Wednesday, December 14, 2011
Thenatopsis
On Dictionary.com, The word thanatopsis is defined as "a view or
contemplation of death".
The poem "Thanatopsis" by William Cullen Bryant is a poem that is about
death and the circle of life and how death and nature exist together. It is kind
of a weird poem, because it talks about death so much. I think that the poem is
showing you that you should not fear death, because it is natural and it happens
to everyone.
"Their
sharpness, ere he is aware. 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"
(Bryant ).
This passage in the poem makes death seem very dark and scary.
It talks about how people view death as sad and full of agony. "Breathless
darkness" were two words that really stuck out to me in this passage. When I
think of breathless darkness I think of the bottom of the ocean. I do not think
that that is probably the image that the author was trying to get across, but
that is one thing that pops in my mind when I hear that phrase. At the end of
this passage, William Cullen Bryant says that when people think of death, they
"grow sick at heart" This is another phrase that is very strong and shows how
much people really hate death.
"Thy growth, to be resolved to earth again,
And, lost each human trace, surrendering up
Thine individual being, shalt thou go
25
To mix forever with the elements;
To be a brother to the insensible rock,
And to the sluggish clod, which the rude swain
Turns with his share, and treads upon."This
passage in the poem is a much lighter passage. It talks about how when you die,
you return to the earth. It makes death seem like it is not as bad as a lot of
people believe it to be. I think that by writing this in his
poem,
Benjamin Franklin & Henry Tuckerman
"Sixty-six years have elapsed since the mortal remains
of Benjamin Franklin were placed beneath a tablet in the Friends' Cemetery in
Philadelphia; the granite obelisk which marks the last resting-place of his
parents is a familiar object to all who walk the streets of his native city; but
these graves, thus humbly designated, were, until a few days since, the only
visible monuments of a name as illustrious as it is endeared"
(Tuckerman)
This
is the opening of Henry Tuckerman's literary criticism titled "The Character Of
Franklin". When I read this passage, it makes me think that Henry Tuckerman is
probably a fan of Benjamin Franklin. The part where Henry Tuckerman says that it
has been sixty six years since the "mortal remains" of Benjamin Franklin have
been buried, it makes me think that Tuckerman believes that only the mortal
remains had been put to rest, and his writings and beliefs had all survived.
This means that Tuckerman probably thought that Benjamin Franklin had a lot of
good ideas and beliefs that Tuckerman probably shared with
him.
The
next part of this passage where it says "these graves, thus humbly designated,
were, until a few days since, the only visible monuments of a names as
illustrious as it is endeared." (Tuckerman).
The words that Tuckerman
uses in this passage proves my point even more that he was probably a fan of
Franklin. Two words that popped out to me in this passage were "illustrious" and
"endeared". These words show that Tuckerman was fond of Franklin. According to
dictionary.com, the word "illustrious"means "highly
distinguished; renowned; famous". The word "endeared" means "to make dear,
esteemed, or beloved" Tuckerman shows that he likes and respects Franklin and
his writing when he uses these words.
"For the intangible aims
of the metaphysician, the vagaries of the imaginative, the "airy
bubble—reputation," he exhibited no concern; but the application of truth to the
facts of nature and of life,—the discovery of material laws and their conversion
to human welfare,—the actual influence of morals, economy, politics, and
education upon civil society and individual deportment,—were problems upon which
he never failed to think, read, talk, write, and experiment"
(Tuckerman)
This
passage from Henry Tuckerman's literary criticism is talking about how Franklin
always found himself concerned with morals, economy, politics, and education and
how they effected people. He says that Franklin wrote about these subjects a lot
meaning that he really cared about them. I think that these topics were
important to Benjamin Franklin because he cared about people and society. I
think that he cared about people and society and just being a good person in
general because he created a whole list of thirteen virtues that he thought
would make him a better person. He created these virtues and practiced them and
he perfected the virtues to cover all the aspects of his life. I think that
Franklin created these virtues not just to make himself better but to also
improve society. If more people in his time and even in our current time now
used and practiced these virtues that Franklin created in their daily lives,
society would improve a lot.
Bloom,
Harold, ed. "The Character of Franklin." Benjamin
Franklin, Classic Critical Views. New York:
Chelsea House Publishing, 2008. Bloom's Literary Reference Online. Facts On
File, Inc. http://www.fofweb.com/activelink2.asp?ItemID=WE54&SID=5&iPin=
CCVBF019&SingleRecord=True (accessed December 14, 2011).
Franklin,
Benjamin, and Leonard Woods Labaree. The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin. New
Haven: Yale UP, 1964. Print.
of Benjamin Franklin were placed beneath a tablet in the Friends' Cemetery in
Philadelphia; the granite obelisk which marks the last resting-place of his
parents is a familiar object to all who walk the streets of his native city; but
these graves, thus humbly designated, were, until a few days since, the only
visible monuments of a name as illustrious as it is endeared"
(Tuckerman)
This
is the opening of Henry Tuckerman's literary criticism titled "The Character Of
Franklin". When I read this passage, it makes me think that Henry Tuckerman is
probably a fan of Benjamin Franklin. The part where Henry Tuckerman says that it
has been sixty six years since the "mortal remains" of Benjamin Franklin have
been buried, it makes me think that Tuckerman believes that only the mortal
remains had been put to rest, and his writings and beliefs had all survived.
This means that Tuckerman probably thought that Benjamin Franklin had a lot of
good ideas and beliefs that Tuckerman probably shared with
him.
The
next part of this passage where it says "these graves, thus humbly designated,
were, until a few days since, the only visible monuments of a names as
illustrious as it is endeared." (Tuckerman).
The words that Tuckerman
uses in this passage proves my point even more that he was probably a fan of
Franklin. Two words that popped out to me in this passage were "illustrious" and
"endeared". These words show that Tuckerman was fond of Franklin. According to
dictionary.com, the word "illustrious"means "highly
distinguished; renowned; famous". The word "endeared" means "to make dear,
esteemed, or beloved" Tuckerman shows that he likes and respects Franklin and
his writing when he uses these words.
"For the intangible aims
of the metaphysician, the vagaries of the imaginative, the "airy
bubble—reputation," he exhibited no concern; but the application of truth to the
facts of nature and of life,—the discovery of material laws and their conversion
to human welfare,—the actual influence of morals, economy, politics, and
education upon civil society and individual deportment,—were problems upon which
he never failed to think, read, talk, write, and experiment"
(Tuckerman)
This
passage from Henry Tuckerman's literary criticism is talking about how Franklin
always found himself concerned with morals, economy, politics, and education and
how they effected people. He says that Franklin wrote about these subjects a lot
meaning that he really cared about them. I think that these topics were
important to Benjamin Franklin because he cared about people and society. I
think that he cared about people and society and just being a good person in
general because he created a whole list of thirteen virtues that he thought
would make him a better person. He created these virtues and practiced them and
he perfected the virtues to cover all the aspects of his life. I think that
Franklin created these virtues not just to make himself better but to also
improve society. If more people in his time and even in our current time now
used and practiced these virtues that Franklin created in their daily lives,
society would improve a lot.
Bloom,
Harold, ed. "The Character of Franklin." Benjamin
Franklin, Classic Critical Views. New York:
Chelsea House Publishing, 2008. Bloom's Literary Reference Online. Facts On
File, Inc. http://www.fofweb.com/activelink2.asp?ItemID=WE54&SID=5&iPin=
CCVBF019&SingleRecord=True (accessed December 14, 2011).
Franklin,
Benjamin, and Leonard Woods Labaree. The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin. New
Haven: Yale UP, 1964. Print.
Sunday, December 11, 2011
Two Fireside Poems
The two fireside poems that I read were “The Cross of Snow” by Henry Longfellow Wadsworth, and “The Future Life” by William Cullen Bryant.
“The Cross of Snow” by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow was a poem that was about him seeing his wife’s ghost in the night time. In the literary criticism that I read written by Randall Huff, he explains how Longfellow’s wife died and how it relates to the poem, “Her dress caught fire as she was sealing a locket of her daughter's hair (a far more popular keepsake in the 19th century than later), and Longfellow was severely burned as he put out the flames but failed to save her life.” (Huff Par. 2). This proves that the poem was probably about his wife because in line six the poem says, “Never through martyrdom of fire was led To its repose” (Longfellow line 6). The “martyrdom of fire” refers to the fire that caused his wife to pass away. In the poem, He says that she lived a benedight life which means that she lived a very blessed life. He also says that his wife has not changed since the day that she died which I think means that even though Longfellow’s wife had been dead for eighteen years, he still remembers her how she was when she was alive.
The other poem that I read, “The Future Life”, by William Cullen Bryant is a poem about love and if love still exists after life. I think that this poem is about someone that Bryant loved that had died. I think that Bryant is wondering whether that person still loves him even though she is in heaven and he is still on Earth. In one line of the poem, he asks:
“The love that lived through all the stormy past,
And meekly with my harsher nature bore,
And deeper grew, and tenderer to the last,
Shall it expire with life, and be no more?”
In these lines, the author writes about how him and this person that he loved had been through a lot of bad times together and they made it through it together and still loved each other after it all, but now that she has died, he does not know if she will still love him.
Both of these poems were written during the romanticism time period and exemplify characteristics of romanticism writing. In Henry Wadsworth Longfellow’s poem, “The Cross of Snow”, there are many characteristics of romanticism writing that I found. One theme of this poem that is common in romanticism writing is love. I found this theme in the poem because he writes about his wife who even though she passed away, she still cared about her husband because she watched over him as he was sleeping. Henry Wadsworth Longfellow also used religion and nature in his poem when he wrote about the cross of snow that he saw on the mountains. Religion and nature are two common subjects written about in many pieces of romanticism writing. In the poem, “The Future Life” by William Cullen Bryant, the characteristics of the romanticism time period are love and religion. These two themes are used a lot in this poem because it is all about Bryant wondering if the person that he loved still loves him even though she is not alive any more. He talks about her being in heaven and wondering if she stopped loving him when her life ended.
Bibliography:
"The Cross of Snow by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow." PoemHunter.Com - Thousands of Poems and Poets.. Poetry Search Engine. 1 Jan. 2004. Web. 12 Dec. 2011."The Future Life by William Cullen Bryant." PoemHunter.Com - Thousands of Poems and Poets.. Poetry Search Engine. 10 Apr. 2010. Web. 12 Dec. 2011.
Huff, Randall. "'The Cross of Snow'." 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. http://www.fofweb.com/activelink2.asp?ItemID=WE54&SID=5&iPin= CPAP0091&SingleRecord=True (accessed December 11, 2011).
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