William Cullen Bryant's Thanatopsis (a meditation upon death):
-Transcendental-- nature, very lush language
-about death and dying, positive aspects
-won't die alone, everyone dies, even if you are alone in life there will be company in death -- earth as a gigantic tomb
-calmness and comforting
-meditation clears out the badness (of souls)
-death is the great equalizer
-very Romantic, use of nature and imagery
To a Waterfowl:
-nature, duck is beautiful, has its place in the world
-the duck is a metaphor
-derives lesson to humans -- especially shown in last stanza
-the duck is wandering, everyone gets lost and eventually find our way
-fourth stanza: "Power".. could be God, fate, over soul, natural instinct, or yourself -- it is up to the reader to decide what the ultimate power is
-This is very transcendental; the value of "I" (the individual)
-power of natural instinct -- ducks fly south, people over think things (logic and reason)
-Romantics say logic and reason are unnecessary when you have natural instinct and emotion-- there are some things we are meant to do
-through studying things that only act on instinct you understand yourself
HW: Review readings from Longfellow
-Sammi
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