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Treatment of nature in poetry
American literature romanticism passages
Treatment of nature in english romantic poetry
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There is one universal truth no one can escape — death is inevitable. As such, death creates much fear and anxiety because there is no definitive, scientific proof that there is anything beyond the cessation of life. In “Thanatopsis,” Early American Romantic poet William Cullen Bryant ameliorates the fear of death by personifying and deifying nature. In true romantic tradition, nature takes the primary role as she speaks to the listener informing him of her ability to comfort even though death in itself is scary, dark, and cold. Bryant wrote “Thanatopsis” to suggest Nature in and of itself is capable of providing comfort, ministering to the natural fears of mortality, and giving hope and peace when death finally occurs.
William Cullen Bryant
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Trust that after a long life when death approaches it is not to drag the unsuspecting to slavery or to be locked away in a dungeon but to join the dead together as part of nature itself; and, trust that death does not equate to being alone. She offers comfort in knowing that all who have died in the past are waiting. She says, “The dead are there, and millions in those solitudes, since first the flight of years began, have laid them down in their last sleep” (“William Cullen Bryant” 124). Knowing that Nature has welcomed those who have died before offers the chance for being at peace with death. Bryant ends the poem like this, “By an unfaltering trust, approach thy grave, like one who wraps the drapery of his couch about him and lies down to pleasant dreams” (“William Cullen Bryant” 124). In conclusion, William Cullen Bryant’s “Thanatopsis” firmly entrenches him in the romantic tradition of Early American Literature. It is his personification of nature that offers comfort and peace to those who fear dying and what may come when it happens. He uses this personification and deification of nature to speak to the listener and offer words of comfort, hope, and peace. He concludes this poem with Nature suggesting that death is not something to be feared, but it is to be embraced as willingly as
Although death reigns supreme in the universal fears of man, Thanatopsis reassures the reader that death comes naturally to everyone. William Cullen Bryant uses emotion to reinforce this point. For example, it seems as if fear should be instilled by Bryant’s description, stating “When thoughts / Of the last bitter hour come like a blight / Over thy spirit” (8-10), this fear vanishes quickly when Bryant continues “Go forth under the open sky, and list / To Nature’s teaching” (14-15). Although this paralyzing thought of death washes over many, Bryant argues Nature soothes and calms this fear. Despite these emotions of terror and pain,
Death is a controversial and sensitive subject. When discussing death, several questions come to mind about what happens in our afterlife, such as: where do you go and what do you see? Emily Dickinson is a poet who explores her curiosity of death and the afterlife through her creative writing ability. She displays different views on death by writing two contrasting poems: one of a softer side and another of a more ridged and scary side. When looking at dissimilar observations of death it can be seen how private and special it is; it is also understood that death is inevitable so coping with it can be taken in different ways. Emily Dickinson’s poems “Because I Could Not Stop for Death” and “I Heard A Fly Buzz When I Died” show both parallel and opposing views on death.
First, tone is a very important aspect of the poem “Thanatopsis.” While reading the poem, the reader may feel a slight change in the tone of the poem. At first the poem seems as though it were about nature and its beauty. For example, in the poem Bryant writes “She has a voice of gladness, and a smile/And eloquence of beauty, and she glides.”(4-5) Here, the tone is happy and elegant. Also, the reader is under the impression that nature is a safe and beautiful place. However, as the reader continues on, one may notice a sudden shift in tone. Bryant writes, “Into his darker musings, with a mild/And gentle sympathy, that steals away/ Their sharpness, ere he is aware.”(6-8) Here, the tone shifts to dark and gloomy. Throughout the poem Bryant uses numerous words or phrases that relate to death. One very noticeable instance of this is in lines nine and 11. Bryant uses the words such as shroud, pall, and narrow house. Shroud and pall are both word related to coffins. A shroud is a cloth used to wrap a body before burial. A pall is the cover to a coffin. This depicts the sinist...
...nd happily when he says "Thou go not, like the quarry slave at night,"(77), so we would not be as a tired slave at night, who did not enjoy moment of the day thus we should live our lives in such a way that we would not have any regrets when it is time for us to go. Bryant also illustrates the enormity of the place where we would be laid after death by the following words in this poem " nor coulst thou wish couch more magnificent. "(32-33). This suggests us that we should not live our life lazily since there is the most relaxing and comfortable place waiting for us which none of us can ever experience in life.
Bryant, being the son of a physician, was knowledgeable in the things that were good or bad for his health. Bryant’s active regimen made for a healthy life. He would often go walking and observe nature (Dendinger 1). Bryant lived a peaceful life and that was much like how he taught to approach death. Even though in “Thanatopsis” Bryant says the “…breathless darkness” and “…narrow house” that death brings can “make thee to shudder, and grow sick at heart” (Bryant 1). He strives for his audience to not panic from the entrapment that is felt, but “…approach thy grave/like one who wraps the drapery of his couch/about him and lies down to pleasant dreams” (Bryant 1-2). Bryant is basically saying he relates to the fact that death can be frightening, but be at peace with it. The reason Bryant stresses to be at peace with death and why he wrote this piece can be found once again in “Thanatopsis” when he says all perish even children (Bryant 2). Since death does not discriminate and everyone will die, all should be prepared to die. He reiterates why people should be calm about the topic of death and to not feel lonely. Once death takes affect and one passes away, he or she will be joined by all who have died before (Bryant 2). Thomas would sooner or later be apart of that afterlife due to his health issues being unforgiving. Thomas had gastritis, asthma, and many other health problems throughout the course of his life. He was often coughing and wheezing (Ferris 5). The vicious health issues Thomas lived his life with takes a toll on one’s mental and emotional status. It causes one, with the wrong outlook on the illness, to be bitter. After the outbreak of World War II, Thomas attempted to join the military. He was rejected due to his difficult illnesses (Carpenter 3). Thomas went through many struggles in his life. These reoccurring struggles truly put Thomas to the test. Thomas is tested
Chuck Palahniuk once said, “The first step to eternal life, is you have to die.” In William Cullen Bryant’s poem “Thanatopsis”, he does not mention eternal life or anything religious, but speaks about death. He tells his readers that death is a natural thing and they should not worry about it. William Cullen Bryant, in his poem “Thanatopsis”, portrays a comforting view of death. Throughout the poem, Bryant encourages his readers by explaining that in death they are not alone, that death, like life, is a natural process, and that they will be among some of the finest people who walked the earth.
In Emily Dickinson’s “Because I Could Not Stop for Death,” she uses the structure of her poem and rhetoric as concrete representation of her abstract beliefs about death to comfort and encourage readers into accepting Death when He comes. The underlying theme that can be extracted from this poem is that death is just a new beginning. Dickinson deftly reassures her readers of this with innovative organization and management, life-like rhyme and rhythm, subtle but meaningful use of symbolism, and ironic metaphors.
Not only does Bryant close the poem by calling the body to “join The innumerable caravan” (869 Bryant) that is returning to nature, but also by referencing what seems to be the soul or spirit as moving “To that mysterious realm” (869 Bryant). While it is true that some people may disagree as to what type of afterlife they believe the poem to reference. There are many others who believe it references both nature and ascension equally. A.F. Bridges who wrote “The Centenary of “Thanatopsis”” in The North American Review for the University of Iowa stated in his own analysis of the poem that the subject was “as universal as it is eternal, and it is strongly both.” (2 Bridges). Another author, A.F. Mclean Jr., seemed to be under the same opinion because he similarly wrote that Bryant “sought a mediating position between the blunt supernaturalism of Calvinism and the commitments of the deists to impersonal, natural law.” (3 McLean Jr.). The original question may have asked if the poem was referring to nature or to spiritual ascension, but there are two sides to every story and often the truth is somewhere in between. It seems that a few others have come to the same conclusion, that it is not about one or the other, but it is written in a manner that beautifully portrays the role of both nature and spirit in the act of
As “Thanatopsis progresses, the tone of nature becomes darker and more death oriented, but it still conveys a component of consolation to them. When it is said that, “Bryant had written that, although in death one may lose his "individual being . . . to mix forever with the elements, / To be a brother to the insensible rock," nature taught that one may learn to approach death with trust by living life” (Kagle 152). In this passage, Bryant is saying that once we die, our physical bodies will return to nature forever. He says that a person should prepare for death by living a meaningful life and trusting in nature. To make nature come across as a powerful force, Rio-Jelliffe states that, “Enhancing nature's grandeur heightens the attractiveness of man's final resting place, but contrarily, intensifies rather than mitigates feelings of sorrow and loss which, from the start, imbues natural objects in the body of the poem” (Rio-Jelliffe). A possible reason as to why Bryant chose a more somber tone in parts of “Thanatopsis” is for the effect of making nature appear more powerful. People both fear and respect power. The fearing of God is a prevalent part of most Puritan literature. This fear caused people to obey and trust God’s word in order to save their souls from damnation after they had died. Similarly, Bryant wants to get the reader to trust the power and grace of nature so that death will be
Virginia Woolf’s essay “Death of the Moth” describes her encounter with a moth as it fights furiously to escape her windowpane before it is claimed by death. The speaker’s first instinct as they intently watch the moth’s struggle is to help it, but as she goes to do so, they realize that the moth is engaged in the same inescapable struggle faced by all living creatures as they try to prevent death from robbing them of life. By witnessing the moth’s death, the speaker is compelled to ponder the philosophical implications that incur within the circular pattern of life and death. She is conscious of death’s omnipotent inevitability, but concludes that the ever-present possibility of death serves as a primary motivational force necessary for life to have value and meaning. Since death cannot be overpowered, the way an individual struggles to survive and preserve life even in its final moments is more valuable than the mundane, meaningless activities pursued with apathy.
A person should live life without fearing death and think of death as a pleasant rest. In the poem Bryant says, "When thoughts/Of the last bitter hour come like a blight/Over thy spirit,"(8-15). This quote implies when a person fears death he should listen to nature. He also states, "So live, that when the thy summons come to join/The innumerable caravans, …Thou go not, like a quarry-slave at night, /Scourged to his dungeon."(73-78). He explains here that a person should live life without fearing death. In the following lines the poet states, "approach thy grave, /Like one who wraps the drapery of his couch/About him, and lies down to pleasant dreams."(79-81). By this quote the author is saying a person should think of death as a plea...
These first person poems explore the subject of death on a figurative level by using metaphors and similes to express their fears or regrets. Through this figurative device, both authors enhance a fear that parallels: dying without fulfilling their poetic capabilities. Such disdain for this fear can be seen through Keats’s expression that his life may cease “before my pen has glean’d my teeming brain, / Before high-piled books, in charactery, / Hold like rich garners in the full ripen’d grain.” (3-5) Similarly, Longfellow states his fear of having “the years slip from me and have not fulfilled / The aspirations of my young, to build / Some tower of song with lofty parape...
The two poems, “Do Not Go Gentle into That Good Night”, by Dylan Thomas and, “Because I Could Not Wait for Death”, by Emily Dickinson, we find two distinct treatments on the same theme, death. Although they both represent death, they also represent it as something other than death. Death brings about a variety of different feelings, because no two people feel the same way or believe the same thing. The fact that our faith is unknown makes the notion of death a common topic, as writers can make sense of their own feelings and emotions and in the process hope to make readers make sense of theirs too. Both Dickinson and Thomas are two well known and revered poets for their eloquent capture of these emotions. The poems both explore death and the
The speaker started the poem by desiring the privilege of death through the use of similes, metaphors, and several other forms of language. As the events progress, the speaker gradually changes their mind because of the many complications that death evokes. The speaker is discontent because of human nature; the searching for something better, although there is none. The use of language throughout this poem emphasized these emotions, and allowed the reader the opportunity to understand what the speaker felt.
“Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard” is a poem composed by Thomas Gray over a period of ten years. Beginning shortly after the death of his close friend Richard West in 1742, “Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard” was first published in 1751. This poem’s use of dubbal entendre may lead the intended audience away from the overall theme of death, mourning, loss, despair and sadness; however, this poem clearly uses several literary devices to convey the author’s feelings toward the death of his friend Richard West, his beloved mother, aunt and those fallen soldiers of the Civil War. This essay will discuss how Gray uses that symbolism and dubbal entendre throughout the poem to convey the inevitability of death, mourning, conflict within self, finding virtue in one’s life, dealing with one’s misfortunes and giving recognition to those who would otherwise seem insignificant.