William Cullen Bryant (1794-1878)
WHo is William Cullen Bryant?
When looking at authors who have written many different pieces during their
time, people always wonder about the history of the author. For instance, when
was the text written, what was happening historically during the authors time
period, what was life like for people during this time, how did they dress, and
how the time they lived in shaped their writings. The following is going to
include a brief summary of William Cullen Bryant’s life, what was happening
during the time period he lived, and how that time period shaped his writings.
William Cullen Bryant was born in Cummington, Massachusetts, on November 3,
1794. His parents were Dr. Peter Bryant and "née Sarah Snell" (
http://www.enotes.com/william-cullen-bryant-salem/william-cullen-bryant-0260000120).
His father was a physician and his mother “was a noted deacon in the
Congregationalist tutelage." (
http://www.enotes.com/william-cullen-bryant-salem/william-cullen-bryant-0260000120)
Since his mother was so deeply involved with the church, Mr. Bryant was
inculcated into the Calvinist piety with a huge devotion to literature and God.
With that being said, he was the "first American writer of verse to win
international acclaim." (Tomlinson, 30) Bryant was considered a
child-prodigy, publishing his first poem at age ten and his first book when he
was thirteen."(
http://www.vcu.edu/engweb/webtexts/Bryant/brybio.html)
His father actually was a big help and pushed him towards being a lawyer and
helped critique his poems. His father sent young Mr. Bryant’s book in without
his approval. This book was entitled,
Emargo. This is when his writing
career really took off. Most of his poems were published in the North American
Review and that is where we can find his first "Thanatopsis." Through
his years, he wrote many great poems and was praised for them but fell short
because he didn’t have enough works, and because of that he fell short in
literary history because of the critics who said he didn’t do enough.
When William Cullen Bryant was born, it was a few years after the American
Revolutionary war and the signing of the declaration of independence. So he was
born into a whole new nation that was just getting started and open to endless possibilities.
As he grew up there was so much change and he wrote differently than most
people. He was all about the Romantic Movement, which principles were based
around "emotional expression, naturalness, simplicity, spontaneity,
irregularity, and freedom." (Jelliffe, p. 134) Also he lived through the Civil
War which was a huge thing for the United States. This war was the bloodiest
war of all time meaning that most American casualties happened during this war,
it even surpasses World War II.
With that being said, since it was such a huge war, it leads us to question
if it had any effect on Mr. Bryant. It had to! In his writing Thanatopsis, (
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hGvX15W5dE4) he
wrote about death and the wilderness. He said that everybody had to face death, go through it alone, and nature is there to help you through it. Looking at that, the Civil
War had to affect him. The whole nation lost loved ones and had feelings for
it. "He was against slavery, endorsing the Free-Soil party, the Republican
Party, and Lincoln."(
http://www.vcu.edu/engweb/webtexts/Bryant/brybio.html)
This quote proves where he stood during this time period. I believe that this
huge event had to shape his writing in some way, and it shows when he talks
about death and how everyone had to experience it. Which he was around a lot of
death during the civil war era.
William Cullen Bryant was a great writer of his time, he was affect by
critics and it’s too bad he was. If not for the critics he would be one of the
literary greats. History does show us though that it affected how he viewed the
world and how it changed him as a writer. He started off with his mom and
reading the Bible to writing about death, nature, and emotion, which captivated
his audience.
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