"Thanatopsis"

"Thanatopsis" is a really depressing poem. Which makes sense as the title translates from Greek to "Meditation on Death" or "View of Death" (Huff). "When thoughts of the last bitter hour" (Bryant lines 8-9) and talk of "the narrow house" (Bryant line 12) or coffin refer to dying and what happens after a body is dead. The next lines are about the dying process, "and thee the all- beholding sun shall see no more" (Bryant lines 17-18) and "in the cold ground" (Bryant line 19) which also points to this poem being depressing. While dying and death is not a glamorous thing, William Cullen Bryant makes it a grim and morose affair. After having ten lines be about ending up in the ground and having nature spread out over and in one's body (Bryant lines 20-30), Bryant brings up a happy, reassuring point with the next stanza about kings and being laid to rest by famous, wise, and brave people.

Yet not to thine eternal resting-place
Shalt thou retire alone, nor couldst thou wish
Couch more magnificent. Thou shalt lie down
With patriarchs of the infant world,—with kings,
The powerful of the earth,—the wise, the good,
Fair forms, and hoary seers of ages past (Bryant lines 31-36)

The thought of being buried in the ground where King Arthur, Cleopatra, Queen Elizabeth I, Charlemagne, Homer, Shakespeare, Abraham Lincoln, Sam Houston, Voltaire, etc. are buried is a magnificent and awe inspiring thought. I had never thought of being buried after dying with that mind set before. That stanza alone could get people to chose burial over cremation. The closest one could come to meeting Alexander the Great is to be covered with the same dirt that could have touched his body or the same earth that he walk and live on. That noglastic feeling of reaching out for a piece of our past is something that every human feels at some point of their life. Bryant says that there are "millions in those solitudes, since first the flight of years began, have laid them down in their last sleep— the dead reign there alone" (lines 55 -57). That is why death should not be feared or should be a lonely thing. There are "millions" of other lonely dead souls buried in the ground. Bryant tells the reader to take comfort in that and not be lonely as there are many, many others that can be lonely with you.

To keep from being overly depressing with the constant talk of death and being laid to rest, Bryant points out that at least when the reader dies, he or she has lived more of their life than "the speechless babe" who died before its time (Bryant line 70). Whether the reader is a "matron and maid", "gray-headed man", or "youth in life's green spring", everyone ends up in the ground at one time or another (Bryant lines 68-70). William Cullen Bryant tells the reader to have a "unfaltering trust" in whatever faith and to not be afraid of death because it takes everyone and everyone will end up together in the ground (Bryant line 79). To correct my opinion, "Thanatopsis" is still a depressing poem, but I took a lot from it and appreciate what Bryant had to say on death.


Bryant, William Cullen. "16. Thanatopsis." Bartleby.com. Web. 23 Nov. 2011.

Huff, Randall. "'Thanatopsis'." The Facts On File Companion to American Poetry, vol. 1. New York: Facts On File, Inc., 2007. Bloom's Literary Reference Online. Facts On File, Inc. Web. 23 Nov. 2011.

Journal 19 - Circle of Life

From an early age, we are taught about the cycles of life, thanks to Disney movies. The Lion King not only discusses the cycles of life and death, but does it with nature and spirituality. Mufasa explains to young Simba about the circle of life using the surroundings. From what I remember (its been a while since I have seen the movie, and no longer can quote directly from it) Mufasa explains how the antelope eat the grass, then the lions eat the antelope, and when the lions die, than they become part of the ground and the cycle starts over again with the grass. It is very important to learn about the cycle of life and death. Being exposed to it at a young age helps little kids out with death of family members, pets, rabbits, poor little Bambis that people shoot. Using nature to describe the cycle of life and death helps with younger children as they can relate more to the fantasy and almost make believe side of the animals, as opposed to reality with humans dying. Spirituality also helps explain the cycle. Different religions explain it in different ways. From the ones that I know, I will mention and refer too. Hindus belief that we are reborn as another animal or organisms depending on how we lived our lives. Christians believe that after we die we go to Heaven, where we wait for other loved ones to join us and we all live in an eternity of peace and happiness. Ancient Greeks believed that everyone goes to a place called Hell when they die, then are judged and sent to one of three different places to live for the rest of eternity, the Pits of Tartarus, the Elysian Field, or wait for judgement in the Asphodel Meadows. Some chose to be reborn again, initiating the cycle of life to start over once more. Without nature and spirituality to help explain the cycle of life and death there would be much argument. Norsemen would argue that the cycle ends with Valhalla, others a Heaven like paradise, or an eternal hell like place of torture. Nature is something that everyone agrees on and can teach a unified theory, like in the Lion King, to little children so they understand death better.

Fireside Poets

The Fireside Poets' style of writing was much different than the previous periods of Rationalism and Puritanism. The Fireside Poets wrote in the Romantic time period where their writing was of family, patriotism, nature, love, and religion ("Fireside" 211). As opposed to Rationalist writers who were Deists and believed in reason, logic, and self- improvement, the Romantic writers valued feelings and instinct over logic and reason (Boucquey). They believed that nature was something to be cherished and loved, not something to study and find out how it works. The Romanticism period was nothing like the Puritan period where God and the Bible were the models for all the writing. Romantic writing was about inner experiences and faith in oneself, not in God and the Bible. Puritan writing was also traditionally formal and avoided figures of speech or any instance when their writing could be interpreted in a different way (Divine). Romanticism writing was often poetry where the stanzas could be taken in many different ways, figuratively and literally ("Fireside" 210).

The Romantic heroes were not always educated (or focused on education as Puritan stories empathized), as Puritan protagonists were in the stories, nor was their any emphasis on education, just on discovering things through personal journey or experience ("Fireside" 211). Romantic heroes also "avoid town life" which would have outraged Puritan writers who believed that the community (at least of the elect) was essential to having a good relationship with God, in sickness or in heath, for better or for worse (Divine). The subject of Rationalist writing was not necessarily a hero, but normally just the author in a journal, diary, speech, pamphlet, or essay (Boucquey). The Rationalist writers wrote about scientific experiments, God's clockmaker like relationship with the humans on Earth, and how to better themselves (Boucquey). The Puritans wrote about how God interacted with their everyday lives and if they were one of the Elect, as well as one of the Damned, how they ran their lives to be a living embodiment of what God created humans to be and to be a good Christian soul (Divine). Many of the Romanticism period writings had subjects that were not human ("Fireside" 211). William Cullen Bryant portrayed "the American landscape in words", but still managed to make his poems as interesting to read as a poem with a human hero ("Fireside" 210). Romanticism heroes were common folk who became legends as the stories were told around fires and taverns throughout America ("Fireside" 211).

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow wrote a poem in 1863 that is still quoted in 2011, "Listen my children and you shall hear/ Of the midnight ride of Paul Revere,/ On the eighteenth of April, in Seventy-five;/ Hardly a man is now alive/ Who remembers that famous day and year." (Longfellow). The poem brings about a sense of patriotism and love for America. None of the previous literature periods had that sense of love for our country. The Puritan period showed love for God, compassion toward others to show that one was an Elect, and a sense of companionship as they prayed together and lived in a community with everyone interconnected (Divine). The Rationalism period brought about the love of science and all things involving reason and logic. While these things did bring about change for the better for America, there was not any pride of the country associated with it. The Romanticism period changed that. America was loved for the first time in literature and everyone found a sense of pride for their country when reading works from this period.



Boucquey, Thierry, gen. ed. "Rationalism." Encyclopedia of World Writers, 14th through 18th Centuries. New York: Facts On File, Inc., 2005. Bloom's Literary Reference Online. Facts On File, Inc. Web 22. Nov. 2011.

Divine, Robert A., T. H. Breen, George M. Fredrickson, R. Hal Williams, H. W. Brands, and Ariela J. Gross. America Past and Present AP Edition. Boston: Longman, 2011. Print.

Longfellow, Henry Wadsworth. "Paul Revere's Ride." The EServer. Iowa State University. Web. 22 Nov. 2011.

"The Fireside Poets." Comp. Jeffrey D. Wilhelm, Ph.D. and Douglas Fisher, Ph.D. Glencoe Literature. American Literature ed. Columbus: McGraw-Hill Companies, 2009. 210-211. Print.

Journal 18 - Autumn Day

My perfect autumn day would be about 60 degrees with a slight breeze. Not enough to be chilled, but enough to have some movement and rustling among the leaves. The sound of the rustling leaves moving in the trees before releasing their grasp on the branches and slowly drifting downwards to the ground reminds me of jumping into what seemed like massive piles of leaves that my dad would rake up when I was little. My sister and I would "help" him, but we always would rake a small pile, watch it blow away, then rake the leaves up again. The crunch of the leaves on my feet as I leaped through the air and launched myself at the pile matched the crunch of the leaves under my feet as I would take a walk on a perfect autumn day, giving me a nolgastic feeling of my youth. As the soft breeze tosses my blonde hair in the wind, I would tie it up in a ponytail, only for a couple of strands to break free and enjoy the feeling of the wind tossing them to and fro. As I stroll down the street, taking a brisk walk around the neighborhood to enjoy the weather, I smell several grills being fired up for one of the last times of the year; people trying to get that last cookout or barbecue of the year. Hamburgers, hot dogs, potatoes, oh my! I grow hungry as I turn the corner wondering what I would have for dinner later. As I continue walking I see someone burning leaves, trying to be discreet because my neighborhood is withing city limits and burning leaves is not allowed. The smell of the burnt leaves gives him away. The once pretty, green, red, yellow, and brown leaves shrivel up and the remains catch in the wind blowing around like the scene from Pocahontas when she sings about the colors of the wind. That should be the theme song for autumn, with its variety of colors and the wind blowing the falling leaves each which way that it feels like. I would continue on with my walk hearing the fallen leaves rustle and crumple under my feet. When I would get home I would do my homework near a window so I could watch "the colors of the wind" and the leaves fall ever so delicately from the trees and enjoy that perfect autumn day.

Journal 17 - Bonding with Nature

There are woods behind my neighborhood, Harrison Park, that I used to explore when I was little. There was a couple of man made bridges that I discovered in my attempts to cross the "river" (okay it was a stream, but when it had rained and there was a lot of water, it was very wide). But of course, I was a curious little kid and had to find other means to cross the river. There was a tire in the middle of the stream that seemed stable. I decided to jump on it and use it as a stepping stone to cross the wide river. It was not stable. I bonded with nature as I went face first in the cold water and my foot sunk into the mud. The tire completely sunk into the mud and disappeared. As did my left shoe. I climbed out of the bank and laid down in the soft warm grass. Then I realized my shoe was still in the river. I was already wet so I figured jumping back in would not hurt anything. Of course my mother disagreed when she got a look at me when I returned home, but that does not matter. I fished around in the creek until I found my shoe. I hopped out and tried to get as much mud off myself as I could with the surrounding leaves and branches. There was a breeze and I was quickly chilled to the bone. So I decided that was enough adventuring for the day and backtracked across the bridge and headed home. I tried to sneak in the house without being noticed, but that is hard when you squish with every step. That was my up close experience with nature. I learned that the bottom of a creek, and the objects in them are not as stable as they appear to be. I also learn that I am immune to poison ivy as there was a leaf stuck to the back of my shirt that was a poison ivy leaf (I guess picking leaves from the ground and bushes is not the smartest thing to do).

Journal 16 - Tools

There are many tools that could be used to overcome the distance with the Farminton kids.I created a Today's Meet as an extra option for our group. It allows us to have instant textual communication with each other and the comments stay and all the members of the group are able to see it. I sent them a link to it in case we decided to use that to communicate. I also feel like we are going to use Twitter. When we Skyped with the other school they said that they love Twitter. Skyping is another way to communicate also. Seeing the members in a face to face communication will help everyone as that is what we are used to. Personally Skyping (with no lag or delay) will be the best for me as that is closest to physically meeting the group. Another way is Facebook. The majority of high school students have a Facebook and check it all of the time. That will be a convenient way of communicating as we constantly check Facebook. Personally I would like to email. I check my email a lot. I am just that kind of person. Hopefully my group members will be okay with email as that is my preference in this endeavor. Also I hope that my group does what they are supposed in terms of the video as that will lower my stress levels. I am leaning to video editor, but as non of my group have emailed back, we shall wait and see.

Another tool is common sense. If we all use common sense then the video will go so much smoother as everyone will do their part and we will be able to finish on time with an A. Common sense means that if someone has a problem they will communicate it with the group and together we will all resolve it. It also entails that if someone can not do the work then we all pitch in to help. Common sense means that everyone does their part and pulls their weight in the total group effort. Hopefully all of Group 21 has common sense and does their share of the work. This should be a very fun project if everyone has common sense and I do not get stressed about it.

Journal 15 - Challenges

Freshmen year in IED (Intro to Engineering) we did a Skype project with a class in Normal and had to design and produce a locker shelf, with each group having parts from each school. It was difficult as they had microphones and we did not. We could listen to them, but had to respond by text. We managed to overcome those difficulties and produce a successful group project. The Farmington project is very similar, but if anything should be easier as we have more communication options. We can "meet" on Facebook, Twitter, Google, Skype, etc. as opposed to being limited to text communication on a very slow and laggy internet. A problem of not being able to physically meet with our partners is the face to face aspect of communication. It is harder to convey points without being able to register their emotional response and their body language.

There are many tools that could be used to overcome the distance with the Farminton kids.I created a Today's Meet as an extra option for our group. It allows us to have instant textual communication with each other and the comments stay and all the members of the group are able to see it. I sent them a link to it in case we decided to use that to communicate. I also feel like we are going to use Twitter. When we Skyped with the other school they said that they love Twitter. Skyping is another way to communicate also. Seeing the members in a face to face communication will help everyone as that is what we are used to. Personally Skyping (with no lag or delay) will be the best for me as that is closest to physically meeting the group. Another way is Facebook. The majority of high school students have a Facebook and check it all of the time. That will be a convenient way of communicating as we constantly check Facebook. Personally I would like to email. I check my email a lot. I am just that kind of person. Hopefully my group members will be okay with email as that is my preference in this endeavor.

Another challenge is personality. All of the group members could have different personalities and can have conflicts. If another member of the group and I both try to be leaders, problems can ensue if we can not work together. Hopefully we can all get along and communicate well and every one does their work how and when they are supposed to. Ideally that will happen. Fingers crossed that will happen. Time will tell.