"Thanatopsis" by William Cullen Bryant (poetry reading)

[TheLogicJunkie]

It's a nice reading, but the reader messed up the third line in the final nine lines of the poem, which are the most important.

[SpokenVerse]

@TheLogicJunkie It seems that missed out the "to" - is that what you mean? 

[TheLogicJunkie]

@SpokenVerse Not entirely -- the narrator says "THAT EACH mysterious realm, where each...", instead of the proper "To that mysterious realm, where each..."

Do you see now? The text is correct, but those two spoken words are not.

[mre2u2]

This is one of my ancestors. (As was Samuel Clemens)

[belzondium]

As far as rhetorical poems go, I find this one fairly good. It has no designs on me (or none that are problematic) and is frank and honest. There are similar passages in Shakespeare - Vincentio's 'Reason thus with life' speech in Measure for Measure, for example. If the only fault of the poem is that it's not empirically accurate about the number of deceased individuals in North America, then I'd say it's meets an respectable standard. The pleasure of the poem is in its grandeur.

[canadianperson]

Just an editor's note: Thanatopsis means "Sight of Death" or "Vision of Death" coming from the greek "Thanatos" (Death( and "-opsis" (sight). While often it is translated in English as Meditation upon Death, I think it is pertinent to consider this idea of sight and vision of death to achieve a better and dare I say "authentic" reading and interpretation of Bryant's words and meaning.

[canadianperson]

And I should note opinion comes both as literary scholar and also as an optometrist and vision scientist.

[bigbear6161]

I like the quick pace of your reading here. This poem I think is one of the best early American poems. You sense a ring of Horace to it, at least I do. The last few lines also foreshadow Dylan Thomas' Do not go gently into the dark night. The technical virtuosity of the verse humbles me and reminds me how powerful blank verse can be. Thank you for this rendition.

[tigersfan3411]

This is such a beautiful poem!

[XxweshallalbashxX]

i lvoe poetry..

i didnt understand it at first. but now i do.

he talks about death from nature side.

that we all lie down and die..dont be scared. we all will die someday.

and become one with eath..laying next to famous,poor,evil,nice etc people.

ppl who dont acknowledge the dead. will also endure the same fate no matter what. when death come.you will go to death alone. nd be judge by god.you have trust in him. it will be like a long nap with pleasent dreams. 2:44-end is my favorite part

[4weekdays]

Beautiful - . Very interesting to quote from George Borrow. How come you come across Lavengro!?

[wert964]

william cullen bryant is my family member so is william jenny bryant my last name is staton u dont have to beleave me but me is i have two of his books i like them.

[mpeindms]

I had just moved from Hillside NJ to Linden NJ and my 10th grade English teacher told me that I had to memorize the last (entire page on your presentation for an upcoming test. Lazy me. I did not memorize it. She made me write it X (I don't remember the number - it was 1950 - 60 years ago) number of times on the blackboard. Now it is 1960 and for what it might be worth today, I remember it word for word. Miss Gilkeson, you old SOB, rest in peace.

[macinray]

ThANK YOU!!!

[Whoa123ify]

I find this poem soothing; Bryant and I share a common view of death. Thank you for posting this :)

[ernestotorres1977]

I thought I hated poetry ! That was Wonderful ! I'm memorizing that. I actually created a wow character named Thanatopsi, this fits the undead and death knight groove very well. Live forever or die trying. Peace Yall !

[sharonmary]

ooo i love this one it really captured my imagination at 16 years old, the morbid fascination a lonely teenager harbours with death and dying. Gorgeous.

[eclectorsdevices]

My grandfather would recite this in his 90's. It is in his 5th reader (Nova Scotia, 1880's). Another fine Bryant - "The Groves were God's first temples. Ere man learned to hew the shaft, and lay the architrave, and spread the roof above him ... " - The Forest Hymn