This poem notes that "from all around comes a still voice" to comfort a man who has "images / Of the stern agony, and shroud, and pall.
In an essay in on "The Genesis of [this work]," a critic argued that the inability to afford Yale was not actually the inspiration for this poem, and this poem was originally paired with another that begins with a head reposing "in the low vale most peacefully." This poem notes that "from all around comes a still voice" to comfort a man who has "images / Of the stern agony, and shroud, and pall." This poem tells of "patriarchs of the infant world" and (*) "hoary seers of ages past" as well as "the solemn brood of care" who "will chase / His favourite phantom." This poem advises that "when thy summons comes to join / The innumerable caravan," you should "go not, like the quarry-slave at night" but "approach thy grave, / Like one who lies down to pleasant dreams." For 10 points, name this meditation on death by William Cullen Bryant.
In an essay in on "The Genesis of [this work]," a critic argued that the inability to afford Yale was not actually the inspiration for this poem, and this poem was originally paired with another that begins with a head reposing "in the low vale most peacefully."
"Thanatopsis"