“Thanatopsis”By

William Cullen Bryant

Complete the Following Sentences that are Underlined Below.

• Death is the beginning of loneliness. I agree / disagree because...

• Death is compared to sleep. I agree / disagree because...

• The young and the old will have the same fate. I agree / disagree because...

• All mankind should dread death. I agree / disagree because...

William Cullen Bryant

• 1794-1878• Was a young lawyer

when “Thanatopsis” first appeared

• Inspired by the romantic lyrics of William Wordsworth

• Observations of nature evoke feelings of self

• Father of American Poetry

Based on the Title & the Questions, what do you think this poem is going

to be about?•Maybe humans should live in

harmony with nature...•Temporary state of life on earth•Rejoice in the immortality of nature•YOU MUST WRITE DOWN ONE (1)

OPINION, IN ORDER TO RECEIVE CREDIT FOR THESE NOTES!

Thanatopsis Means

•From the Greek word: Thanatos = Death

•Suffix: opsis = sight•Often translated as View of Death

Thanatopsis• Voice:

~2nd Person (you)

• Speaker: ~William Cullen Bryant = Poet

Mood & Tone• Mood: Consoling• 3 Examples from

the poem of the mood:1. “and eloquence of Beauty & she glides”2. “The planets, all the infinite hosts of heaven”3. “All that breathe will share thy Destiny”

• Tone: Somber & Compassionate

• 3 Examples from the poem of the tone: 1. “and eloquence of Beauty & she glides”2. “The planets, all the infinite hosts of heaven”3. “All that breathe will share thy Destiny”

Thanatopsis• Romantic Poem:

~He found his answers in nature & through observing nature

• Poem Form:~Blank Verse – lines don’t rhyme, lines have same number of syllables & a regular rhythm

Theme•Subject: Human Life on Earth &

Earthly Nature•Theme: (author’s opinion on the

subject)~By living in harmony w/ nature, & realizing that all must come to an end, rather than fear it, one can come to accept death as a restful sleep.

Literary Elements• Metaphor: a comparison of two

unlike things NOT USING the words as, like, than, or resembles.~ “Old Ocean's grey and melancholy waste,-- /Are but the solemn decorations all /Of the great tomb of man.”

• Personfication: giving human-like qualities / attributes to something that is non-human~ “…Nature holds / Communion with her visible forms, she speaks /A various language;” Nature = She (a caring mother).

Literary Elements• Imagery: creating a picture in the

reader’s head by appealing to more than 1 of the 5 senses~ “So shalt thou rest: and what if thou withdraw / In silence from the living, and no friend / Take note of thy departure? / All that breathe / Will share thy destiny.”~ “And to the sluggish clod, which the rude swain / Turns with his share, and treads upon. The oak / Shall send his roots abroad, and pierce thy mould.”

Literary Elements• Simile: A comparison of 2 unlike things by using the

words as, like, than, or resembles.~ “Thou go not, like the quarry-slave at night, / Scourged by his dungeon; but, sustain'd and soothed / By an unfaltering trust, approach thy grave, / Like one who wraps the drapery of his couch / About him, and lies down to pleasant dreams.”

• Irony: when the opposite of what is expected happens.~ “Of ages glides away, the sons of men, / The youth in life's green spring, and he who goes / In the full strength of years, matron and maid, / The speechless babe, and the gray-headed man-- / Shall one by one be gathered to thy side / By those who in their turn shall follow them.”

~The poem has a somber tone, yet encourages one to live life fully and glorifies death.

Shifts in the Poem•Poem shifts from a Somber

tone to one of Comfort at line 73:

~ “So live, that when thy summons comes to join / The innumerable caravan which moves”