Nature In William Bryant's 'Thanatopsis And To A Waterfowl'

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Recommended: The role of nature in modern literature

Dan Blouin
Mrs. Bernard
Period 2
March 12, 2014
The Guide For Humanity
Nature can be described as being odd, it can even be described as being distracting. Nature can be used to help with things in life such as medicine, but William Cullen Bryant uses nature in a different way that people usually do not see it. He uses nature to guide humanity through some of his darkest hours. In William Cullen Bryant’s “Thanatopsis” and “To A Waterfowl”, Bryant promotes extended metaphors in order to show nature as being a guide for humanity.
In “Thanatopsis” Bryant gives nature a healing sympathy towards humanity when he needs it most. When humanity is having bad thoughts about death nature tries to help him feel better about it. Bryant wrote "She glides/ Into his darker musings, with a mild/ And healing sympathy" ("Thanatopsis" 5-7). The dark thoughts that he has nature tries to get into his mind to make him forget about those thoughts and just live his life. Nature also wants humanity to feel happy and to not worry about things such as death. Nature tells him that death is apart of life and to not worry. Bryant wrote "Approach thy grave/ Like one who wraps the drapery of his couch/ About him, and lies down to pleasant dreams" ("Thanatopsis" 79-81). When it comes for humanity to approach its grave he will lie down with nothing but pleasant dreams of its life that just passed and nature will take care of him while he is in his resting place. Nature cares for humanity and she does not want him to have dark thoughts and worry about death because it is natural for living things to die.
In “To A Waterfowl” Bryant uses a bird as a symbol of hope for humanity. The bird helps humanity know that even though he has dark thoughts he will be okay in th...

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... a teacher like figure for humanity rather than a friend. Nature shows humanity that the dark thoughts he encounters should be ignored and he should just live life to the fullest.
In William Cullen Bryant’s “Thanatopsis” and “To A Waterfowl”, Bryant promotes extended metaphors in order to show nature as being a guide for humanity. Nature guides humanity to show him that the dark thoughts are normal. Nature also shows him that death is a natural thing and that when it happens he will not have to worry because he will be safe.

Works Cited
Huff, Randall. ""Thanatopsis"." Bloom's Literature. Facts On File, Inc. Web. 19 Mar. 2014 .

Netishen, Jessica and Brenna Rose, ed. American Literature from Colonialism to Modernism. Burlington: Burlington Public Schools, 2013. Print.

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