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By Namulun houben
William Cullen Bryant was an American romantic poet, journalist, and a long time editor of the New York Evening Post.
He was born on November 3, 1794, and died on June 12, 1878, when he was 83 years old.
Is this a time to be cloudy and sad,
When our mother Nature laughs around;
When even the deep blue heavens look glad,
And gladness breathes from the blossoming ground?
There are notes of joy from the hang-bird and wren,
And the gossip of swallows through all the sky;
The ground-squirrel gaily chirps by his den,
And the wilding bee hums merrily by.
The clouds are at play in the azure space
And their shadows at play on the bright-green vale,
And here they stretch to the frolic chase,
And there they roll on the easy gale.
There’s a dance of leaves in that aspen bower,
There’s a titter of winds in that beechen tree,
There’s a smile on the fruit, and a smile on the flower,
And a laugh from the brook that runs to the sea.
And look at the broad-faced sun, how he smiles
On the dewy earth that smiles in his ray,
On the leaping waters and gay young isles;
Ay, look, and he’ll smile thy gloom away.
He then "look at the broad faced sun, how he smiles", and "On the dewy Earth." And the Earth returns the smile, as the sun's rays play upon "the leaping waters and gay young isles." And then his final optimistic declaration that the sun will "smile thy gloom away."
After that, he points to the "leaves in that aspen bower" that are dancing, while there is "a titter of winds in that beechen tree." He observes "smiles" on the faces of "fruits", and there is "smile on the flowers." All of nature seems to come together in one gigantic burst of happy sunshine. He even hears "the brook" laughing as it "runs to the sea."
The poem tell how happy the world around us is, and how beautiful nature is. However, because we are too busy doing other problems, we don't notice the beauty of nature. The joy of our world tries to pull us out of the problems through laughter and smiles that we can find everyday in nature. This is shown in the First quatrain, "Is this a time to be cloudy and sad"
Then he gives his attention to the sky, "The clouds are at play in the azure space." But he brings his eyes back to Earth, pointing to the clouds, "Shadows at play on the bright-green vale." Staying with the motions of the clouds, he fancies that they, "Stretch to the frolic chase" and "There they role in the easy gale." He figuratively transfers the fleecy clouds into animals, perhaps, sheep, gamboling in the meadow.
Bibliography
https://letterpile.com/poetry/William-Cullen-Bryants-The-Gladness-of-Nature
https://www.poets.org/poetsorg/poem/gladness-nature
https://prezi.com/5fouppj0zwxk/the-gladness-of-nature/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wikiWilliam_Cullen_Bryant
The rest of the poem piles examples on examples, supporting the claim that no human could be " cloudy and sad" while the Earth's environment is having such beauty, cheer, and joy. The author wrote "There are notes of joy from the hang-bird and wren", and "And the gossip of swallows through all the sky." He is offering auditory images that cheer the ear. Continuing with the auditory imagery, he claims, "The ground squirrel gaily chirps by his den" and "And the wilding bee hums merrily by." The jolly little noises made by these charming creatures enhances his painting of a fine, bright day.
The first quatrain starts with a question "Is this a time to be cloudy and sad..." Then the next lines answer the question. "When our mother Nature laughs around", "When even the deep blue heavens look glad", and " And gladness breathes from the blossoming ground?"
The meaning of this quatrain is that it is time to be glad because all of nature is glad.
The name of the poem is "Gladness of the Nature" written by William Cullen Bryant in the Romantic period. The year when it was written is unknown.