Reflection: Thanatopsis

I really like poetry and enjoyed reading Thanatopsis, written by William Cullen Bryant. Poetry always has some sort of deep meaning and it is up to you what you make that out to be. I think the reason why poetry is so interesting to me is because there are so many questions to be asked. I felt that Thanatopsis was a really good poem because it addressed a rather harsh topic, but it did so without being negative. Thanatopsis really did a good job of speaking of death with the idea that it is just a cycle of life and everyone is going to end up back in the earth at some point.

The first line that really hooked my senses was as follows: “In all his course; nor yet in the cold ground, Where thy pale form was laid,” (Bryant 19-20). I think I noticed this part of the poem because when I read it, it made sense and felt kind of real. I have been to funerals and it is true, there is a cold chill among the people there. William Bryant brings us to reality here because we all know that the ground is cold and so is the pale corpse that is being laid to rest.

William Bryant says the dead individuals should go “to mix forever with the elements” (Bryant 26). I think that the reality of this line has probably changed a little bit since the 1800s when this was written. I am almost sure that back in the day people actually buried the dead right in the dirt, but today, we use caskets. In biology we learned about fossils and how they are the skeletal remains of old organisms. That actually supports Bryant’s point here by saying that if the bodies were actually laid right on the dirt, the soft tissues of the body really would mix in with the dirt and fertilize the soil. I think that William Bryant has a deeper meaning than the actual physical remains of the corpse though.

It was really interesting to me how the author used over ten lines of this poem talking about how you are not dying alone. In lines 30-41 Bryant says “shalt thou retire alone” (32). I like the fact that he highlights the positive aspects of death and dying. By saying that you are not going to die alone the author is kind of comforting the reader. William Bryant is saying that dying is really just joining the earlier generations in “the elements.” William Bryant says that the bright stars of heaven are shining on those sad in the presence of death (46-47). Again, I have noticed that the author is highlighting the positive aspects of the harsh topic. Greek mythology is tied into the poem here because in mythology the stars we said to have been the lights of the dead.

I agree with Mary Ellen Snodgrass in the positive criticism on Thanatopsis. She seemed to have only positive things to say about this poem. Snodgrass also noticed that Bryant only refers to death as a “natural event” and the worst thing he said about death was the “loss of individuality and the absorption of a decaying human into the earth” (Snodgrass).


Bryant, William C. "Thanatopsis." Bartleby.com: Great Books Online -- Quotes, Poems, Novels, Classics and Hundreds More. Web. 28 Nov. 2011. 

Snodgrass, Mary Ellen. "'Thanatopsis'." Encyclopedia of Gothic Literature. New York: Facts On File, Inc., 2005. Bloom's Literary Reference Online. Facts On File, Inc. http://www.fofweb.com/activelink2.asp?ItemID=WE54&SID=5&iPin= EGL367&SingleRecord=True (accessed November 28, 2011).

Reflection: Fireside Poets

Fireside Poets represent Romanticism right down to the point. Romanticism is characterized by quite a few things. All of the Fireside Poets use these characteristics of Romanticism throughout their poetry. Though it might only include one of the many characteristics, the Fireside Poets still represented Romanticism. In most cases, however, characteristics of Romanticism are prominent throughout the entire poem.

Because I have missed two days of English in a row, I might be lacking some of the knowledge needed for the writing of this reflection. I have read your presentation on Romanticism and most of it makes sense to me. One the lesson plan on the website, it says that this reflection should cover Glencoe literature pages 210-211 and "poems from the internet." I am not really sure what poems from the internet, so I just looked the up by the names of the authors in the literature books. 

The first Fireside Poet would be William Cullen Bryant. His poem A Dream really captures the essence of nature that is prominent throughout works by Romanticists. Bryant describes nature that way that he sees it, and that is much characteristics (Bryant). He also puts childhood and youthfulness in his poem when referring to the "dreamer" (Bryant). Romanticism was all about children and nature, and Bryant hit on both of those characteristics. He also used his poem in order to really make the imagination go to its fullest. Throughout reading the entire poem, you really find things to be somewhat imaginary, but it still makes you understand the point (Bryant). Bryant used many characteristics of Romanticism in his poem in order to portray his message to his readers.

The first Fireside Poet is Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. I read his poem A Shadow. In A Shadow, Longfellow really pushes the essence of youthfulness. He questions what would happen to the children if he were dead and they were looking up to him for guidance (Longfellow). This poem really captures the Romanticism characteristic of youthful innocence. He also pushes that the world belongs to those who are the last to come (Longfellow). This also shows how Longfellow really pushed innocence towards his readers. Overall, Longfellow was very keen on the characteristic of youthfulness. The children of this world are the ones that truly matter in Longfellow's eyes.

John Greenleaf Whittier would be the next Fireside Poet. In his poem A Day, he really stresses nature. He has this in common with Bryant. He stresses that the "day" in November is just preparing us for Spring (Whittier). I feel that this would be Whittier's main point. He describes how the day exactly is, like the scene, and it really makes you feel like you are there right with him.

The next Fireside Poet would be Oliver Wendell Holmes. I read his poem A Portrait which captures the youthfulness that Romanticism is characterized by a lot. He wants the person, whoever the poem is about, to stay young forever. That is the only to survive (Holmes). Being young and keeping your innocence is very prominent in works by Romanticists.

The final Fireside Poet is James Russell Lowell. His poem, The Search, really captures Romanticism as a whole in my opinion. He describes the nature and how in his youthfulness he found it. He also brings Christ into the beginning of the poem (Lowell). A characteristic of Romanticism is placing faith in inner experiences and Lowell did just that. Finally, he uses his poem to let his imagination run (Lowell). He really incorporated the most Romanticism characteristics throughout his entire poem, and I felt that his was the most enjoyable.

Overall, all of the Fireside Poets had prominent Romanticism characteristics throughout all of their poems. Some used one characteristic that was prominent, and others used four. Either way, you still could see the Romanticism portrayed throughout all of the poems.

Journal 19: Importance of nature and spirituality in the cycle of life and death

I think that spirituality has a lot to do with the cycle of life and death. With differences in religion, people have different beliefs in what happens to you and your soul when you die. Most (if not all) religions have an opinion about what happens after your terrestrial being dies. I believe that my soul will go to heaven or hell depending on my actions during my time on Earth. Some religions think that God has already decided if you are going to heaven or hell before you are born, but I do not think that is the case. I think that your actions on Earth can affect your fate after death. As William Cullen Bryant said in Thanatopsis, your dead body is buried in the ground to become one with nature. This shows that Nature is indeed important in the cycle of life and death. Because of my spiritual beliefs, I do think that spirituality is important in the cycle of life and death because you have to obey the words of God in order to go to heaven. People who do not have a relationship with God probably think that nature really has an important role in the cycle because they probably believe that your body and soul are going to be laid to rest in the soil for the rest of time. I remember learning about a certain religion in which there really is a cycle of life and death. Everyone on that religion does believe that they are going to keep dying and being born again. Personally, I think that would get really boring after a while, but some people truly believe that that is what is going to happen. Nature and spirituality play a huge role in the cycle of life and death because they are the two components of each individual’s beliefs. People base their beliefs of life after death on their spirituality and the ways of nature.

Journal #18 Perfect Autumn Day

My vision of a perfect Autumn day would have to be a sunny day. I really enjoy that jacket weather in the fall. The sun makes it warm enough for a pleasant day. I think that my perfect Autumn day also includes having leaves on the ground. Although people think that having the leaves on the ground is just a mess that they have to clean up, I think that the leaves on the ground are beautiful. Some of the leaves are just the prettiest colors and they make the perfect Autumn scene. On my perfect Autumn day, I would attend a bonfire.  I think that bonfires are really nice during the Fall. One of the things that I like about bonfires is that they are warm. Even if the weather isn't warm, the fire always is! I can just imagine myself walking down the hill in my back yard towards a fire in the fire pit. The leaves are crunching under my feet and its getting cold enough for little beads of water to be forming on the grass. I am starting to get really cold on my way to the fire, so I pick up the pace to get to the warm fire. I think one of the reasons that I like bonfires is that it is an excuse to hang out with all of your friends and have parties like every weekend. Fall is probably my favorite time of the year, but sadly the perfect fall weather does not last the whole duration of the season. The end of fall is always filled with cold rainy weather that I do not really enjoy at all. Another thing that I do not like about fall is the wind. It seems like the end of fall and beginning of winter are always really windy. I hate how it gets cold and windy the same time of year. It would be so much nicer if one came and then was followed by the other. Well I do believe that I have ranted enough about Fall for one journal and now I am going to move on the the next blog!

Journal #17 Time I Bonded With Nature

One time last summer Emily and I went camping with a group of her friends from college. I cannot honestly think of another time when I spent that much time outside bonding with nature. Everything that we did was outside because we were in the middle of freaking nowhere. I kind of enjoyed myself that weekend and I kind of felt that I was one with nature.  Each night we would lay on the concrete and watch the stars. There is just something about looking at the stars that makes me kind of get the chills. Its so cool to think that we can see something that is hundreds of thousands of miles away. we slept in a tent out in the middle of the woods and it was really tight with five or six people in one tent. Anyway, when I think of nature  I always think of that weekend of camping. Another thing that makes me think of nature is when we rake the leaves in the fall. I actually love nature and being outside in the spring. I think that nature would be much more involved in my life if  I wasn't so busy. I think that you should be sure to have nature in your life because it is really peaceful. There is something about nature that is really peaceful and relaxing. I just think that because of how natural nature is it makes you feel really relaxed and soothed. I do have an app on my phone that is nature sounds. I use it most of the time when I am really stressed out or I cannot sleep. I really like the sound of the thunderstorm sound on the app because it sounds so real. I like the sound of rain in the morning when I am sleeping and when it is still kind of dark outside. Those are the absolute best days to sleep in. I really like nature and we are really lucky to have a nice and moderate climate and environment in central Illinois.

Journal #16 Communication Tools

There are many tools that as a student and part of a group you can use in order to communicate with my partners in the Franklin Virtues Project partners. One tool that we can use and already have used is skyping. We skyped with the seniors who have previously done the project from Farmington. We got to talk to them to get information about the project, and get information about Farmington and what they do there and the similarities and differences to Plains. We found out that they are actually very similar to Plains. They are pretty much living in the middle of a cornfield too. They said they do not do anything really in the actual town but go to athletic games and stuff like that. It was very similar to to Plains. They are pretty much as close to Peoria as Plains is to Springfield. There are also many other tools that we can use to communicate. We could also use Facebook to communicate, but that may be a little harder because all of the people in your group or project may not have Facebook. Email is another one. We can email them to get information about how they are doing on their projects and to transport our finished things for the project. For the people that are in my group that go to plains I can pretty much use any form of communication.It is going to be good for us to learn to communicate completely digitally because other students can use the same methods. In college we may have to do that or when we work in the workforce when we are older a lot of jobs require you to email your co workers and get information on the project at hand. We have such a different form of communication than our parents had when they were our age. I think that it is very important that we learn as many ways to communicate as possible. This project is a good preperation in the future for us in college or in the work force.

Journal #15 Challenges of Partner Work

I hate group projects. I do not like relying on other people to get work done. I currently have a 37.5% in psychology because of stupid group projects. I did my part of the assigned worksheet and  I emailed it to one of the other group members to finish and turn in, but STI tells me that I have a "M" in the gradebook.  This goes to show that you cannot ever rely on other people to do an equal share of the work. I think that it is really difficult to work with people from other schools on this project because they are not even in the same building, so you can't even hunt people down and hound them about doing their fair share of the work. Last year in internet class we did the flatclasroom project online and it was a huge pain in the butt! Sometimes the internet would not work and sometimes the people from the other schools were not able to upload something. All in all i think that group projects that involve people from other areas are generally not a good idea. Good students get paired up with students that struggle, so the good student is always the one who has to put in like three times as much effort as the other group members. I think that the only reason that I do not like group projects in school is because I am a good student who normally ends up doing most of the work so that me grades do not suffer. There are always those students who wait until the last minute to turn things in and I think that can really hurt you in a group project with deadlines. I am going to try to go into this project open minded. I think that this project is going to be much easier than the internet project because we have actually learned about the topic at hand and we are not just making shots in the dark on the validity of our information. I am excited to start the new project today! (: