Famous poem Essay

William Cullen Bryants famous poem Thanatopis literally means a view of destruction. This poem is one of the classics about close as it offers a peaceful view of death, pouffe for the aliment, and no outlet what a persons religious beliefs, the poem is still applicable. Thanatopsis views death as realm of the return to nature, like death is just another phase of life itself. Earth, that nourished thee, shall yell Thy growth, to be resolved to earth again, (Bryant).This quote explains that as a person has lived upon the Earth, the Earth bequeath immediately live upon that person. The person will live on but in another way. Surrendering up Thine exclusive being, shalt thou go To mix forever with the elements, (Bryant). What is meant in this quote is that the person goes on living in Nature although each part of the person as an individual is gone. Thanatopsis as well as tells the subscriber that he/she will not go to death only. Everyone who has ever died will already be at that place.Everyone who hasnt gone even will be there eventually. Social class or age do not social occasion we all share one thing, and that one thing is death. In that way, we are all equal and death becomes the great equalizer. Thanatopsis also provides comfort for the living. and what if thou withdraw In silence from the living, and no friend put in note of thy departure? All that breathe will share thy destiny This statement provides comfort for the living as well. For those who seemingly have no one in life, they will not be alone in death.No person ever wants a friend or family member to suffer or to be alone, and Bryant tells us that no person will ever be alone. It is much easier to let someone go in this case. The real beauty of the poem is that it provides comfort to a person no matter what his/her religious beliefs are. If the reader is an agnostic or atheist, the poem views death as just all part of the cycle of Nature. We return to nature. If the reader is Chris tian, the poem becomes a split between body and soul. The body returns to Nature, and there is no mention of the soul or spirit.The spirit can be seen as going any(prenominal)place because there is no mention of it. So this poem is absolutely able to translated to Christianity. In fact, Bryant purposely spurned Puritanism in this poem in favor of a more open and accepting Unitarianism. In fact, if the reader is Buddhist, the return to Nature can be seen as reincarnation. Therefore the poem is in sync with umteen different religions. The wonderful way that Bryant views death gives the living and the dying much comfort in the process.In the end, death is like lying down on the couch and drifting off to sleep. It is painless and easy. Bryant also gives the reader advice on how to live life so that there is no need to regret death or to be afraid of it. The poem can provide comfort to any person of any religion and according to William Long provides an appreciation of nature that we cannot forget.Works CitedWilliam Cullen Bryant. Retrieved November 24, 2007 at Web Site http//www. msu. edu/cloudsar/thanatop. htm Thanatopis. Retrieved November 24, 2007 at Web Site.