analysis eassy on Elegy Writte
Thomas Gray and William Cullen Bryant both chose to write about nature and death being intertwined. Since Thomas Gray lived in a time of social injustice, he chose to use death to illustrate the problems inherent in a socially stratified society. William Cullen Bryant, on the other hand, lived in a rapidly expanding young nation that cherished the vast amounts of untouched nature and he used death to illustrate how man fits into the universal truth of the earth. However, both men believed that death rendered all men equal in that all went to their final resting place in Mother Nature's bosom. While Gray's "Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard" comes across as a social commentary on the English peasants and Bryant's "Thanatopsis" serves as a catalog of American Romantic beliefs, both believe that one must listen to nature, that death makes all men equal, and that man returns to nature after death. : : To compare how the poems minor themes are similar, one must first understand their major themes' differences. "Elegy" differs so greatly from "Thanatopsis" because they came from vastly different times and countries. Gray wrote "Elegy" in eighteenth century England after the death of one of his friends. Influenced by the Engl
While he lived, the poet, much like the Romantics, sought respite from his many emotions in nature: "Now drooping, woeful wan, like one forlorn/ Or crazed with care, or crossed in hopeless love. Bryant believes that, "All that breathe/ Will share thy destiny" as though achieving equality is man's fate from day one. Despite the differences in their intent, both poems harbor the belief that all men will return to nature and all will be equal at death. Because Bryant studied Gray, he learned that nature and her omniscient voice has a positive effect on one's life. : : : : Another unifying element in the two poems lies in the poets' belief that man returns to nature after death. Gray agrees with Bryant when he says, "The boast of heraldry, the pomp of power,. : : : : While Gray, like most English Romantics, illustrates the fight of the common man, "Thanatopsis" reflects the American Romantics love of nature. After revealing all of life's injustices to the poor, Gray concurs that the one time all men stand equal is in the grave. " Not only does this demonstrate Gray's belief in the importance of the common man, but he illustrates his contempt for the rich, and therefore his joy in natural equality. This mixing, however, pertains solely to the body because Bryant believed that the spirit joined the Over-soul and Gray followed the more Christian belief of the spirit going to Heaven. When night falls in the beginning of the poem, the animals, a beetle and an owl, continue on their daily chores despite the thousands of dead humans all around them. The fact that the animals ignore the dead people shows that the carcasses have recycled into the earth and are now treated like any other part of nature.
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