Thanatopsis - Reflection Blog

Well, I do have to admit that this poem is kind of depressing. However, I did find it interesting enough. First of all, you can tell that it is going to be depressing right from the start because the word "Thanatopsis" translates to "Mediation of Death" or "View of Death. (Huff). Basically, in this poem William Cullen Bryant talks about his view on death and how one should not necessarily be afraid of it. He first starts out talking and saying things about "the last bitter hour" and "the narrow house. (Bryant lines 9-12). That is why at first, this poem seems pretty depressing. I kept thinking to myself, "I really hope the whole poem isn't like this." But then, it gets a little better because I actually start seeing what maybe Bryant's whole point was. At this point, the poem gets a little less upsetting and a little more thoughtful. After, talking about the normal kind of scary death talk, Bryant starts to talk about how he thinks we should look at it. He actually makes a really interesting point that I have never ever thought of before. He talks about how even though we may be scared and lonely, that we do not have to be scared and lonely by ourselves, but rather we will be laid next to many of the most famous and intelligent people.

Shalt thou retire alone, nor couldst thou wish
Couch more magnificent. Thou shalt lie down
With patriarchs of the infant world,—with kings,

The powerful of the earth, - the wise, the good,

Fair forms, and hoary seers of ages past, (Bryant lines 32-36)

I do have to admit that I have never thought of death in that way before at all and I find it really interesting how he looked at it in this way. I like it though, because William Bryant tells you to not be afraid of death but rather look at it like him and think about how close you get to be to some of those people. He also talks about how we should at least be thankful because it is better to be buried in the ground after a full life than "the speechless babe" you did not have enough time (Bryant line 70). Basically, William Bryant says that we should be strong in whatever faith we have and live well, for we will all be in the ground all together anyway one day.

Bryant, William Cullen. "16. Thanatopsis." Bartleby.com. Web. 23 Nov. 2011.

Huff, Randall. "'Thanatopsis'." The Facts On File Companion to American Poetry, vol. 1. New York: Facts On File, Inc., 2007. Bloom's Literary Reference Online. Facts On File, Inc. Web. 23 Nov. 2011.