Death. Comparing Emily Dickinson And William Cullen Bryants Poems on the topic

Essay by mike carrollHigh School, 12th gradeA, January 1996

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Many poems are written about death. The two poets William Cullen Bryant and

Emily Dickinson were very influential trancendental writers. Bryant writing Thanatopsis

And Emily Dickinson's 'Because I Could Not Stop for Death' are basically more alike

then than they are similar for the fact that there views on Death are the same, but what

happens to you after is what is disimiliar,although Dickinsons and Bryants poems are very

different as seen in specific detail. As in both poems death is present, the way the two

authors express it however is a bit unsimiliar.

One of many things that is similar is the fact that both authors present there poems in

first person view,but the way they describe what happens to you after death is what is

very dissimilar. In the poem when she says 'We passed the school where children played

,We passed the the fields of blazing grain,' shows her use of Idealisation of

Nature.Bryants whole poem is Idealisation of nature, by choosing but one sentence would

be cutting the poem short.By both authors using the same romantic element is just another

example of how they are similar.

Thanatopsis and Because i could not stop for Death,are somewhat dissimilar , for

instance when in Dickinsons poem when she says 'We slowly drove , he knew no haste,'

she is referring about death taking her away and she sees everything on this

journey.william Cullen Bryant however sees Death a little different ,like in his poem when

he says ' There comes a still voice yet a few days . and thee you will see no more,'He is

saying that it will be very peaceful and fast. That when you hear the voice, all is gone.

They both had different romantic/trancendental connections,bryant used heavy Idealisation

of Mature by saying 'To him who in the love of nature holds Communion with her visible

forms.'Emily Dickinson used supernatural for the fact that she says ' Because i could not

stop for death he kindly stopped for me.' Meaning I had no time for death ,'HE' being

death himself stopped for me. By her saying that she is showing her transcendental

elements.

All in all these two poems that have been compared and contrasted are similar,

however they still have very strong Unsimiliar elements.The two authors .EMily Dickinson

and william Cullen Bryant definitely have similar elemental intuitions for there poems are

so alike.By comparing these poems there similarities have greatly shined and only by

reading the deep inside of the poem can you notice that , by only skimming the surface of

these poems you surely are not getting the full effect of the poems written by these

eccentric authors.