Bryant's "Thanatopsis": Death as Natural
William Cullen Bryant (1) argues in "Thanatopsis" that one can trust Nature when she tells us that death is inevitable and that it merely represents a return of the human to the Earth "that nourished thee." The ethos inherent in the poem is that man is but an element of all-encompassing Nature û an important element, to be sure, but only one of many aspects of Nature which must invariably return to her embrace. However, despite the inevitability of death, it is no more than another way of being part of Nature. Bryant (2 û 3) admonishes his reader to "live, that when thy summons comes to join/The innumerable caravan, which moves/To that mysterious realm,"àyou will simply "lie down to pleasant dreams." Death, therefore, is a dream that is "pleasant" and not to be feared.
This attitude toward death is nevertheless filled with pathos. Life is painted by Bryant (1) as filled with the scents, sounds and tastes of a benevolent Nature that offers beauty and sustenance. Death, which is an intimately personal matter, does not prevent the passage of time from occurring, or prevent the gay from enjoying themselves. The dead are everywhere around the living, to be found in the rush of the roiling waters of the Oregon River, in the solitude of the deep forests, and in air we breathe. All who have ever lived û the great and powerful, the young and dependent, the old and frail, the winners and the losers û come to death at some point. Contemplating this inevitable end may evoke fear on some individuals, but the simple fact remains that we all die having been born to a temporary participation in Nature. Fearing death serves only to diminish one's joy in living.
Logos is addressed in the poem in that one realizes Bryant is speaking passionately and logically. We do not go "alone" to our final resting place; we join and are joined by all who ever draw breath, from babies to the elderly. The...