Poetry of William Cullen Bryant
As early as eight years old, William Cullen Bryant was showing signs of a strong poetic ability. Bryant became the first native poet to gain worldwide fame in the United States. He specialized in and became well known for his poems regarding the presence of God during a person's life and death, the attractiveness of American nature, and his poetic recordings of past events. "Consumption" and "The Old Man's Funeral" are wonderful examples of Bryant's belief in God and Heaven. "The Yellow Violet" and "'Innocent Child and Snow-White Flower'" shows his obsession with the beauty of American nature, and "The Death of Slavery" is one of his many occasional poems that sums up his hatred for the institution of slavery and the happiness he felt when it was finally abolished. Bryant's belief in God has always been a strong and unrelenting belief. "Consumption" is a poem about a woman living her last moments of life. She is beyond the point of being healed. It is inevitable that she will die. Bryant writes that "The fields for thee have no medicinal leaf, And the vexed ore no mineral of power" (75). Instead of there being fear at the time of death, the poem is actually soothing and relaxing.
He describes the shackles falling off the limbs of the slaves and the men and women reemerging back into manhood free from persecution. He writes that other flowers that are taller than the yellow violet seem to be attempting to show off their beauty, but the yellow violet is being humble and letting its own beauty do its work. Being the first native American poet to gain worldwide fame, William Cullen Bryant will be etched in the history books forever. In "'Innocent Child and Snow-White Flower,'" Bryant compares an innocent young girl to a snow-white flower which represents nature as a whole. Bryant was very proud of his beliefs and was not afraid to express them in any way. The calmness and unyielding faith are summed up in the last two lines which state "Close thy sweet eyes, calmly, and without pain: And we will trust in God to see thee yet again" (75). He is renowned for his poetry expressing his religious beliefs, his fascination with the beauty of America, and his occasional poems. He titled it "The Death of Slavery. '" Poetical Works of William Cullen Bryant. He argues that his friend lived a wonderful and fulfilling life.
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