Romanticism In William Cullen Bryant's Thanatopsis

" This opening sets the tone for the rest of the poem, conveying a sense of melancholy and nostalgia. The poet observes the tree as a symbol of natural beauty and simplicity in contrast

The personification of the sun battling stubborn winter represents individuals resistance to embrace nature and the cycle of life in it’s simplicity. Finally, spring emerges and “the leafy mind, that long was tightly furled/will turn its private substance into green,/ and young shoots spread upon our inner world” (18-20). The leaf is personified to have a mind which becomes active when spring commences. Spring represents new life and the stimulation of the mind, or “inner world”. Roethke uses literary elements to describe an image that creates a metaphor comparing the awakening of nature, from winter to spring, to the awakening of the human sense, from neglected to

As the tone of the speaker becomes more passionate with the connection of the tree throughout the poem, it is evident that this poem shows the related emptiness in the heart but a mind filled with memories, of their loved and recently

There are many tragic reasonings through nature, where it may sadden a person or make a person happy. In the poems “The First Snowfall,” “Thanatopsis,” and “The Chambered Nautilus,” the value of nature is said to be that death is not tragic. In “The First Snowfall,” there is a broad understanding that is given to listeners to analyze that humans cannot care for their loved on who have passed, nature will. In “Thanatopsis” nature has the abilities to make us feel better by lightening out dark thoughts of death allowing us to understand that death is upon all, as we are not alone. In “The Chambered Nautilus” it gives us an understanding that nature remains with us and it tells us to make ourselves better than who we really are.

But, there, the silver answer rang, … ‘not death, but love’ The new birth image of spring establishes her interest in life. The love is making her complete and it reminds us that Barrett Browning is being sustained and made healthy through the love. It is clear she has rejected thoughts of death. “comes the fresh spring in all her green completed” spring is a symbol for new.

Bryant is discussing the afterlife of a human and what they will endure. He explains, “Thine individual being, shalt thou go To mix for ever with the elements, To be a brother to the insensible rock” (0000) Bryant perceives death as a glorious finale to an individual's life. In his poem, nature is connected with human beings in her never ending cycle. Bryant also provides examples of sensational writing in his poem.

The poem states, “...-it is in that split second, when perhaps the roses drink and the clouds form, that I most understand the invisibility of life and the intensity of vanishing, like steam at the slick edges of the mirror, without a trace. (Line 24-29)”, the author relates how the mystifying of nature, which where used to create similes, is not actually a mystery but just how life goes. The selection of detail that explains why or how roses get their water and answer some of the other mystifying previously mentioned is a way for the readers to see the narrator’s thoughts and his coming to peace with the mysteries of the world. The quote relates back to the narrator as he questioned how certain aspects of nature arrived, but realizes that these things are just how life passes on, which the narrator can relate back to his father. Since the father passed away at a young age, the narrator questioned why his father left him at such an early age at the beginning of the poem, but at the end of the poem, he realizes that he can not spend his whole life questioning why things happen because life is something that constantly moves forward.

I love all the metaphors he made in this poem such as the ladder to heaven (apple-picking requires a level which Robert Frost was referring it to the ladder to heaven) and the seasonal interpretation (winter is death and spring is rebirth) that connects to the natural process of decaying and

In the first stanza’s, the narrator’s voice and perspective is more collective and unreliable, as in “they told me”, but nonetheless the references to the “sea’s edge” and “sea-wet shell” remain constant. Later on the poem, this voice matures, as the “cadence of the trees” and the “quick of autumn grasses” symbolize the continuum of life and death, highlighting to the reader the inevitable cycle of time. The relationship that Harwood has between the landscape and her memories allows for her to delve deeper into her own life and access these thoughts, describing the singular moments of human activity and our cultural values that imbue themselves into landscapes. In the poem’s final stanza, the link back to the narrator lying “secure in her father’s arms” similar to the initial memory gives the poem a similar cyclical structure, as Harwood in her moment of death finds comfort in these memories of nature. The water motif reemerges in the poem’s final lines, as “peace of this day will shine/like light on the face of the waters.”

Transitional states of maturity can be challenged or championed by unexpected discoveries which can be confronting or provocative. This is explored through Alice Walker’s 1973 prose fiction, “The Flowers”, as the protagonist’s view on the world is transformed due to the personal zemblanic discovery made. The short story explores the themes of loss of innocence and death in order to address cultural indifference and the prejudice experienced by certain groups within society, which in turn causes individuals to be effected negatively. Walker hopes to evoke sense of political and social reflection in her audience, hoping that intimate discoveries of past inequity by her readers will ensure cultural equity maintains future momentum.

“It was a divine spring; and season contributed greatly to my convalescence” (p.49). From this passage shows that the blooming of plants in the spring, it represents rebirth. Moreover, summer, autumn and winter

Through the words reflecting melancholy and sorrow, we can sense the narrator's self destruction due to the death of the woman he loved. As one examines the figurative language of the poem, one finds that its form and

Between the time period 1800 to 1850, Romanticism was a literature style that many writers wrote about that focused on the celebration of nature, beauty, and imagination, supernatural elements and many other characteristics. However, there was a transition from Romanticism to a new literature movement called Realism due to the Civil War. It began when the North and South had cultural differences that divided them; while the North’s economy was based on industrialization and trade, the South was highly dependent on agriculture and slaves. The contrast between the two sides deepened when Abraham Lincoln promised that he will emancipate slavery. After the long battle, many writers realized that Romanticism did not suit their taste and decided that they preferred to write more honestly and realistically to demonstrate the hardships people faced during the war.

Not to mention how the entirety of the title is a metaphor, little additions and comparisons strategically placed by Hawthorn expose readers to the much deeper meaning to each of the scenes. It is amazing to see Hawthorne’s ability to use metaphor in beautiful ways, such as comparing children to flowers, as well as dark serious ways, such as Chillingworth’s resemblance to Satan. As previously mentioned, there is high importance placed on the underlying meanings of the natural world within the novel. Comparisons to season such as Spring represent growth and plentifulness all while Hawthorne is not afraid to represent suffering and death through relation to the decay or a garden once abandoned. It is common for Hawthorne to use people on the other ends of a metaphor in order to give insight into their true personalities.

The poem, written by Sara Teasdale, was written as a response to World War I. The poem’s main theme is the idea that nature will always outlast humanity.