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William Cullen Bryant's Thanatopsis

JZ

Jean Zamora

Transcript
  • Tells out to go out and "live"
  • Enjoy life while you can
  • Death will always come sooner or later
  • Dying is like being wrapped in a blanket

The Poem:

Lines: 1-30

  • Nature speaks to her admirer depending on which mood he’s in.
  • Switches from loving nature to giving advice to us.
  • Speaker builds a mood of spookiness.
  • Pretty way of saying that we are going to die
  • Idea of “Ashes to ashes, dust to dust”

Poem: Thanatopsis

The Poem: Thanatopsis

Lines 73-80

Lines 31-45

The Poem: Thanatopsis

Lines 46-72

  • We won’t be going there alone
  • We are ALL equal when we die
  • Beautiful image of Earth as one big "sepulcher" (tomb)
  • Describes Earth's geography as the "decorations" of this tomb
  • Image of space and stars looking down at our tomb
  • More images of the great "decorations" of our tomb
  • The deserts of North Africa
  • The mighty Columbia River
  • Even if these places ("solitudes") seem uninhabited, dead people inhabit all places
  • After we die, life goes on
  • Endless chain of death

William Cullen Bryant's Thanatopsis

Sources

  • "William Cullen Bryant." Poetry Foundation. Poetry Foundation, n.d. Web. 30 Mar. 2016.
  • "On William Cullen Bryant." On William Cullen Bryant. N.p., n.d. Web. 30 Mar. 2016.
  • "Biography of William Cullen Bryant." Poem Hunter. N.p., n.d. Web. 30 Mar. 2016.
  • "William Cullen Bryant." Poet Seers ». N.p., n.d. Web. 30 Mar. 2016.

The Poet: William Cullen Bryant

  • Became the 1st American poet to gain world wide critical acclaim
  • Was the "Evening Post" editor for 48 years (until 83 yr old)
  • Died June 12, 1878 in NYC

The Poet: William Cullen Bryant

  • Moved to NYC in 1875
  • Became editor-in-chief/co-owner of "Evening Post" in 1829 (35 yr old)
  • Became a journalist and political activist
  • Supported woman's rights
  • Defended human rights
  • Despised slavery

The Poet: William Cullen Bryant

  • Born November 3, 1794
  • started writing poetry at nine
  • Attended one year at williams college (1810-1811) (16-17 yr old)
  • Wrote his first draft of 'Thanatopsis' at nineteen
  • Admitted to the Massachusetts bar in 1815 (21 yr old)