William Cullen Bryant Examines Nature

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William Cullen Bryant Examines Nature

William Cullen Bryant can very easily be linked to the Transcendentalists. Most of his themes in his writings are concerning the nature of life and the nature of nature. "The Yellow Violet" is an example of a poem about the nature of life. "The Prairies," on the other hand, is an example of the nature of nature. Though these two poems of Bryant's are both about the beautiful world of trees, flowers, and fields, they take on a different perspective of nature itself.

"The Yellow Violet" vividly expresses the nature of life in a very simple way. Bryant takes the cycle of a yellow violet and uses it to describe the humanistic world around him. It is very clever, too, that when he does this, he uses personification. A "modest flower" (2674) pops out from the dark, damp leaves below and "[makes] the woods of April bright" (2675). While the rest of the forests and fields go on with their life cycle this tiny flower does itsí best to make things pretty and happy. The persona describes this sight as an "early smile" (2675) and that is what kept a smile on his own face. Even the various blooms and colors that surface in May are not as joyful because when the violet blooms, it is the first color you see after a long winter of gray. This modesty of the meek flower is compared to that of a person. It's usually the poorer, less known people in the world that are the ones who really cheer you up. They will never let you down. As the persona in the poem points out, "So they, who climb to wealth, forget" (2675). This is the most important line of the entire poem. It is basically saying that those who are wrapped up in material things are just th...wrapped up. They are not dependable. Thus, the yellow violet is the modest person, which are far and few, who you can always count on to stand by you in the end and brighten up your day. This is the illustration of the nature of life.

"The Prairies," however, takes on a little bit of a different perspective. Instead of using nature as a morality lesson, "The Prairies" is more of an account of the way of nature.

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