Thanatopsis

ThanatopsisbyWilliamCullenBryant•WhatdopeoplethinkwhentheyreadaboutThanatopsis?Shallpeoplebeafraidofdeath?Noisthebestanswertorespondtothisquestion,especially,whendeathispredestined;therefore,peopleshallbereadywhentheyarefacingtheactualdeath.Usually,theirfearsoffacingtheactualdeatharecausedbytheirownnegativeperspective,whentheyhavetodefineandunderstandaboutdeathitself.•DeathisreallyconnectingtothewordThanatopsisthattheworditselfcamefromtheGreekwordcalledThanatos,whichmeansdemiseordeathandopsismeans,visionorpointofview.Thenewwordisdefinedbythepoem:awayoflookingatandthinkingaboutdeath.BryantusedhisfamousThanatopsistoshowhissupportiveideasoflookingatthepositivesideofdeathinhumanbeings.IntheThanatopsis,asixteen-year-oldBryanthadbeensupportingandexpandinghisideastoexpresshispositivesightondeathduringhisintrovertedwalksonthewoods.•“Thanatopsis”isameditativepoemofeighty-twolines,grantingconsolationforhumanmortalitythroughmankind’sunitywithnature.itwasfrequentlyrevisedbeforeitsfirstappearanceinNorthAmericanReviewinSeptember,1817,andwasenlargedsoastoincludeanewWordsworthianopening(lines1–17)andanextended,vaguelyreligiousconclusion(lines66–81)foritspublicationinPoems,1821.•Thepoemisawonderfulliteraryworkwhichexplorestheoftencontroversialquestionsofdeath.WithinhiswellwrittenlinesBryantattemptstoshowtherelationshipbetweendeath'seternalquestionsandtheongoingcycleofnatureandlife.•,Thanatopsis(1817),showsthedeepRomanticspiritofBryantinhisyouth.Inthisfamousblankversemasterpiece,natureanddeatharedescribedwithagentlesadness.ThetitleisGreekfor“viewofdeath”.Bryant’sviewisthatdeathistheabsoluteendoftheindividual.Naturehasakindofhealingeffect.Naturecanshareyourhappiness.Theimageofdeathisdefinitelynothorrifying,becauseyouwillbemeltedintonature.•Atfirst,this“viewofdeath”mightseemacoldandterrifyingthought.But,asheexplainsinlaterpoems,thelifeofmanispartofthewonderfullifeofnatureasawhole.Theindividualsoulisnotalonebut,ashesaysinAForestHymn,partof“thesoulofthiswideuniverse”.Almostallofhispoetryexpresseshisexcitementattheideaofbeingpartofsomethingsovast.•Inthispoem,Bryantvieweddeathfromadifferentperspectivethananybodyelseeverdid;hewasthepoemwriterwhopointedoutonthegoodpointsofdeath.HetellsthereaderWhenthoughts/Ofthelastbitterhourcomelikeablight…Goforth,undertheopensky,andlist/ToNature'steachings…Hebelievesthatnaturewillguideitslistenertoabetterunderstandingoflifecycle,deathandrebirth.Hetoldustocloselypayingattentiontonatureasitisallaroundus.Becauseofthefactshetold,manypeoplewereattractedbyhispoemasithelpedeachindividualtogainabetterunderstandingoflifeanddeath.对他,她说着各种语言,他爱自然，与她的种种可见形式进行交流;为他欢快的时光她表达着快乐，微笑着，并大加赞美，她悄悄溜进他的隐秘的冥想，带着温和的治愈一切的同情，在他明白之前偷走他的痛苦。一想到最后的悲痛时光来临，如同枯萎病侵蚀你的精神，严酷而冷峻的痛楚，裹尸布，柩衣，令人窒息的黑暗，以及狭窄的棺屋，这些悲伤的景象令你发抖，一阵阵恶心，--走出去吧，到露天下，倾听大自然的教诲，此时你的周遭--土地以及她的水域，空气的深处--传来平静的声音---然而就几天，统察一切的太阳，在其光照所及，再也看不见你了，甚至寒冷的土地里，你苍白的形式摆放在那儿，带着淋漓的泪水•在海洋的怀抱里，你的形象也不复存在。土地养育了你，有权拥有你的成长，让你重新回归土地，并且，丧失所有人间的踪迹，完全放弃你的个体生命，你将永远与自然之力混为一体，成为麻木不仁的岩石的兄弟，成为懒散的土块的姊妹。粗蛮的乡下汉用犁耙翻着这些土块，并踩上几脚。橡树的根伸展着，刺进你疏松的土壤，•然而并未刺到你永久的休憩地，你将独自就寝，你也不能希望你的床更华丽宏伟。你将躺下与人类孩提时代的族长--与国王，地球上有影响的--聪慧的，善良的，与美人儿，以及几代前白发皤然的先知，全在一个宏大的墓窟里。那些山岩石为骨，如太阳般古老，--那些山谷在郁郁寡欢的寂静中在群山间延伸；蓊郁的丛林，滚滚的河水庄严肃穆，与戚戚怨语的小溪使草地青翠，并灌溉四周。•古海洋灰色忧郁的荒地--只不过是所有人类巨大的坟墓庄重而肃穆的装饰。金色的太阳，行星，天空所有的无限的主人，穿透平静的世代流逝，在悲伤的死亡居所之上闪闪发光。对沉睡在环球怀抱中的部落来说，所有踩在地球之上者，不过是一小撮。--乘上早晨的翅膀，穿越巴肯荒原，或者消失在连绵的丛林，那儿翻滚着俄勒冈河，听不见声响，除了它自己的咆哮声--然而死者就在那儿，成百万在寂寞中，自从时光飞逝之初，已经躺在他们最后的睡眠中--死者独自君临此地。•因而，倘若你躺下，在阒无声息中你离开了活人，没有朋友留意你的离去，那会怎样？所有能够呼吸的生命，将与你命运与共。当你走了，达观者将开怀大笑，严肃者会忧心忡忡。缓缓沉重地向前，每个人都一如既往追随着他钟爱的幻影；然而这一切将离去，他们的欢笑，以及财物，并将与你一起铺床，随着一长串岁月的流逝，人类的子孙，风华正茂的青年，以及年富力强的他，主妇或者女仆，未开口说话的娃娃，白发苍苍的老人都将一一聚集在你的身旁，同样，轮到谁，谁也得跟随而来。•因此，活着，当你被召唤，来加入滚滚人流的旅队，向着神秘的领地移动，在那儿，人人将在寂静的死亡大厅拥有一间寝室。你走了，不像夜晚采石场的奴隶，被鞭打进地牢，而是由坚定的信念支撑和抚慰，走向你的坟墓，像那人一样，在身上裹起床单，躺下，犹如进入快乐的梦乡。•.Thispoemisallaboutnatureandhowniceitis.Inaddition,thispoemisaboutdeathandhowdeathisnottheworstoption.Thispoemisaboutdeathasitoffersapeacefulviewofdeathandcomfortfortheliving.WilliamCullenBryantshowshisviewsofdeathinthispoem,however,notdirectly.Bryantviewsdeathaspartofthereturntonature,likedeathisjustanotherphaseoflifeitself.“Earth,thatnourishedthee,shallclaim/Thygrowth,toberesolvedtoearthagain”BryantissayingthatasapersonhaslivedupontheEarth,theEarthwillnowliveuponthatperson.Thepersonwillliveon,butinanotherway.•“Surrenderingup/Thineindividualbeing,shaltthougo/Tomixforeverwiththeelements”.WhatBryantistryingtosayisthatthepersongoesonlivinginNaturealthougheachpartofthepersonasanindividualisgone.Bryantalsotellsthereaderthathe/shewillnotgotodeathalone.Everyonewhohaseverdiedwillalreadybethere.Everyonewhohasnotgoneyetwillbethereeventually.Socialclassoragedoesnotmatter,onethingisshared,andthatonethingisdeath.Inthatway,allareequalanddeathbecomesthegreatequalizer.•Thanatopsisitselfmeans'aviewofdeath'insimpleterms.Thewriterinvolvednaturedeeplyinthiswritingasanexplanationthatafterlifeisdone,wereturntotheearthaswecamefromit.Hesaysthiswith,Earth,thatnourishedthee,shallclaimThygrowth,toberesolvedtoearthagain,And,losteachhumantrace,surrenderingupThineindivi