Thanatopsis and The Bible

A detailed Summary of Thanatopsis and The Bible

In William Cullen Bryant's early nineteenth century poem Thanatopsis, a collage of imagery and ideas surround a central theme of the cycle of life. Within this poem lies a story of great wonder and hope. The story is that of the afterlife in which Bryant conveys a lot of the same ideas of a majestic and heavenly paradise that are present in the Christian Bible. Since Bryant was schooled heavily in theology, is Thanatopsis based on the ideas that the Christian Bible holds of the afterlife?

Bryant immediately introduces his notion of spiritual unity among humans and nature in the first line of the poem.

Communion with her visible forms, she speaks

A various language; for his gayer hours

She has a voice of gladness, and a smile

And eloquence of beauty, and she glides

Into his darker musings, with a mild

And gentle sympathy, that steals away

Their sharpness, ere he is aware (Line 1).

From this opening line of the poem the reader is aware of Bryant's use of metaphorical language to describe the bond in which nature holds with man. According to the first book of Genesis, God created all of nature and delegat

Thanatopsis could possibly be Bryant's take on the cycle of life. Bryant could be trying to explain to himself or another person where a person goes when they die. Bryant tries to dissuade one of fearing death throughout the poem. He describes the glorious afterworld in a way that would make a man most afraid of death, embrace it with open arms. However Bryant does not describe post death status in Thanatopsis. All we know from Bryant's view is that the afterlife is glorious, so maybe he is not referring to the same heaven as the Bible does. He could be praising the brilliance of life and death and the organisms that take part in the cycle. Or maybe Thanatopsis is a therapeutic work for Bryant himself. Maybe this is a reflection of hope that Bryant used to overcome his own fear of death.

ed some of his authority over it to the human race. He gave humans the promise of protection and forgiveness in return for the service of watching over his creation. This is what Bryant affirms to be the "Communion" in which man holds with nature. Since nature is the circumstance for human existence, humans see it as glorious as well as comforting in times of trouble. No matter how lonely,

Some common words found in the essay are:
Thanatopsis Bryant, Christian Bible, Bible Bryant, Genesis God, Thanatopsis Bryant's, Bryant Maybe, Bible Thanatopsis, Cullen Bryant's, christian bible, bible bryant, throughout poem, Thanatopsis Bible, christian bible bryant, thanatopsis bryant's, bryant describes, death resurrection, afterlife bryant, line poem, god created, nature holds,

Approximate Word count = 798
Approximate Pages = 3 (250 words per page double spaced)

Category: English

join now Save Paper

Saved Paper

Save your papers so you can locate them quickly!

Newest Essays

Testimonials

"Thank You So Much!!! You have saved me once again!!!"
Jack M.
"With so many papers to chose from, I was able to get ideas to help me with all of my classes. Thank You!"
Brian P.
"I've used this site for the last 3 years to help me come up with ideas for my papers."
Sara J.
"I use this site every week to help me write my own papers!"
Rachel W.
"I love this site!!!"
Marie N.

Thanatopsis and The Bible

Related Essays

Saved Paper

Newest Essays

Testimonials