supported what three areas?
7. Of what political party was he one of
the founders?
Which great American President came
from this political party in which
Bryant started?
6. Religion and politics
Bryant supported social reform, free speech, and
the abolition of slavery.
7. He was also one of the founders of the Republican
party.
Abraham Lincoln
8. By the time of his death, he held what 8. William Cullen Bryant is often called “the father of
American poetry.”
title?
ROMANTIC POETRY – “THANATOPSIS” - COMPREHENSION GUIDE
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“THANATOPSIS”
Literary Focus: THEME
The theme of literary work is the insight it offers into
human experience.
9. What does THANATOPSIS mean?
9. Thanatopsis is a word Bryant coined by joining two
Greek words, thanatos, “death,” and opsis,
“sight.” The new word is defined by the poem: a
way of looking at and thinking about death.
Text Analysis: Blank Verse
In this meter, each line has five iambic feet, a pattern consisting of an
unstressed syllable (u ) followed by a stressed syllable ( ‘ ).
William Cullen Bryant wrote “Thanatopsis” in a
verse form known as blank verse.
Read the following lines from “Thanatopsis” aloud to hear the rhythm:
Blank verse is unrhymed poetry written in
iambic pentameter.
u ‘ u ‘ u ‘ u ‘ u
‘
To him who in the love of Nature holds
u ‘ u ‘
u ‘ u ‘
u ‘
Communion with her visible forms, she speaks
Notice that the lines do not have a singsong quality as some lines of
rhymed poetry do. In fact, good blank verse imitates the natural rhythms
of spoken English and so sounds very much like the way people talk.
Bryant also achieves this effect through the use of enjambment, which
means that one line ends without a pause and continues into the next
line for its meaning.
As you read “Thanatopsis,” notice how the poem’s rhythm imitates
natural speech.
Summary of “Thanatopsis”
“Thanatopsis” is a poetic reflection on death. The poem
begins with a statement of the consolation and “healing
sympathy” that gentle and caring and beautiful Nature
provides.
The poet then suggests how to accept the mortality that all
humans share and to face death without fear, “sustained
and soothed by unfaltering trust . . . like one who . . . lies
down to pleasant dreams.”
Using your paraphrasing skills, closely read the
following lines of “Thanatopsis, and summarize
the stanzas in your own words.
Lines 1-8
To him who in the love of Nature holds
Communion with her visible forms, she speaks
A various language; for his gayer hours
She has a voice of gladness, and a smile
5
And eloquence of beauty, and she glides
Into his darker musings, with a mild
And healing sympathy, that steals away
Their sharpness, ere he is aware. When thoughts
ROMANTIC POETRY – “THANATOPSIS” - COMPREHENSION GUIDE
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10. Reread lines 1–8 aloud. Identify the
10.
places where a phrase begins at the end
of a line and continues on the next line.
How does this enjambment affect the
flow of the lines?
Lines 8-17
11–12 shroud . . . the narrow house: A shroud is a burial garment, while a pall is a heavy garment
draped over a coffin. The narrow house is the grave or coffin.
Their sharpness, ere he is aware. When thoughts
Of the last bitter hour come like a blight
10
15
Over thy spirit, and sad images
Of the stern agony, and shroud, and pall,°
And breathless darkness, and the narrow house,°
Make thee to shudder, and grow sick at heart;—
Go forth, under the open sky, and list°
To Nature’s teachings, while from all around—
Earth and her waters, and the depths of air—
Comes a still voice.—
Lines 17-30
28–29 the sluggish clod . . . share: the heavy mass of earth, which the farmer loosens with his plow.
Yet a few days, and thee
The all-beholding sun shall see no more
In all his course; nor yet in the cold ground,
20 Where thy pale form was laid, with many tears,
Nor in the embrace of ocean, shall exist
Thy image. Earth, that nourished thee, shall claim
Thy growth, to be resolved to earth again,
And, lost each human trace, surrendering up
25 Thine individual being, shalt thou go
To mix forever with the elements,
To be a brother to the insensible rock
And to the sluggish clod, which the rude swain°
Turns with his share,° and treads upon. The oak
30 Shall send his roots abroad, and pierce thy mold.
ROMANTIC POETRY – “THANATOPSIS” - COMPREHENSION GUIDE
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11. What is the central idea of the poem’s
first section, lines 1–30?
Lines 31-57
Yet not to thine eternal resting place
Shalt thou retire alone, nor couldst thou wish
Couch more magnificent. Thou shalt lie down
With patriarchs of the infant world—with kings,
11.
33 couch: bed.
36 hoary seers: ancient wise men.
37 sepulcher: grave.
40 venerable: impressive and worthy of respect because of age.
51 Barcan desert: a desert region in northern Africa.
53 Oregon: old name for the Columbia River, which flows between the states of Washington and Oregon.
35 The powerful of the earth—the wise, the good,
Fair forms, and hoary seers° of ages past,
All in one mighty sepulcher. The hills
Rock-ribbed and ancient as the sun,—the vales
Stretching in pensive quietness between;
40 The venerable woods—rivers that move
In majesty, and the complaining brooks
That make the meadows green; and, poured round
all,
Old Ocean’s gray and melancholy waste,—
Are but the solemn decorations all
45 Of the great tomb of man. The golden sun,
The planets, all the infinite host of heaven,
Are shining on the sad abodes of death,
Through the still lapse of ages. All that tread
The globe are but a handful to the tribes
50 That slumber in its bosom.—Take the wings
Of morning,° pierce the Barcan wilderness,°
Or lose thyself in the continuous woods
Where rolls the Oregon,° and hears no sound,
Save his own dashings—yet the dead are there:
55 And millions in those solitudes, since first
The flight of years began, have laid them down
In their last sleep—the dead reign there alone.
12. Identify the mood in lines 31–45. How 12.
does it contrast with the mood in the
first section?
ROMANTIC POETRY – “THANATOPSIS” - COMPREHENSION GUIDE
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Lines 58-72
So shalt thou rest, and what if thou withdraw
In silence from the living, and no friend
60 Take note of thy departure? All that breathe
Will share thy destiny. The gay will laugh
When thou art gone, the solemn brood of care
Plod on, and each one as before will chase
His favorite phantom; yet all these shall leave
65 Their mirth and their employments, and shall come
And make their bed with thee. As the long train
Of ages glides away, the sons of men,
The youth in life’s fresh spring, and he who goes
In the full strength of years, matron and maid,
70 The speechless babe, and the gray-headed man—
Shall one by one be gathered to thy side,
By those, who in their turn shall follow them.
SUMMARY: Live fully while you can, but when the time comes for
Lines 73-81
So live, that when thy summons comes to join
The innumerable caravan, which moves
75 To that mysterious realm, where each shall take
His chamber in the silent halls of death,
Thou go not, like the quarry slave at night,
Scourged to his dungeon, but, sustained and
soothed
By an unfaltering trust, approach thy grave,
you to join all those who have died before you, you can meet death
serenely.
80 Like one who wraps the drapery of his couch
About him, and lies down to pleasant dreams.
Recall
13.
13. According to the speaker, how does
nature help people cope during times of
sadness?
Recall
14.
14. According to lines 22–30, what happens
to people when they die?
Clarify
15. Why, according to the speaker, should
people greet death without fear?
15.
ROMANTIC POETRY – “THANATOPSIS” - COMPREHENSION GUIDE
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Analyze Title
16. The title of the poem combines the
Greek words thanatos (“death”) and
opsis (“a vision”). Cite specific details
from the poem to explain the vision of
death presented in “Thanatopsis.”
16.
Understand Structure
Common Core Focus: Understand Structure
17. Identify the central idea in each section, 17. Central idea—
and draw conclusions about how the
section 1:
poem’s structure helps develop an
section 2:
overall message.
section 3:
Draw Conclusions About Tone
18.
18. A writer establishes his or her tone, or
attitude toward a subject, through a
variety of language choices. Use a
chart to jot down important examples of
Bryant’s word choices, details, and
direct statements. Then draw
conclusions about the poem’s tone.
Evaluate Blank Verse
19. How would the impact of Bryant’s
19.
message differ if he had used a strict
meter and regular pattern of rhyme in
his poem? Evaluate whether his use of
blank verse is an effective or pleasing
way to express his ideas. Give reasons
for your opinion.
Recognize Characteristics of Romanticism
Common Core Focus : Evaluate Blank Verse
20.
20. How does “Thanatopsis” reflect
Romantic notions of nature and
democratic values?
Different Perspectives
21. Bryant at age 70:
21. Bryant wrote “Thanatopsis” when he was
a very young man. He was also greatly
influenced by the English romantic
poets. Given what you have learned
a Puritan:
about the Puritans and the romantic
poets, how do you think the following
people might have reacted to the
poem?
• Bryant at age 70
an English romantic poet:
• a Puritan
• an English romantic poet
ROMANTIC POETRY – “THANATOPSIS” - COMPREHENSION GUIDE
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