Discussion of Thanatopsis` by William Cullen Bryant

William Cullen Bryant's famous poem "Thanatopis" literally means a view of death. This poem is one of the classics about death as it offers a peaceful view of death, comfort for the living, and no matter what a person's religious beliefs, the poem is still applicable.

"Thanatopsis" 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). This quote explains 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). What is meant in this quote is that the person goes on living in Nature although each part of the person as an individual is gone.

"Thanatopsis" also tells the reader that he/she will not go to death alone. Everyone who has ever died will already be there. Everyone who hasn't gone yet will be there eventually. Social class or age do not matter; we all share one thing, and that one thing is death. In that way, we are all equal and death becomes the great equalizer.

"Thanatopsis" also provides comfort for the living. "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" This statement provides comfort for the living as well. For those who seemingly have no one in life, they will not be alone in death. No person ever wants a friend or family member to suffer or to be alone, and Bryant tells us that no person will ever be alone. It is much easier to let someone go in this case.

The real beauty of the poem is that it provides comfort to a person no matter what his/her religious beliefs are. If the reader is an agnostic or atheist, the poem views death as just all part of the cycle of Nature. We return to nature. If the reader is Christian, the poem becomes a split between body and soul. The body returns to Nature, and there is no mention of the soul or spirit. The spirit can be seen as going anywhere because there is no mention of it. So this poem is absolutely able to translated to Christianity. In fact, Bryant purposely rejected Puritanism in this poem in favor of a more open and accepting Unitarianism. In fact, if the reader is Buddhist, the return to Nature can be seen as reincarnation. Therefore the poem is in sync with many different religions.

The wonderful way that Bryant views death gives the living and the dying much comfort in the process. In the end, death is like lying down on the couch and drifting off to sleep. It is painless and easy. Bryant also gives the reader advice on how to live life so that there is no need to regret death or to be afraid of it. The poem can provide comfort to any person of any religion and according to William Long provides an appreciation of nature that we cannot forget.

Works Cited

William Cullen Bryant. Retrieved November 24, 2007 at Web Site: http://www.msu.edu/~cloudsar/thanatop.htm

Thanatopis. Retrieved November 24, 2007 at Web Site: http://www.cs.rice.edu/~ssiyer/minstrels/poems/302.html

Long, William J. Outlines of English and American Literature. Retrieved November 24, 2007 at Web Site: http://www.humanitiesweb.org/human.php?s=l&p=c&a=b&ID=48