Thanatopsis By William Cullen Bryant

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William Cullen Bryant wrote “Thanatopsis” at the very young age of seventeen. The word thanatopsis is defined as, “a view or contemplation of death.” It surprised me when I learned that he had written such a deep and detailed poem about nature and death when he was my age. I had to read the poem a couple of times before I even began to understand Bryant’s wording and what he meant by it all. Within the first 10 lines of the poem, Bryant personifies nature. He makes you feel as if nature is the most loving and comforting person. “She has a voice of gladness, and a smile And eloquence of beauty, and she glides Into his darker musings, with a mild And healing sympathy, that steals away Their sharpness, ere he is aware.” (Line 4-8) He describes

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