Thanatopsis

“Thanatopsis” is a poem by 19th century American poet William Cullen Bryant originally published in 1817 in the North American Review. Written early in Bryant’s life and career, and heavily influenced by Romanticism as well as the Graveyard School of poetry, the poem explores the subject of death and what it means to be mortal—its title is a Greek word that means “a view of death.” Bryant urges his reader to accept death as an inevitability that should not provoke angst or fear, as it is the fate of all humans. The poem instead offers solace—the fact that all people must face the end of their lives should be a unifying and comforting thought.

Bryant wrote “Thanatopsis” when he was 17 years old, and the poem reflects his rejection of the religious Puritanical conservatism he experienced growing up. Turning away from the strict dogma that dominated the culture of the time, the poem contains elements of Deism, a movement advocating a rational approach to Christianity grounded in nature. “Thanatopsis” went on to inspire Transcendentalist writers such as Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry David Thoreau.

Poet Biography

William Cullen Bryant was born in 1794 in Massachusetts to a conservative Puritan family.