Question

From the poem "Thanatopsis" by William Cullen Bryant:

What is the universal fact about death?

What specific comforts does nature give us, both in life and in death? Give specific examples.

According to Bryant, how should we approach death?

I need help getting started. Thanks!!

Some quotations to get you started:

All that breathe
Will share thy destiny.
(ll. 60-61)

<u>In life:</u>
Go forth, under the open sky, and list
To Nature’s teachings
(ll. 14-15)
["list" = listen]

<u>In death:</u>
sustained and soothed
By an unfaltering trust, approach thy grave
Like one who wraps the drapery of his couch
About him,
(ll. 79-82)

The details to support the second and third sets of lines are all over the place. You should have no trouble finding them.

First stanza describes someone who loves life and Nature, but who knows that someday he'll die.

Second and third stanzas describe what Bryant believes happens to the body (second) and soul (third) of everyone who has died and will die, which, of course, is everyone.

Fourth stanza tells why he should live life happily and shouldn't fear death.

=)