William Cullen Bryant

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William Cullen Bryant

• (1794-1878)

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William Cullen Bryant

• Born on Nov. 3, 1794 , in Cummington,
  Massachusetts, the son of a learned and highly
  respected physician.
• Bryant was exposed to English poetry in his
  fathers vast library.
• He read the Bible, 18th century English
  literature, and the English Romantic writers.
• As a boy he became devoted to the New England
  countryside and was a keen observer of nature.

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William Cullen Bryant

• In his early poems such as Thanatopsis, To a
  Waterfowl, Inscription for the Entrance to a
  Wood, and The Yellow Violet, were all written
  before he was 21.
• He celebrated the majesty of nature in a style
  that was influenced by the English romantics but
  also reflected a personal simplicity and dignity.

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William Cullen Bryant

• Admitted to the bar in 1815 after a year at
  Williams College and private study, Bryant
  practiced law in Great Barrington, Mass., until
  1825, when he went to New York City.
• By that time he was already known as a poet and
  critic. He became associate editor of the New
  York Evening Post in 1826
• from 1829 to his death he was part owner and
  editor in chief

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William Cullen Bryant

• Bryants support for such causes as free speech,
  workers rights, abolitionism, and the Union
  cause made him a prominent and controversial
  public figure.
• After breaking with the Democratic party over
  support for the Free Soilers in 1848, he became
  one of the founders of he American Republican
  party.

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William Cullen Bryant

• Recurring themes of his poetry
• Mutability
• Loneliness
• Passing of innocence
• Belief that nature consoles and well as provides
  lessons about history and divine purpose
• Poetry embodies an acceptance of the cycles of
  change in nature and in life, and a belief that
  change is providential because it leads to an
  individuals spiritual progress and moral
  improvement.