Thanatopsis was written by which author?

Thanatopsis was written by which author?

• A. Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
• B. William Cullen Bryant
• C. Ralph Waldo Emerson
• D. John Greenleaf Whittier

Answer: (B)

Thanatopsis hinges on recognizing its author, a poem that meditates on death within the larger theater of nature. William Cullen Bryant, a leading American Romantic poet, wrote Thanatopsis and published it around 1817, later pairing it with his own poems in a collection. The piece shows Bryant’s steady, contemplative voice that finds solace in the natural world as one contemplates mortality, a hallmark of his work. This sets it apart from the other poets listed—Longfellow’s later lyrical narratives, Emerson’s Transcendentalist essays and poetry, or Whittier’s reform-minded lyricism—who did not author Thanatopsis.

Thanatopsis hinges on recognizing its author, a poem that meditates on death within the larger theater of nature. William Cullen Bryant, a leading American Romantic poet, wrote Thanatopsis and published it around 1817, later pairing it with his own poems in a collection. The piece shows Bryant’s steady, contemplative voice that finds solace in the natural world as one contemplates mortality, a hallmark of his work. This sets it apart from the other poets listed—Longfellow’s later lyrical narratives, Emerson’s Transcendentalist essays and poetry, or Whittier’s reform-minded lyricism—who did not author Thanatopsis.