“Thanatopsis” by William Cullen Bryant (pgs. 191-192)

Name: ________________________________________________ Date: _________________________ Hour: _________

“Thanatopsis” by William Cullen Bryant (pgs. 191-192)

Key Points, Questions, Ideas Notes

William Cullen Bryant

Thanatos:
Opsis:

Meaning:
Blank verse:

Inversion:

1. Bryant inverts the opening
clause of the poem.
Rephrase it without
inversion.

Stanza 1 (lines 1-17) 1.
Questions: 2.
1. As the poem opens,

Nature is personified as
someone who speaks “a
various language.” How
does Nature speak to us in
our “gayer hours”? How
does Nature respond to

our “darker musings”?

2. Who is the speaker?

3. What is the tone? 3.

4. What images of death are 4.
included?

Summarize lines 1-17

1

Name: ________________________________________________ Date: _________________________ Hour: _________

Key Points, Questions, Ideas Notes

Stanza 2 (lines 18-30)
Questions:
1. Who is the speaker now? 1.

2. According to lines 25-26, 2.
what happens when you
die?

3. In lines 31-37, what 3.
response if offered to 4.
those who fear the

solitude and indignity of
death?

4. Lines 17-30 have a sad,
tragic tone. Describe the
shift in tone that occurs in

line 31. What metaphor and
images in this section of the

poem reinforce the tone of
the poem?

Summarize lines 17-30:

Stanza 3 (lines 31-39)
Questions:
1. In lines 31-37, what

response if offered to
those who fear the

solitude and indignity of
death?

Summarize lines 31-39:

2

Name: ________________________________________________ Date: _________________________ Hour: _________

Key Points, Questions, Ideas Notes

Stanza 4 (lines 40-72) 1.
Questions: 2.
1. Explain the literary device 3.

used in lines 40-45. How
does the literary device
support the poem’s
theme?

2. In lines 63-64, what does
the phrase “chase/his

favorite phantom” imply
about the living?

3. What examples does the
speaker use to explain that
the dead are everywhere?

4. After Nature’s speech (lines 4.
17-72), the human speaker’s
voice resumes for the
concluding section, or
summing up. In your own
words, summarize the
speaker’s advice in lines
73-81. What images does
the poem make you see in
these lines?

Summarize lines 40-72:

Stanza 5 (lines 73-81)
Questions:
1. Who is the speaker? 1.
2. What is the tone? 2.
3. What comfort does Nature 3.

offer in lines 58-72?
Summarize lines 73-81

3

Name: ________________________________________________ Date: _________________________ Hour: _________

Key Points, Questions, Ideas Notes

Moral/Theme:

What characteristics 1.
make “Thanatopsis” 2.
Romantic literature”

3.

Thematic Statement: The thematic statement is one sentence that combines the title, the author’s
name, the genre of the piece, the tone and the theme (TAGTT). Write a thematic statement for
“Thanatopsis.”

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Today many readers view a poem like “Thanatopsis” as simply a period piece with only historical
interest, yet Bryant’s intent was to offer serious spiritual counsel. Does Bryant’s poem still speak to us
today? Or are his musing no longer meaningful? Give reasons for your opinion.

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