This article is about a poem. For the band, see Thanatopsis (band).
"Thanatopsis" is a poem by American poet William Cullen Bryant.
Contents |
The title is from the Greek thanatos ("death") and the suffix -opsis (literally, "sight"); it has often been translated as "Meditation upon Death".
Due to the unusual quality of the verse and Bryant's age when first published in 1817 by the North American Review, Richard Henry Dana, Sr., then associate editor at the Review, initially doubted its authenticity, saying to another editor, "No one, on this side of the Atlantic, is capable of writing such verses." Although the bulk of the poem was written at age 17, Bryant added the introductory and concluding lines 10 years later in 1821.
Written by Bryant at the age of 17, "Thanatopsis" remains a significant milestone in American literary history. Published in 1821 as the lead poem of Thanatopsis and Other Poems, it was considered by many to be the first major book of American poetry. Nevertheless, over five years, it earned Bryant only $14.92.[1]
Poet and literary critic Thomas Holley Chivers said that the "only thing [Bryant] ever wrote that may be called Poetry is 'Thanatopsis', which he stole line for line from the Spanish."[2] Chivers often accused other writers of stealing poems.
Wolcott Gibbs mentions the poem in his humor piece "Death in the Rumble Seat," which appeared in the New Yorker. He writes that the poem is "neither beautiful nor necessary, but hogwash."
In The Silence of the Lambs by Thomas Harris, Clarice Starling reveals to Hannibal Lecter one detail of her father's last days in hospital as an elderly neighbour reading to him the last lines of "Thanatopsis."
In the novel East Is East by T.C. Boyle, "Thanatopsis House" is the name of the artist colony on Tupelo Island at which the protagonist, Hiro Tanaka, seeks refuge with aspiring artist Ruth Dershowitz.
The experimental metal band Thanatopsis was named after this poem. The band's first album, Thanatopsis, was also named after this poem.
The deathcore/hardcore metal band Last Bitter Hour derived its name from this poem.
The electronic artist Daedalus named the last song on the album Exquisite Corpse after the poem.
The Algonquin Roundtable (the social gathering of New York & New Yorker wits including Robert Benchley, Dorothy Parker and Alexander Woollcott) had a poker club called the Thanatopsis Literary and Inside Straight Club.
Thanatopsis is the self-titled debut album by American experimental metal band Thanatopsis, released in 2001 by TDRS. A video was released for "Pyrrhic Victory", animated by Burton Dickerson.[1]
Thanatopsis is an American progressive rock band[1] comprising prolific guitarist Buckethead, keyboardist Travis Dickerson and drummer Ramy Antoun . Taking its name from the poem by William Cullen Bryant, the band has released three albums: Thanatopsis in 2001, Axiology in 2003 and Anatomize in 2006.