Module Lecture

William Cullen Bryant & Am. Romanticism

Week 8, Lecture 1

Literary Response 02: due today.

Next class: Thursday, 8 October.

Mid-term Examination.

See notes in Week 7 module (lecture 2).

Format: short essay (1-2 paragraphs per question). Two groups with three questions: answer 1 question from each group.

The exam will be posted on Canvas by 1:00 pm Thursday. The due date for the exam is Friday at 8pm. Students may complete the exam online or in Davenport during our regularly scheduled class time.

DO NOT CONSULT OUTSIDE (INTERNET) SOURCES FOR THE EXAM. Do not collaborate with other students on the exam. You may use your textbook and class notes.

Today: William Cullen Bryant and American Romanticism

James Kirke Paulding (507-09).

Emphasizes the need for creating a distinctly American literature, relatively free from European influences.

William Cullen Bryant

“Thanatopsis”

Source: Masterplots, revised second edition.

The poem is divided into three main sections, modeled after “plain style” sermons (New England, Puritan).

Doctrine
Reasons
Uses

The first section (lines 1-30) provides the philosophical background, or “doctrine,” of the poem. The major problem to be resolved is that of coming to terms with the fact that everyone must eventually die. With death comes a “total loss of human evidence” (ashes to ashes, dust to dust) (6480).

The middle section (lines 31-72) justifies the reason people should not view death as an isolation that forever separates. It argues against the reasons humanity would give for not wanting to face death. Not only are the dead not alone; they may actually be in more distinguished company than they have been accustomed to in life (6481).

Like the Puritan sermon, the final section of the poem (lines 73-81) is analogous to the “uses” or application of the truths of the earlier sections. In effect, one may compare going to the grave with preparing to lie down peacefully for a nap with the full expectation of having pleasant dreams (6481).

William Cullen Bryant – Poetry (5:54) Lance Eaton

William Cullent Bryant - Poetry

The Romantic Period in American Literature and Art (10:06)

The Romantic Period in American Literature and Art

American Romanticism and Transcendentalism (14:37)

American Romanticism and Transcendentalism

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