When I first started to read this poem, it kind of made me sad. Just from the first couple lines it made me think about death. I hate thinking about death. Like when Bryant wrote, "She has a voice of gladness, and a smile 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. When thoughts Of the last bitter hour come like a blight Over thy spirit, and sad images Of the stern agony, and shroud, and pall, And breathless darkness, and the narrow house, Make thee to shudder, and grow sick at heart;(Bryant 4-13). This made me cringe when I first read it because I haven't read a lot of stories having to do with death, but this had kept me interested. I looked up what Thanatopsis really meant and I read that it meant "View of Death" (Huff). That title when you translate it in English it really does make sense because he does talk about death and what his view was.
In his poem he talks about death and how we should not be afraid of having to die. I can see now why we did a journal on the cycle of life and death because he makes said it in his poem. He basically said that when you die you become a part of nature. And that is what the cycle of life and death is, when you die you become a part of the earth. Huff had a great quote on it and this is what he said, "once dead you eventually will be on terms of total equality with the richest, wisest, and most beautiful people who ever lived, and the whole earth in all its glory can be viewed as your collective crypt" (Huff). This is saying what I just said up before the quote. He is talking about death and how you become a part of nature and the world. Basically throughout Bryant's poem he is saying dying does not have to be a sad occasion, but not a happy occasion either, it is just supposed to have some attention and understanding. Also throughout his poem he says that people were created from the Earth and that once they die they become part of the earth. So that relates to the whole cycle of life and death theme.
Another great quote I found from the poem, "The golden sun, The planets, all the infinite host of heaven, Are shining on the sad abodes of death, Through the still lapse of ages. All that tread The globe are but a handful to the tribes That slumber in its bosom" (Bryant 45-50). This is just another example as to how Bryant compared the nature of the world to death. He made me think of death in a different way that I thought of it before. It really did not change my view of death, but it made me think about it. This poem really went through the cycle of life and death.
In his poem he talks about death and how we should not be afraid of having to die. I can see now why we did a journal on the cycle of life and death because he makes said it in his poem. He basically said that when you die you become a part of nature. And that is what the cycle of life and death is, when you die you become a part of the earth. Huff had a great quote on it and this is what he said, "once dead you eventually will be on terms of total equality with the richest, wisest, and most beautiful people who ever lived, and the whole earth in all its glory can be viewed as your collective crypt" (Huff). This is saying what I just said up before the quote. He is talking about death and how you become a part of nature and the world. Basically throughout Bryant's poem he is saying dying does not have to be a sad occasion, but not a happy occasion either, it is just supposed to have some attention and understanding. Also throughout his poem he says that people were created from the Earth and that once they die they become part of the earth. So that relates to the whole cycle of life and death theme.
Another great quote I found from the poem, "The golden sun, The planets, all the infinite host of heaven, Are shining on the sad abodes of death, Through the still lapse of ages. All that tread The globe are but a handful to the tribes That slumber in its bosom" (Bryant 45-50). This is just another example as to how Bryant compared the nature of the world to death. He made me think of death in a different way that I thought of it before. It really did not change my view of death, but it made me think about it. This poem really went through the cycle of life and death.
Bibliography
Bryant, William Cullen. "16. Thanatopsis." Bartleby.com. Web. 28 Nov. 2011
Huff, Randall. "Thanatopsis." The Facts On File Companion to American Poetry, vol. 1. New York: Facts On File, Inc., 2007. Bloom's Literary Reference Online. Facts On File, Inc.
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