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Thanatopsis Transcendentalism

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The theme cultivated in “thanatopsis” by William Cullen Bryant is that people should approach death with tranquility. Bryant achieves this theme by utilizing imagery, allusion, and rhythm. The poem encourages people to “live, (so) that when thy summons comes to join...thy grave” they feel peace at death after enjoying the time they had alive (73). The aforementioned literary devices are accompanied with this idea to provide a sense of comfort to assist in communicating the theme. Imagery is a prominent device used by Bryant in “Thanatopsis.” The immense amount of imagery found is used to intricately detail the wonders of nature. Bryant describes “the hills rock-ribbed and ancient as the sun, -- the vales stretching in pensive quietness between; the venerable woods -- rivers… and the brooks that make the meadows green” (37-42). The inclusion of such descriptions is imperative to create a sense of calm, which helps to support the theme that people should approach death with tranquility. Nature is heavily described to create serenity because nature is often associated with peace and happiness, especially by transcendentalists, like Bryant himself. …show more content…

More than just transcendentalists find religion to be a strong anchor of peacefulness, which is why Bryant incorporated religious allusions to further support his theme. Bryant wrote that when an individual immerses himself in nature, in nature “comes a still voice” (17). That voice is the voice of God. Furthermore, Bryant mentions Communion and “the infinite host of heaven” to continue his allusion to religion. Peacefulness in instilled through his continuation of religious allusion, which makes it an essential component in solidifying the theme of approaching death with

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