Friday, September 21, 2012
Thanatopsis
Please review some of your favorite lines in Bryant's "Thanatopsis". Then use those lines to compare to other pieces of literature (poetry, short stories, novels, or non-fiction) that can be connected in some way. You will be putting your analysis of the lines by relating them to other literature. Good Luck! This should be fun!
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Thanatopsis by William Cullen Bryant confused me the first time I read it. I had to read it again because I didn’t understand it the first time through. When I reread it, I realized that it was relating to how he was viewing his death. It shows the harsh realities of death and then switches to a more comforting view of it.
ReplyDeleteLine 20 says “Where the pale form was laid, with many tears.” This continues with a longer sentence, but I wanted to focus on this line in particular. It shows how someone who has died is laid to rest with many tears. No matter the age or person tears are always shed. This reminds me of Night by Elie Wiesel. This book is about the lives of Jews during WWII in the Holocaust. So many tears were shed because of their deaths. The sad part about this was that most people weren’t laid to rest. This could have possibly made their deaths even harder for their surviving families because the dead were not given a proper burial. Another line that I think relates to this piece of literature is in line number 13 where it says “Make thee to shudder, and grow sick at heart.” To me I feel like this line explains the Holocaust. The things that happened during that time really do make a person shudder and make their hearts sick. Just thinking about all those affected makes my heart hurt for them.
Lines 40-43 remind me of a book we recently read for AP Environmental Science “The venerable woods-rivers that move In majesty, and the complaining brooks That make the meadows green;and, poured round all.” The book was called Tracking the Vanishing Frogs. It mostly had to do with nature and how beautiful it really is when it is taken care of correctly. These verses show that nature is beautiful and venerable. Something that is venerable is respected, just like how our environment is usually respected. The verses here may be showing that like the environment is respected, so are those who have died.
I agree with your referral to the book "Night". Your explanation of that particular quote that went along with it really helped make it clear to me. It was probably a lot harder for those people because they didn't have a proper burial at all. Tears show a lot of emotion. You are right, tears are often shed at death. It is almost not possible for someone not to cry over a death. I also did part of my blog on the holocaust and you made some points that I didn't make. That was a very emotional time that hopefully we never go through again.
DeleteRachel, I definitely agree with your input about line 20 pertaining to the Holocaust and how many of the victims were not put to rest. They died in a very harsh way that should be remembered by all. It did indeed make their families feel very sad about their deaths knowing that they didn't even deserve to die. The Holocaust was a very dreadful piece of American History and I think you did a great job on comparing this type of literature to the historical happenings of the Holocaust. All in all, a great job.
DeleteRachel, I had a very hard time understanding the poem as well and had to read it over a couple times. I think that both you and Leah made good points when you compared them to the Holocaust and the events like that. Tears I feel are something that just goes with death. Some people might not even have anything to do with eh death of someone but just the fact that seeing people that upset will make just about anyone cry. I could not even imagine what it must have been like to be living during WWII and to have to find out that the rest of your family died in concentration camps or facilities along those lines. The sadness those people must have felt. Tracking the Vanishing Frog may have not been the most interesting book, but I see how you compared the lines in the poem to the book. The environment should be treated with respect and so should those who have died.
DeleteI, also, was thinking about the comparison the poem has with the Holocaust. Those people who suffered and olive through that are so brave, and I only have the highest respect for them. Even just being in there and seeing other people look so sick would be enough for me to no longer want to go on, but knowing that God would be there with you and will never give you something you couldn't handle could hopefully get you through as strong as possible.
DeleteThe prom confused me the first several times I read it too. To get a good understanding of this poem, it almost seems that you have to be "in his shoes". You had to see the world from his perspective.
DeleteI also like the comparison between this poem and Eli Wiessel. They both share many similarities with death, fear, and sorrow. All of these are big parts of the poem Thanatopsis.
Rachel, I liked how you compared the shedding of tears to the Holocaust novel " Night". Along with your opinions I also believe that the Jewish people's view of death changed throughout their duration in the concentration camps. At first they saw death as horrifying, but as they went on the only thing that keep them alive was hope. The hope that their god is watching over them. Most people lost that faith, but those who kept it had an eye opening experience. Although this experience was horrible it relates to the poem very well. Good job Rachel.
DeleteRachel, I appreciated how you referred to novels that so many of our peers have read, and can therefor relate to. Last year, in Accelerated English II, many of us read Night, so I see where you are coming from. It was a very sad, heart filled novel that describes the hardships that so many people faced. It can so hard to imagine torture and ruthlessness that these people faced. Still today, people deny that the Holocaust had ever existed. In the words of Bryant, it makes my heart sick to think that humans could be so cruel to other people. I am not in AP Enviromental Science, so I cannot comment on that book. Yes, I agree with you that the poem does describe some sadness of death, but there is more to it. Another major theme in the poem was comparing the beauty and peace of nature to death as well.
ReplyDeleteRachel I also read that book as you know, Tracking the Vanishing Frogs. I wish I would have thought of that book for this project because you are so right when you say that it relates to nature, which relates to Thanatopsis. Also Night by Elie Wiesel as you said relates to Thanatopsis because when they died they died with tears. I agree with that, and I would like to think that when the people in the Holocaust died the became one with the elements of nature because as they were buried their bodies decayed and became a part of the rock and dirt. I am pretty sure that in Thanatopsis there is a line that states how when we die we become apart of the earths elements.
DeleteThanatopsis by William Cullen Bryant talks about life through death. A couple of my favorite lines in this are “To mix forever with the elements; To be a brother to the insensible rock...", and "Thou shalt lie down with patriarchs of the infant world,- the kings, The power of the earth,- the wise, the good, Fair forms, and hoary seers of ages past, All in one mighty sepulcher." These two lines relate to stories of literature such as Romeo and Juliet and my favorite book, A Walk to Remember by Nicholas Sparks. These two stories talk about life and death I to life. Thanatopsis also has these same qualities; however these stories also have contrast to Thanatopsis. For example, both of these great stories talk about love and life past death. In conclusion, these two stories are both alike and different from Thanatopsis by William Cullen Bryant.
ReplyDeleteIn Thanatopsis, Bryant talks about how when you die you body becomes apart of the earth’s elements. You become one with God and nature. The line in Thanatopsis that relates to these qualities is, "To mix forever with the elements; To be a brother with the insensible rock..." This relates to the book by Nicholas Sparks, A Walk to Remember. This book is about a high school bad boy who falls in love with a preacher’s daughter, who is a “nobody” at their school. He falls in love her gradually as the work on a school play together. During this time she tells him to not fall in love with her because she is sick with cancer, and only has a few months to live. The boy shows all the love in the world to this girl through life and nature. As the girl becomes sicker, she tells the boy to not worry, for she will become one with God and the saints through the ground elements. She also tells the boy how life is very precious, but you start a new life once you die. When I read that line in Thanatopsis, I immediately thought of this story because of the point the girl makes about becoming apart of the earth.
Another line in Thanatopsis that I like is, " Thou shalt lie down with patriarchs of the infant world,- the kings, The powerful of the earth,- the wise, the good, Fair forms, and hoary seers of ages past, All in one mighty sepulcher." This line relates to the great form of literature by William Shakespeare, Romeo and Juliet. The line talks about how once you die you become equal to others who have died. No matter if you the King or a lowly slave, you will eventually be equal. In the story Romeo and Juliet fall in love, but they are a part of two different worlds, these two worlds deal with their families that hate each other. In the end they both die because one believes the other is dead so he kills himself, as a result the other does the same. In the end I saw that they both become equals no matter how much their families hate each other.
In conclusion, the two stories both relate to the lines in Thanatopsis because they talk about living life to the fullest through God and nature. It also talks about how when you die you become a part of the earth and start a new life with God. While Romeo and Juliet showed me how when we die hierarchy doesn't matter anymore, we all become equals, no one is better than another.
You made so many good points in your blog! We are all equal people, nobody is better than another. We all make mistakes and we all do things right. Living life to its fullest is worth it in so many ways through God and nature. Romeo and Juliet are also a good example. They lived for each other, so they died for each other. It's a scary world out there but we always have God to turn to.
DeleteEmma, I liked how you not only compared your books to the poem, but contrasted them as well. I also enjoyed A Walk to Remember, and appreciate the details you used to compare it to Thanatposis. They both indeed do look at death not only as an end, but a new beginning as well. Romeo and Juliet is is such a messed up romance, but that is why people love it so much. It also describes the beauty of nature and death. Both of your examples include the beauty of death, life after death, and refer to theology in its meanings.
DeleteEmma, I agree 100% with your outtake on Romeo and Juliet pertaining to that particular line. Society in general is a very crazy and dangerous place and the Capulet's and the Montague's learned that the hard way. The two families hated each other and quarreled about every possible thing. A child from each family was in love with the other one and when one was thought to be dead, the other killed them self and the other followed. That just shows how crazy society really is. Great job on your blog!
DeleteEmma, to compare the book/movie “A Walk to Remember” is something I never would have thought to do, but it absolutely brilliant. It completely corresponds to Thanatopsis and has many similar qualities, like you mentioned. God is always with us, and he will never let us down. This world is awfully cruel, but anything is possible if you just believe. This was a really good blog.
DeleteEmma, I enjoyed how you compared "Thanatopsis" to "Romeo and Juliet". In that novel it does have to deal with the comparisons of others. The capulets and the montagues are rivals and in Romeo and Juliet's death their eyes are open to their cruel comments and judgmental minds. Death makes us all equal not only in spirit but all in the hands of God our creator. Death to these two lovers is what let's there love be worthy to be. In death there are together al last. RIP . Great job Emma.
DeleteThe poem Thanatopsis byWilliam Cullen Bryant is a very inspirational poem about our life and death here on earth. It is focusing mainly on death, but also about how we live our life before death and some factors of death. One of the sections in this poem that really stood out to me was "The powerful of earth - the wise, the good, Fair forms, and hoary seers of ages past." this quote is saying that some things in the past are good, some aren't. But it all only counts when death comes around and you can change your past, God is forgiving. This quote reminds me of a book I read called "Go Ask Alice", which was about a girl named Alice that got involved with drugs and left her family at an early age. After a couple of years, she ended up realizing that she had a wonderful life before and she was throwing it away and it wasn't worth it, so she went home and gradually got back to normal. After a couple months of being home and her life being better than ever, it got worse. An old friend from when she was into drugs sent her a box of poisonous, drugged chocolates and Alice ended up having hallucinations and dying of a drug overdose. She was wise to come home from her new life away from home, which is now her old life, the past. In the quote I mentioned, the term "hoary" refers to the past. Sometimes you can change the past, sometimes you can't. Alice was able to until someone else ruined it for her. Someone brought her back from what she was trying to get away from. This quote meant to me that some of earth are wise and good, and some aren't. But that doesn't mean that the good can't become bad and the bad cant become good. Everyone dies though, it is just your choice to where you want to go.
ReplyDeleteAnother section in this poem that really stood out to me was,
"Over thy spirit and sad images,
Of stern agony, and shroud, and pall,
And breathless darkness, and the narrow house
Make thee to shudder, and grow sick at heart".
These particular lines remind me of the book, "Left To Tell" by Imaculee Ilbagiza. This book is about a woman in the aftermath of the holocaust who hid from the killers in a small bathroom in a pastors house for seven weeks with six other women. The space was so small that all of them had to take turns even sitting down. Her entire family was killed in the genocide but she miraculously survived thanks to a pastor who hid them from the killers. The quote I mentioned relates to this situation almost perfectly. Even though Immaculee didn't die in this genocide, she came very close and witnessed many deaths. The sad images can relate to the images that we have in our head when we think about the holocaust and people dying. "And breathless darkness, and the narrow house.." does not only make sense in the way that Immaculee was in a dark, narrow bathroom, but we have to look beyond that. Imagine the feeling in that bathroom, the pain, the loneliness, and they were scared. They probably "Grew sick at heart". The thought of death is sickening and scary. I was fortunate enough to go see Immaculee talk about her experience in the holocaust in person last fall and actually get the chance to talk to her personally. Her speech was very touching and she had so much to say. Life is a great thing so don't take it for granted. "When we are no longer able to change a situation - we are challenged to change ourselves." -Imaculee Ilbagiza
Leah, I never even thought about comparing this poem to the genocide. As I read your blog I realized that the line you picked out is very similar to that book. The comparison to the bathroom and the dark room was very good. It would have been really cool to go see her talk. I knew some other people that went to see her talk. They said that she was very good. In you first part of your blog it does go along with the whole drug story. She was very wise to have come home with her family. She was trying to get help when someone did something that she had no control over. People always don’t have control over their death. Not everything in your life can you control this goes with a lot of things not just death.
DeleteLeah, I got extremely excited when I saw that you compared Thanatopsis to "Left to Tell" by Imaculee Ilbagiza. I never thought of that comparison at all! This book was probably one of the best pieces of literature I have ever read. The way you compared the line from Thanatopsis "And breathless darkness, and the narrow house" with the part where Immaculee had to stay inside the small bathroom with the many others was phenomenal. Their faith in God must have been so strong and they must have had so many fears, just like the poem states. Relating that event to Thanatopsis was probably the best comparison that I have seen throughout the other blogs.
DeleteLeah, although i never read either of those book I bet that they would be a really good read that relates to Thanatopsis. I agree with you on how the people in the holocaust went through so many scary times that it made them look at life as a very precious gem. I also think that the people who died in the holocaust died with tears in their eyes, which was a line in Thanatopsis. They also would have found death a very scary thing since they experienced it so much in their life. I also find it cool how you referred to Immaculee in the dark bathroom and compared it to the narrow house which referred to as the grave in Thanatopsis. I probably wouldn't have thought of that. Good Job!
ReplyDeleteWilliam Cullen Bryant’s poem "Thanatopsis" was a very intriguing poem about death. It talks about how everyone will die someday and how death is not necessarily a bad thing. It also says that once you die, you will be like any other celebrity, family member, or sports figure that you enjoyed that also died. You will meet up with them in one happy place called Heaven. There were two lines from this poem that I can relate to other pieces of literature. One line says “Make thee to shudder, and grow sick at heart.” This line relates to the heart wrenching and emotional story “Night” by Elie Wiesel. The other line that relates to a different is “Thou shall lie down with patriarchs of the infant world, the kings, the powerful of the earth, the wise, the good, fair forms, and hoary seers of ages past, all in one might sepulcher.” Both lines contain different meetings.
ReplyDelete“Make thee to shudder, and grow sick at heart.” This line states that when something awful is happening to something or someone, we will be sick to the stomach and sick at heart and it might even change us emotionally. That’s why this line pertains to “Night” so well. “Night” is a hand on story about the Holocaust. Elie Wiesel, the author of the story, was also a survivor of the dreadful Holocaust and wrote about his experiences in the book. When I read this book, it definitely sent chills down my spine and made me grow sick at heart. I just didn’t understand how one man, Adolf Hitler, can change the world in such a horrific way. He kill around six million innocent people for no reason at all. Anyone that has a soul will definitely feel this way. There was also a specific part of the book that made me shudder. The part was when he arrived at the concentration camp and he was separated from his family and it said that there was a putrid smell floating in the air and smoke coming out of chimneys. Little did those people know that the smell they were smelling were the bodies of innocent people being burned, some dead and some still alive. That definitely had an impact on the story and will stick with me forever.
“Thou shall lie down with patriarchs of the infant world, the kings, the powerful of the earth, the wise, the good, fair forms, and hoary seers of ages past, all in one mighty sepulcher.” This basically means that everyone will be related in some way in Heaven no matter your status in life. I can relate this to a piece of literature that I know and that many people have read. The story is called “Flowers for Algernon.” It pertains to this story because of the mentally disabled man Charlie. People in his workplace would make fun of him and tease him all the time. Then Charlie was an experiment and had surgery to make him smarter. When he was smarter, people still made fun of him because they didn’t know what was wrong. Then when he began to deteriorate, he went back to his normal lifestyle. The line in “Thanatopsis that I said is related to this because in heaven, Charlie will be equal to all the people that made fun of him, no matter his life status. This is definitely true for all of the people, good or bad, that have to be laid to rest.
I really like your choice of books to compare the lines from Thanatopsis. Comparing everyone's equality in death to the mass murders of the Holocaust in Night was a good idea. The entire reason of the killing was because the Germans deemed certain people inferior to themselves. The actual inhumanity of that is insane, but it makes a good point when compared to this.
DeleteThanatopsis by William Cullen Bryant is a poem a very good poem. The poem is about death and life. Some of it is about the life that you live before you die. Next it talks about how life when you die and how it feels. This poem is very good a showing emotion. The words make you feel like you are actually living what He is talking about. “Go forth, under the open sky, and list To Nature's teachings, while from all around-- Earth and her waters, and the depths of air—“. I think that this line in the poem says a lot. When I read it I thought of when you are on your last hours of life. God has a plan for everyone, sometimes the plans are not always how we see them, but when it is your time go in peace. I think that when it says go forth under the open sky that it means go with peace and just be part of nature now. The poem Do Not stand at my Grave and Weep by Mary Frye is all about how when you die you become a part of nature. In this poem it talks about being the glint on the snow and the wind that blows. I think that the line from Thanatopsis and the poem Do Not Stand at my Grave and Weep both tell good messages for about how nature plays a role in when we die and how God wants us to go in peace. Another line that I think means a lot is the quote “Like one who wraps the drapery of his couch about him, and lies down to pleasant dreams”. Some people are afraid of dying and death of not just themselves but others. I this line it show us that when we die it is just like going to sleep. When we go to sleep we are not scared, Bryant is trying to tell us that when it is our time to die we should not be afraid and just go to sleep. This poem reminds me of the prayer As I lay Me Down To Sleep. In this prayer we are asking god to watch over us in our sleep. When he is watching over us he is protecting us. This prayer was used to help kids fall asleep by telling them that God is always watching over them even when they are sleeping. I don’t think that anyone should be afraid of death maybe of how it is going to happen, but when we die we are really starting a new life with God.
ReplyDeleteHayley, I like your comparison of the two poems. I have never heard of the poem Do Not Stand at my Grave and Weep, but it sounds like a beautiful way of thinking of death. My favorite quote of yours was when you stated that death is about being "the glint on the snow and the wind that blows." I thought it was beautiful and really spoke about the beauty that people's lives bring to their friends and relatives. Once a person is gone, their legacy lives on. A nice addition to your opinion was the talk of the prayer. It is true how we never think of death while we are asleep, but it can come at any time. God is the true protector and will take us when he needs us.
DeleteI like that you brought up the fact that we shouldn't be afraid to die. We were put on earth to die and we should be happy when it is our time to go. We are going to have a much better life where we are going then where we are now. Also, when you talked about being one with nature and being a part of something so big and beautiful. We are one of God's creations and we are part of nature. Dying is something that everyone fears and you really made me think about dying. I shouldn't be scared to die, I should love the time that I have here and only worry about what is in front of me.
DeleteMy favorites lines in Thanatopsis is “Thou shall lie down with patriarchs of the infant world-with kings.” I like these lines because they show what true equality is. In death there is no one superior, and no one inferior. It is being truthful with saying that, the corpses of the dead may be treated differently based on the person, but everyone is judged equally in death. Everything leading up to death can be unfair, but everything afterward is fair. A large amount of thought must have been put into these lines, if not, it gives so much to really think about.
ReplyDeleteThese line remind me of another quote relating to death. “The thought of death deceives us; for it causes us to neglect to live,” from Luc De Clapiers and Marquis De Vauvenargues in Maxims and Reflections. Similar to the lines from Thanatopsis, it really makes you think. Death is something that will inevitably come to everyone. Trying to avoid it is a really just wasted energy. Living a life spent fearing death is truly not a life lived. Spending a life fearing anything really does just waste time. Having a little fear is fine, but it should not completely take over one’s life, that is when it really does damage. Death is something that will find its way into everyone’s life.
One last quote I truly like is, “Life and death are different sides of the same coin,” by Neil Gaiman in American Gods. In an easier way of putting it, without life there is no death, and without death, life will not continue. Everyone knows that all life ends in death, but the other way is odd to consider. In death, life is returned to the earth; this lets the never ending cycle of life and death continue on. Death will always end one life sadly, but it can produce more than one life with the remnants of the dead.
Thanatopsis was one of the most interesting pieces of poetry that I have ever read. The story confused me and made me question the scenario in the story over and over. However, after reconsideration and a second and third time of reading it, the whole topic and flow changed in my mind. I now understand all of the references used towards death and the hardships faced with death. My favorite part is the eventual acceptance of death by the voice in the story. After all of the struggle and sorrow from a loss, eventual acceptance and gratitude appears on the faces on the loved ones left behind. They feel the gratitude from the pleasure of knowing the person, and knowing that the dead person has changed their life in some way, shape, or form. In the beginning, we all feel the harsh pains like the ones spoken in lines 9-13. The lines read, “When thoughts of the last bitter hour come like a blight over thy spirit, and sad images of the stern agony, and shroud, and pall, and breathless darkness, and the narrow house, make thee to shudder, and grow sick at heart.”
ReplyDeleteDeath affects everyone, and impacts everyone in different ways. My recent views on death have left me thinking about a story I recently read in AP Biology, The Hot Zone. They do not have many similarities, but these stories still have ways to connect. The Hot Zone speaks of a massive outbreak of a killer contagion that is trying to be stopped. Scientists who tested the substance and were unsure of the true effects at first did not stand a chance. However, when the outcome of catching the disease became known to the world, people were afraid of the death. Researchers ended up catching the disease while trying to figure out a way to stop it. Most of them accepted that they were going to die, but they knew they were sacrificing themselves for the good of the world and coped with the future. The researchers knew that without their work, more people would have to suffer at a rapid pace. They realize the situation is horrible, but realize it is only going to get better, like the speaker from Thanatopsis. He knows that death will be hard to deal with and will be the hardest thing for him and one of the hardest things for his peers, but he knows good times will come. After death, he knows that he will eventually spend eternity with the Lord. Death is an inescapable “caravan” that takes many people away, but it is the life you lived before and the hopeful afterlife that makes it all worthwhile.
Carli, I really like that you talked about missing your loved ones once they have passed. Their memories will never be forgotten and we hope to use their experiences as a motivation to live our life. We are sad for awhile, and we have that right. It is what we do after the grieving period and how we turn their death into something positive. Also, when you talked about the book "The Hot Zone", it made me want to read it and understand what really happened. It also reminded me of how American troops die for our independence and how they allow us to live our lives for the sake of theirs. You really made me think about my purposes in life and how I should make the world a better place.
DeleteI really did not understand Thanatopsis to well when i first read it either. It was not exactly the easiest thing to understand. However the story you compared to sounds like a very good book to read. The scientists not giving in even when they know that the inevitable will come to them. The fact they continued for the sake of the lives of everyone else would take some determination. Death eventually finds everyone, was the life it took really lived, or just wasted.
DeleteThe poem, Thanatopsis, spoke to in different ways. It spoke of death, which can be frightening, but still it talked about its beauty and how it relates to the beauty of nature, which made it comforting. Certain lines stood out to me that reminded me of some of my favorite modern non fiction novels. For example, after reading this, my mind immediately went to a series of one of my new favorite authors, Cassandra Clare. She is well known for two of her series that revolve around a world that humans, or mundane, cannot see, filled with angel warriors, vampires, and other mystical creatures known as “Downworlders” and such. The Mortal Instruments and The Infernal Devices are two stories of mundane entering the crosshairs of the magical world, who are saved by the angel warriors known as Nephilim or Shadowhunters. In Bryant’s poem, he writes, “Yet not to thine eternal resting place shalt thou retire alone, nor couldst thou wish couch more magnificent.”(Lines 31- 33), which immeadiatly reminded me of Shadowhunters; they also believe death is a continuance their lives of fighting. After death, these warriors are cremated in one place where they protect those still living. Just as in the poem, they believe death is not the end, and that they are buried as equals with many great Nephilim warriors that had died before them. In Thanatopsis, this is, “Thou shalt lie down with patriarchs of the infant world-with kings, the powerful of the earth.”
ReplyDeleteThanatopsis gave me mixed emotions; it talked the beauty of nature and death, then it also talked about the sadness associated with it. In a way, it reminded me of The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins. Especially in lines 59-62, “In silence from the living, and no friend take note of my departure? All that breathe will share thy destiny. The gay will laugh when thou art gone,” reminded me of how the Capitol sought entertainment in the annual Hunger Games, where they take two teenage “tributes” from each of the conquered districts in the country of Panem, and have them fight to the death on television. Yes, this seems very harsh and almost disturbing how someone could take away your child and turn them into a hopeless warrior for your own pleasure. This gave the Capitol leaders a sense of power and dictatorship saying that yes, we can take your own children away from you, and you can’t stop us. The thought of someone in the real world doing this is disturbing because the setting and feel of the books make you feel that yes, this could actually happen. Also, “…yet all these shall leave their mirth and their employments, and shall come and make their bed with thee”, reminded me of the third book in this series, Mockingjay. In this book, the districts take over the Capitol, and they are faced with one major decision when taking over the government; should they completely get rid of the Hunger Games, or should they make children of the Capitol its tributes out of revenge?
I agree with what you said aboutnthispoem giving iced emotions. The poem seems sort of hopeless, dry, and gray, much like the Grapes of Wrath by Stienbeck, is so far. It is sort of dreary and sad. But in the beginning of the poem it has some great descriptions of nature. It describes the great oak trees and forests. All this shoved together in a poem creates to of mixed emotions which can be interpreted in many ways.
DeleteMarla, I like how you compared Thanatopsis to the Hunger Games. I really liked those books, but it is disturbing how he found enjoyment in that. The poem was about the beauty of nature, but also that everyone has to die at some point in life. The poem also talks about the beauty of it, and letting nature take it's course.
DeleteTo me, Thanatopsis is a poem that talks about life and death. Nature had so much life in it, that we can't even see all that it has to offer. "She speaks A various language" means that nature talks to everyone of us, but in a different way. Some people think of nature as their best friend. It won't ever yell at you and it will listen to everything you have to say. It keeps all of our secrets and it won't say anything to anyone. This reminds me of the book "Staying Fat for Sarah Byrnes". The book talks about Sarah, a girl whose face was burned as a child, and her best friend Eric, a kid who has always be overweight. They didn't care what the other one looked like, they liked each other for who they were. What mattered to them was what was on the inside, and that is what William Cullen Bryant is telling us in Thanatopsis. Nature and God will love us no matter what. Life is about growing up and living the best life that you can. Sarah Byrnes may have had a scar on the outside, but her and Eric made the best of everything they could.
ReplyDelete"Yet not to thine eternal resting place." To me, this line talks about never really dying. Yes, our human bodies will die, but our soul will live on forever. William talks about dying as joining the great people who have died before you. This reminds me of the book "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows." Harry is about to be killed and he knows it. The one thing that brings him comfort is knowing that he is going to see his parents. Both of them had died when he was only a year old. He knew that he would miss his life on earth, but knew that he would be happy where he was going. This is what makes Thanatopsis such a great poem. I can relate it to my life in so many ways. I look at nature and see my life life like a growing tree. It starts out a very little tree and eventually is taller than any of the other trees. Eventually, it dies, but it provided seeds for new trees and that is why it was alive. People were put on earth to do good in the world, and then die to live with God forever.
There are several lines in Thanantopsis- William Cullen Bryant. Depending on what you have read in the past there are bunches of ways you can interpret it. The main line that I notice is: "To mix forever with the elements". This reminds me of the line in Genesis, vs. 19 ch. 3 : " For you are dirt and to dirt you shall return." this reminds me of how we all came from the earth and will die. William Cullen Bryant seems to be obsessed with the fact that everyone will die. He. On tines this theme throughout the whole poem. The last half of the poem seems to be filled with no hope. He seems to not be hoping for anything in life. He seems depressed and saying don't try, it does not matter what you do. You will all die, then you will be equal.
ReplyDeleteI have not read many books that reflect this theme. That is why I am having trouble relating any of the lines in this poem to anything that I have read in the past.
Jess, I appreciate your honesty on how you said you could not remember any literature to compare to this poem. I, too, struggled to think of anything that I have read before that I have read. I really like how you used the bible verse, "for you are dirt and to dirt you shall return." This is how everyone is going to eventually end up. However, I think that the poem does brighten up a little bit near the end, so I disagree with some of the things you say. I believe that Bryant is speaking of the acceptance of the eventual death of every person near the end. However, we all depict literature differently and I really like your honesty.
DeleteThanatopsis by William Cullen Bryant was a poem about both life and death. It spoke of death of us humans, but also spoke of life that nature had. It was a poem that was very difficult to read; I read it about three times and still didn’t understand until Dr. Pam read it aloud. It was very interesting to see how he would give death a scary yet calm image. He did that quite easily, because it seems to just flow perfectly after you finally understand what he is trying to say. Death is a beautiful thing, but very sad to the people it leaves behind. Death brings us to the people we have previously lost, and most importantly, to God and Jesus themselves. Bryant was able to say this throughout the whole poem.
ReplyDeleteThe quote that really spoke to me is "Thou shalt lie down with patriarchs of the infant world, -the kings, the powerful of the earth, - the wise, the good, fair forms, and hoary seers of ages past, all in one mighty sepulcher." I love this line because all I have been taught my whole life is that everyone is equal. During our lives, most of us don’t get to experience equality due to the social classes, hierarchy, and differences in education. If you don’t go to college, you may be looked down upon by others who did go to college. All of this goes away after death, because we are all finally equal. God accepts us into his hands, and we are all happy in eternal life with Him. Everyone who has lost a person close to them knows it is extremely painful to have to live life without them here with us, but in reality, they are with us. They are always with us, looking out for us, and guiding us. We should embrace death, not be afraid of it, because we will become one with nature, as our bodies will return to the ground which is exactly where God created human from, the soil.
Nicole, I also had to read the poem a few times. I was not sure what it meant at first. But it talks about how beautiful nature can be, and that death has to occur at some point. Death is a strange thing. Thanatopsis talks about how we go back to where we came from and the earth reclaims us. I also like how you talk about how we are all equal in the eyes of God. That is a great thing about death, we are all perfect in his eyes.
DeleteNicole, I agree with you when you said you didn't understand the poem until Dr. Pam read it to us. Thanatopsis was a confusing poem at first and it is nice how you were open about this. It is weird how the poem can be scary yet calming at the same time, and yet flow so easily together. Without understanding what the poem is about it would seem as though it didn't flow together right. I agree with you when you say in death we are finally equal to everyone else. No matter how great someone once was they become equal with the person who has not two pennies to his name. I could have however liked to have seen you use a comparison of this poem to another book.
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ReplyDelete"Thanatopsis " is a great work of literature that uses the themes of romantic literature. William Bryant uses the theme of nature to describe death and life. Life is like the seasons, it's cycles around from the good to the bad and back to the good. Death at first is seen as horrifying awful but as your life continues your eyes are open to see the beauty of life through nature that God has provided. In the end death is grand. Death is our long term goal because we are to live happily with God our creator.
ReplyDeleteJust like in "Thanatopsis" we will meet the "great" and be equal to them in the afterlife. This poem reminds me of one of my favorite books " Twilight". This novel tells of the life of a high school girl (Bella) who sees life through a different perspective. Although this a fantasy novel the girl's thoughts remind me of "Thanatopsis". Her thoughts consist of how death is easy, while life is hard. Also the setting throughout the novel is referred to the seasons of the year. Bella's outlook of life changes throughout the year. In the end of this novel Bella realizes that her eyes have been open by her experience of love, death, and her continued journey of her life.
Also "Thanatopsis " reminds me of the novel "Night". This novel takes place at the concentration camps during the Holocaust. Death was seen in many different point of views. Some people saw it as terrible, while others saw it as better than living. These points of view reminded me of one of William Bryant's views of death. In line 10-13 "Over thy spirit, and sad images of the stern agony, and shroud, and pall, and breathless darkness, and the narrow house, make thee to shudder, and grow sick at heart" reminds me of the images of the concentration camps Eli v creates in his novel. Especially in Bryant's poem lines 10-13 each of those words that describe death sad and frightening. In Eli's novel those frightening words are expressed in the eyes and actions of many Jewish people. To suffer death is an experience that many fear.