Question

The early nineteenth century was an era when landscape painting favored the vast canvas, the panoramic scene, the wild, dark, windswept landscape, and a portentous sky. Reconsider Thanatopsis as a visual experience. Where do you see painterly moments in the poem?

Answer 1

Thanatopsis is a poem by William Cullen Bryant. The poem exhibits many of the characteristics of the poetry and literature of the nineteenth century, particularly as it relates to nature. The author describes nature as:

"She has a voice of gladness, and a smile  

And eloquence of beauty, and she glides  

Into his darker musings, with a mild  

And healing sympathy,"

Moreover, the author presents various "painterly moments" in the poem. For example, he talks about nature in the following way:

"The venerable woods—rivers that move  

In majesty, and the complaining brooks  

That make the meadows green; and, poured round all,  

Old Ocean’s gray and melancholy waste"

He also says that:

The golden sun,  

"The planets, all the infinite host of heaven,  

Are shining on the sad abodes of death,  

Through the still lapse of ages."

All of these details give us a deeper understanding of Cullen's poetry and of his purpose when writing the text.