Monday, November 1, 2010

Thanatopsis Analysis

Literal Meaning:

Nature talks to nature lover and steals his/her thoughts
When you’re feeling sad, go into nature and follow it’s teachings
Nature will reach out to you
You will not die alone because nature will be with you
All people are buried in the same earth
Nature decorates the earth where people are buried.
The sun makes the earth jovial.
One person is only a small part of the population
Seclude yourself- the dead are also there.
If you withdraw from the living, you are with the dead
Everybody living will die at some point.
Life goes on after you die
Everybody will join the dead at some point.
When death comes, relax and accept it

Poetic Devices:
There are many poetic devices which are used in William Cullen Bryant's Thanatopsis, One that sticks out a lot to me is Imagery. There is a ton of imagery in this poem regarding the heavens, nature, and then a large portion about death. It wants you to think death as a peaceful thing and so it refers to beautiful things that surround us our whole life.
There are also metaphors within this poem. They are a little rare, but they do reside within the poem. Bryant compares the last thought of death to a bad omen over your soul in the first stanza for an example. Bryant uses metaphors to put forward an easier way to read, and a recurring thought of death with his metaphors within Thanatopsis.
I do believe that William Cullen Bryant uses a small amount of personification within his writing like when he mentions the valleys and the brook, he says they are respectable and they stretch in silence, which they cannot do.
Bryant uses many similes within this poem. It occurs many times throughout the poem like when he says,"the hills rock ribb'd and ancient like the sun," or, "When thoughts of the last bitter hour come like a blight over thy spirit."
There are also three stanzas within this poem as they all reflect it seems to be different stages of accepting your death.

Figural Meaning:
The meaning of Thanatopsis is very deep. It says that you should accept your death. You should not be afraid because whatever you did on earth is forgotten once you die; you are just another part of the earth like past kings or thieves. Nature will embrace you once you are dead no matter what you have done in your life. So live peacefully and do not think about death.

No comments:

Post a Comment