Nature, during the Renaissance era provided inspiration and a feeling of higher enlightenment for many of the authors who wrote poetry and biographies during this period. William Cullen Bryant, a poet from this period was deeply inspired by nature. His poems reflect a close relationship with nature and he uses this relationship to craft the ideas in his poetry from his observations. Bryant’s poem Thanatopsis reflects his feelings towards nature along with his dark feelings on death. These views and feelings within the poem are used to show death being more of a process that will include a journey with nature. From a literature analysis point of view Bryant’s poem is unique. His poem, however, relating back to death does not embrace religious …show more content…
Transcendence meaning to change form or to become something different then you once where and this can be spiritual or physical transcendence. Thanatopsis utilizes ideas of both a spiritual and a physical transcendence. The spiritual transcendence being the idea that nature is speaking and teaching the person as they going through the death process, which means that nature has now taken on a quality that is now not just a visual and physical part of someone’s everyday life but now a spiritual part because nature has been given the qualities that could be described as those that a being would have. This idea is also supported by E. Miller Budick who in his critical essay states that Bryant’s “contemplation of death, imitates the Romantic vison by which man in enables to both conserve and transcend the images of nature and the mind. ( Budick). This idea of transcendence within the poem being the idea that when we die we will be a part of nature not only in the physical remains that are left from out former self but also the spiritual being within ourselves will now be a part of this larger spiritual being which is nature. Bryant states transcendence ideas within his poem when he …show more content…
Budick, the author discusses transcendentalism within the poem as well as how the images described within the poem relate back to transcendentalism. The way in which I have incorporated this source into my research essay is by using it to support my argument on nature being sympathetic to individuals as well as how transcendentalism is used in the poem.
Mclean, Albert F. William Cullen Bryant. New York: Twayne publisher Inc, 1964. Print.
Albert Mclean’s Book William Cullen Bryant. Analysis many of Bryant’s poems including Thanatopsis. His book not only talks about Bryant’s poems but it also talks about a little about Bryant’s life as well as some of his ideas on writing and how the public viewed his poems. This source I used in my essay to argue the sermon like tone that Thanatopsis has as well as the use of plain style, the meaning of plain style, and how that structure is used within the poem.
Muller, Guilber H. William Cullen Bryant. New York: State University of New York Press, 2008. Print
Guilbert’s book William Cullen Bryant give a great amount of detail on Bryant’s life from and his accomplishments. I used this source within my paper to give some details about Bryant’s life such as his love for nature and background information about him growing up
Jon Krakauer, Chris McCandless, and Henry David Thoreau embrace the true ideology of transcendentalism in their writings. Transcendentalism is the belief that people can spiritually grow by becoming one with nature. They believe, however, that they do not need things of this world to do so. Between their stories, we can clearly see the parallels between McCandless’s life and Thoreau’s life.
Transcendentalism is a religious, philosophical, literary, and social movement of the nineteenth century. Essentially, this movement was based upon the ideals of the “sixth sense,” nature, and non-conformity, as well as individualism, intuition, idealism, imagination, and inspiration. A few of the works featured in the transcendental unit include Into the Wild by Jon Krakauer, Song of Myself by Walt Whitman, and Walden by Ralph Waldo Emerson. The primary focus of this essay is to provide an opinion on a strikingly debatable topic; Whether or not Christopher McCandless, hero of Krakauer’s Into the Wild, was a true transcendentalist. Despite the bold actions of Chris McCandless on his daring Alaskan odyssey, he turned out to be far from a true transcendentalist, failing to meet the definition of transcendentalism, being solely concerned with himself, and acting out of revenge rather than seeking self discovery - nothing more than a childish suicidal rebel.
In the William Cullen Bryant's "Thanatopsis, we see a romantic trait of nature, where the poem states that nature has a voice of gladness and eloquence of beauty. This excerpt, "The golden sun, the planets, all the infinite host of heaven are shining on the sad abodes of death," is a good example of being a part of nature. Another good example is, "Earth that nourished thee shall claim Thy growth." Nature is described as a
Transcendentalism is a popular 19th century philosophy that is vividly expressed through out John Krakauer’s Into the Wild and Henry David Thoreau’s Walden. Transcendentalism has three major themes: self-wisdom, nature and its meaning, and social reform. Into the Wild is a true story about a young man named Chris McCandless who seems to live a life based on transcendental beliefs. Krakauer’s studies of McCandless and Thoreau’s story with Walden both present ideas of Transcendentalism in many ways.
Why would Bryant pair the images of a woman with earth, and death with a pleasant sleep? It would not make since unless you view the poem from the correct time period, and then the purpose and themes of the poem become clear. Transcendentalism started in the 1820’s and 1830’s, right when William would be writing this poem. Promoting the rejection of the Theistic God and the love of nature, transcendentalism obviously had an impact on young Bryant’s mind. In Thanatopsis nature takes a lead role as a God like figure to take us when we die, and to take our hopes, dreams, and sorrows. So going back to the earth would be an honor, which is exactly how he expresses it in the poem. He views going back to the “Earth Mother” as the ultimate goal. His
Transcendentalism, as described and asserted by Emerson, has been a very controversial topic during the twenty-first-century. The country as it is now is more technologically advanced and educated than ever; seeking transcendentalism is now more difficult than ever. With commodities such as cell phones, computers, and the Internet, most would not think of seeking out the values in nature
First, tone is a very important aspect of the poem “Thanatopsis.” While reading the poem, the reader may feel a slight change in the tone of the poem. At first the poem seems as though it were about nature and its beauty. For example, in the poem Bryant writes “She has a voice of gladness, and a smile/And eloquence of beauty, and she
During the 19th century, the en plein-air paintings were introduced to many artists. Since that,natural light became particular important to the Hudson River School. Also, art and literature were constantly entwined, such as American Romanticism. Significant individuals became familiar with one another’s work, resulting in inspiration that led to creative works that pay homage to another artists’ work. For instance, Asher Brown Durand’s Landscape-Scene From “Thanatopsis” was inspired by the romantic poet William Cullen Bryant, whose work was influenced by the multifaceted cultural creations. Both Bryant and Durand investigated the themes of men, nature, individualism, and the inner and after lives. Through detailing natural elements that emphasized the life cycle, Durand created literary art by paying tributed to Bryant’s “Thanatopsis”.
“Transcendentalism […] has primarily much the position of the sun […] We are conscious of it as of a kind of splendid confusion […] But the circle of the moon is as clear and unmistakable, as recurrent and inevitable, as the circle of Euclid on a blackboard” (Chesterton, 24). These words encapsulate the driving rationale of the anti-transcendentalist argument – that although individuals seek transcendentalism, they can never truly realize it, or, to compare with the sun, see it. Rather, they inevitably place attention on the “moon,” the perspicuous reflection of transcendentalism – that is, individualism – and neglect the responsibilities of society. Emerson institutes the philosophy of transcendentalism in his essay, Nature, teaching that divinity pervades all nature and humanity. Although transcendentalists would offer that man can only better his spiritual life by embracing individualism, pursuing the ideal, and being one with nature, the ability and appeal of transcendentalism to advance enlightenment upon the soul of the individual rests on the false suppositions that feckless man can achieve perfection and that nature embodies God, thus causing transcendentalism to conversely detriment the spiritual life of the individual, isolating him, prescribing his rebellion, and invigorating his selfish pursuits, simply because he confides his soul in creation instead of the Creator (Tocqueville, 482).
People around the world and throughout time have always had an idea of spirituality. The spirit has been thought of as an essential part of human nature. The evidence is in the common culture of religions in the world. The soul is the essence of humanity and spirituality is the condition of one’s soul. Spirituality is the condition of a consciousness. One answer to creating this essential growth in spirituality is Transcendentalism. Transcendentalism is the rebellion of one’s soul against the societal laws that humanity upholds. It is the integrity of a being and the healing of a scarred mind through nature. Ralph Waldo Emerson was a major figure in transcendentalist literature and wrote two separate essays, one being named “Self-Reliance”, and the other “Nature”. Spiritual growth of all kinds is motivated by these transcendentalist impulses, shown through literary impressions and comparisons, mainly through Emerson, around the themes of self-reliance, poetic nature, and the influence of that nature on the soul.
“If a person wished to know what transcendentalism was he should empty his mind of everything coming from tradition and the rest would be transcendentalism” (Boller 34). This literary period has dramatically shaped literature and religion, in America. Many writers like Henry David Thoreau and Emily Dickinson have been influence by transcendental ideas. It is astonishing how an inspiring literature movement can change so much of the world’s view and still is around today.
One of the themes that is frequently seen on transcendentalism poems and essays is individuality. Following one’s intuition and doing what is true to you is something that the writers of transcendentalism try to stress in their writings. In a society where you seem to have to follow the trends and ideas that have been put forth by other people, following your own thoughts even if they do not seem to be what is expected of you is something that is very important to people. Although Transcendentalism was a movement that happened a long time ago, the poems and writings of the transcendentalism authors can still be interpreted into our society.
His most famous poem, “Thanatopsis”, was written when he was only seventeen years old. Because he was so young when he initially composed the work, it had to be edited many times throughout his life. Bryant’s first poem “Thanatopsis”, gave birth to American poetry; if not the best-known American poem of the romanticism era, it was one of the most influential and well-known poems of the time. William Cullen Bryant was born on November 3, 1794, in a small town called Cummington, Massachusetts. His Father, Dr. Peter Bryant, was a physician and a surgeon who moved to Cummington only two years before the birth of William.
In the poem “Song of Myself” Whitman presents the idea that regardless of particular religion, a higher power resides within every living thing and that the knowledge of ourselves and the living things around us gives us a transcendent power beyond our world. On the “Song of Myself” poem Whitman presents the believe that every living organism in the universe possesses a spirit. Additionally, Whitman acknowledges the need for a spiritual relationship between a person and a higher spiritual power. For Whitman, life was and endless journey. The following quote captures some of the Transcendental elements used by Walt Whitman on the “Song of Myself”
His poem is an overall statement on the state of humanity’s relationship with God—or lack of relationship. Hopkins tone seemed to be sorrowful about the separation from nature, but joyful about the potential for resolution.