At first glance, the poem "Thanatopsis" by William Cullen Bryant seems to be a depressing poem. The word thanatopsis actually comes from the Greek word "thanatos", which means a meditation on death (define thanatopsis). So it would be very logical to assume that "Thanatopsis" would be a very morose poem about death that is very depressing. In this poem, much of the poem makes references to nature, uses nature in many analogies, and the poem in general is about death, which is a very natural thing. Knowing that the poem has many things to do with nature, is one way to identify that it is romanticism writing (Appleby). The poem starts off by telling of a man who is extremely worried about dying. In fact, the man is not simply worried about dying, he is utterly riveted by the thought of it and awaits this tragedy with extreme anxiety. Bryant says of the man,
"When thoughts
Of the last bitter hour come like a blight
Over thy spirit, and sad images
Of the stern agony, and shroud, and pall,
And breathless darkness, and the narrow house,
Make thee to shudder, and grow sick at heart;"
(Bryant, lines 8-13). It is in line ten that we realize the author is no longer talking about some man, but he is referencing the reader of the poem. He is saying that thoughts of death has come like a blight, or disease, to our souls (Shmoop). After the author addresses that he is talking to us, the readers of the poem, he goes into more detail of the things of dying that we fear. He even talks about being trapped in the "breathless darkness" of a coffin (Bryant, line 12) (Shmoop).
The first portion of the poem seems scary and can come across as being gloomy, but like I said earlier, "Thanatopsis" only seems to be a depressing poem at first glance. In line twenty-two, the poem starts to show a mild turn around. The author starts discussing what happens to our bodies after we die. He says that after we each lose what makes us human, we "mix forever with the elements" (Bryant, line 26). This means that after we die, our bodies are buried in the ground, and we become one with the earth. To some, this may not seem like a mild turn around in the poem, this may seem creepy and even more frightening. But during the time period in which this was written, the people reading this poem would have actually felt a certain peace about knowing that even after they die, they can contribute to nature and become one with nature (Appleby).
The main portion of this poem is about thinking of death and that everything, leads the author to think of death. He even goes as far to say
"The golden sun,
The planets, all the infinite host of heaven,
Are shining on the sad abodes of death"
(Bryant, lines 45-47). Even the sun reminds the author of death (Shmoop). Again, you may question my opinion about this poem not being depressing, but do not fear, with line seventy-three comes hope! In lines seventy-three through seventy-nine, the author challenges a call to action. He challenges us all to live! He states that all of us will die, that is a fact, so why don't we spend our time here on this earth living to our full potential! (Bryant, lines 71-79). In the closing lines of the poem, Bryant says,
"By an unfaltering trust, approach thy grave
Like one who wraps the drapery of his couch
About him, and lies down to pleasant dreams"
(Bryant, lines 79-81). After working us up through the entire poem, the author ends on a rather soothing note, saying that we should approach our death like someone wrapped up in a blanket ready for a happy sleep filled with pleasant dreams (Shmoop).
Shmoop Editorial Team. "Thanatopsis Summary"Shmoop.com. Shmoop University, Inc., 11 Nov. 2008. Web. 10 Dec. 2011.
"16. Thanatopsis. William Cullen Bryant. Yale Book of American Verse."Bartleby.com: Great Books Online -- Quotes, Poems, Novels, Classics and Hundreds More. Web. 10 Dec. 2011. .
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