Thanatopsis And The Tide Falls Analysis

Nature is a beautiful thing. No matter where a person is or where they go, nature is all around them. In all parts of nature a lesson is given to expand the knowledge and growth as a person. The texts Thanatopsis by William Cullen Bryant, Nature by Ralph Waldo Emerson, and The Tide Rises, The Tide Falls by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow are examples of this. The three authors talk about how nature makes a person become more self-aware, and in these texts the authors explore the beauty of nature, but the effect on the person from learning from nature differs throughout each. Throughout these texts, there are metaphors that demonstrate how nature allows a person to become more self-aware. One example is in Thanatopsis “Thy image. Earth, that

Thanatopsis shows a great example of this. Bryant portrayed beauty by personifying nature. Bryant states, “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” (Bryant 5-8). Nature’s beauty can help a person become a happier and more calm. Bryant personifies nature to explain the Earth’s beauty and how it is able to give a feeling of peace and calmness. In Nature, Emerson also shows examples of nature and its beauty. “I am the lover of uncontained and immortal beauty. In the wilderness, I find something more dear and connate than in streets or villages” (Emerson 16-18). Emerson shows that the wilderness has a different kind of eloquence of beauty than a person can find in a street or village. A person can not explore the fullness of nature in the streets or villages, that person must get away and explore the depths of nature. Also, The Tide Rises, The Tide Falls shows beauty along the beach. “The mornings breaks; the steeds in their stalls/ Stamp and neigh, as the hostler calls; The day returns” (Longfellow 11-13). The sunrise in the mornings and the sight and noises from the horses are another part of exploring the different beauties of nature. Nature is capable of making something more appealing to the eye. The actions of the horses and hostler are more beautifully connected

In Thanatopsis Bryant claims that, “Thou shalt lie down/ With patriarchs of the infant world- with kings,/ The powerful of the earth- the wise, the good” (Bryant 33-34). Bryant shows people that when a person dies, they lie down with everyone else who has died no matter what title they have. This can make people feel like they can end in a good place and that they are good enough to lay down by higher titled people. Unlike Thanatopsis, Nature has a different effect on a person. “In the woods, we return to reason and faith” (Emerson 9). Emerson shows that the nature in the woods makes people have faith and make them feel like there is a purpose or a reason. On the other hand, The Tide Rises, The Tide Falls gives a completely different effect on people. “The little waves, with their soft white hands,/ Efface the footprints in the sands” (Longfellow 8-9). Longfellow uses personification to teach the people that eventually nature erases the impact a person has. This affects the people because a person may read that and will quit trying to make an impact on people or things, or they may try harder to make the impact last