Bryant was not necessarily a brilliant poet, and certainly not an original one, but that perhaps is what actually made him appealing to so many readers. (We need to keep in mind that in the nineteenth century people actually read poetry for pleasure and entertainment. In a survey done before 1840, the American public identified their two favorite writers as Washington Irving and William Cullen Bryant.) If one's frame of reference for great poetry was the verse produced by someone else--in this case, classical and English poets--then you measure greatness by how close it comes to that frame of reference. True originality can cause problems (as Whitman would find out), because we can't measure it against what we know and with which we are familiar.
So what then made Bryant an American poet? To a large degree because he drew his inspiration from what many in the 18th and 19th century considered to be one of America's most distinct characteristics: its landscape. Certainly in England you couldn't swing a dead cat without hitting a nature poet. But America's nature was different--it was big and dangerous and wild and still populated with wild people. Bryant infuses his poetry with a transcendentalist sensibility, and uses near-biblical cadences in his verse, resulting in poetry that raised the American landscape (and consequently America itself) to a profound level.
Among the Sierra Nevada Mountains - Albert Bierstadt
"Thanatopsis" is considered by many to be what's been called a "proto-Transcendentalist" poem; that is, it's one of the earliest literary expressions of a transcendentalist world-view. The poem is fundamentally a meditation on death--not exactly new material for poetry. Since we're still working out the principles of transcendentalism, we won't approach this poem through the filter of transcendentalism; rather, let's try to understand Bryant's perceptions of death as something that can also help lead us to an understanding of transcendentalism.
The first thing to think about is the nature of God in this poem. Second, notice that while Bryant certainly seems to think that Death is not the end, he also never describes or talks about an after life--at least not the conventional after life. What is the after life for Bryant? Here the key section of the poem is the third stanza (beginning with line 31). Finally, Bryant's point is not to obsess about death; as he tells his reader's in the last stanza "So live...," because death should not be feared. But note that he says nothing in the last stanza about finding comfort in God--God is not mentioned at all. So where does the comfort come from?
Bryant seems to be speaking to the interconnectedness between living things and the earth itself, or actually, the universe. If all are already connected in life, they become even more so in death. Their bodies meld with the earth ("shall go to mix forever with the elements") and feed the continuing, neverending cycle. He seems to imply that being consigned to the earth is the highest honor attainable, one that is earned by every living thing, and so should be a source of comfort. "Yet not to thine eternal resting-place/Shalt thou retire alone, nor coudst thou wish/Couch more magnificent."
ReplyDeleteBefore reading Bryant's poem, "Thanatopsis", I wanted to research the title a bit and see what I came up with. I found that "thantos" refers to death and the suffix "opsis" means literally in sight. My response to that was whether or not this poem was potentially foreshadowing or predicting a death. Were there views of death? I'm not sure if I can come up with a solid answer for that, or one that would have good evidence, but in the beginning of the poem, he goes into a lot of detail about what he may think death could be. He says, "Over the spirit, and sad images, of the stern agony,...and breathless darkness" (2888).
ReplyDeleteI took note of him saying "open sky" and a "still voice" because I believed that maybe those could have been references to his views of death and how Bryant may have felt. With the picture and the way that I perceived it, I looked at the light and the opening of the sky. The light is shining through the opening in the clouds. I viewed this as his comfort with death simply came from knowing that everyone eventually does die. He knows that it's inevitable and is going to accept it for what it is and that one day it will happen to him. That's where the old cliche comes to mind. "Life's too short". "Live life to the fullest". In Bryant's words, he just wants to live his life.
Bryant wants the reader to accept the inevitability of death, but at the same time realize its power is not so much in its certainty, but rather its ability to overshawdow ones life. So, it becomes important for one to live his or her life in a certain manner, that does not facilitate regret, or maybe a better way to say it; avoiding bad karma. Bryant's mention of "Kings and Queens" for example, and the "wise and "good" all succombing to death tends to speak to the significance of the life each individual led prior to death. If one follows their example, he or she should be able to embrace death as just the natural order of things, and in doing so, overcomes it. In this sense, the contention that transcendentalism is grounded in some of the asian religions, especially Hinduism, and even Buddhism is very appropriate. The influence of nature in this poem suggests this, but also, both Hinduism's Brahman, and Buddhism's Nirvana, is attained only when one has reached his or her full potential,and accepted fate, which ultimately, may be the comfort Bryant is alluding to.
ReplyDeleteBryant was capturing the New World through his poetry (although after somber and only standard) and developed it by using great English poets as examples, but it was because he was from America that his poems meant so much to his audience, because they themselves were American and felt they could relate.
ReplyDeleteAs for the role of God in Thanatopsis he can be seen I think through the connection with nature. It is not far fetched to believe that nature and God are seen to go hand and hand, people(his audience) believed that got set down the natural laws at one time and then stood back to watch his work unfold. With that being said when he addresses nature(as a women) I think it is fair to say that it is in connection with God (as a male).
On Death and the after life: In the poem Bryant says, " ...but the solemn decorations all if the great tomb of man." In that Bryant is referring to a place that is just as good as the place you are now. He continues to mention an after life as an act of being "glorious" and "mysterious", but does not use specific names, such as Heaven. But all we honestly know about what he is saying is he find death glorious, so whatever his post death thoughts were they are left for discussion. In my opinion I think he is simply referring to your burial, it is glorious. If you have lived your life like he has said to do that is exactly what your death should be like. He also continues to say that you should not be afraid of it, but in a sense embrace it with "trust." The comfort of your death should come in the fact that you are ready for it, because you know of nature which means in turn you know of God and if you embrace the natural laws (death being one) then you should find comfort that your life has gone according to God's divine plan.
This poem is all about nature and how nice it is. In addition, it is about death and how death is not the worst option. It also offers a peaceful view of death and comfort for the living. Bryant shows his views of death of in this poem, but not directly.
ReplyDeleteBryant views death as part of the return to nature, like death is just another phase of life itself. ``Earth, that nourished thee, shall claim / Thy growth, to be resolved to earth again,” (Bryant 22). Bryant is saying that as a person has lived upon the Earth, the Earth will now live upon that person. The person will live on, but in another way. “Surrendering up / Thine individual being, shalt thou go / To mix forever with the elements,” (Bryant 25). What Bryant is trying to say is that the person goes on living in Nature although each part of the person as an individual is gone. Bryant also tells the reader that he /she will not go to death alone. Everyone who has ever died will already be there. Everyone who has not gone yet will be there eventually. Social class or age does not matter, one thing is shared, and that one thing is death. In that way, all are equal and death becomes the great equalizer.
In Bryant’s poem death is a unifying experience. The comfort in death comes from receiving a final communal peace and unification with the rest of humanity and nature. Death should not be feared because it’s a shared experience that equalizes human race. “All that breathe will share thy destiny” (60), “Yet not to thine eternal resting-place shat thou retire alone” (31).
ReplyDeleteI think the comfort comes from not being alone. Throughout the poem, Bryant mentions that death is a common and natural thing. Everyone dies: the good and the bad, the rich and the poor. “Thou shalt lie down/ With patriarchs of the infant world- with kings,/The powerful of the earth” (33-35). Though God isn’t really mentioned, comfort after death will come from the fellow dead, who clearly outnumber the living. “All that tread/The globe are but a handful to the tribes/That slumber in its bosom” (48-50). Bryant downplays the sadness and terror of dying, relating death to more a pleasant and relaxing experience. He tells us not to worry about people forgetting us because they, too, will join us in the grave. Death is a “mysterious realm,” something to be explored rather than feared.
ReplyDeleteThe comfort comes from knowing that it's not uncommon to die. Everybody does at some point in their life. I think that for Bryant an after life would be being with God. He tells readers not to fear death because it happens and there is nothing you can do about it. It is a peaceful experience and it relieves you from all pain.
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