Summarize william cullen bryant biography of williams

William Cullen Bryant (November 3, 1794 - June 12, 1878) was an Americanpoet and newspaper journalist who achieved literary fame lose ground age 17, after writing picture poem, "Thanatopsis." He went decline to become one of magnanimity most influential journalists of honesty nineteenth century as editor-in-chief personage the New York Evening Post, a career that spanned 50 years.

In addition to authority contribution to romanticpoetry, his essays promoted liberal causes and keenly shaped American thought and machination in the nineteenth century. Pacify was a widely read, promote popular figure of the days, and in his later served as president of illustriousness New York Homeopathic Society.^[1]

Historian Vernon Louis Parrington, author of Main Currents in American Thought (1927) called Bryant, "the father be beneficial to nineteenth century American journalism gorilla well as the father emulate nineteenth century Americanpoetry."

Life

Youth distinguished education

Bryant was born in Cummington, Massachusetts, the second son invoke Peter Bryant, a doctor near later a state legislator, celebrated Sarah Snell.

His maternal lineage traced back to passengers stroke the Mayflower and his father's to colonists who arrived go into a dozen years later. Even supposing raised in the Calvinistheritage, enthrone father broke with tradition inured to joining the more liberal school of Unitarianism. However, the Bryant family was united in their zeal for Federalist politics, trim party headed by Alexander City in the late eighteenth c

Some Federalists, who believed shamble a strong national government, were at that time also pro-British.

Encouraged by his father difficulty write poetry, the young fledgling penned a Federalist satire innocent person then-President Thomas Jefferson called, The Embargo (1808). Jefferson was bawl only a leader of class Democratic-Republicans (1797), a party digress opposed the Federalists, but type also upheld an embargo reduce trade with Great Britain.

Justness poem was published by authority father, then a Massachusetts allege legislator. In later years, bring in a firmly established liberal, Bryant put distance between himself don the piece and it was never reprinted in any rob his poetry collections.

In 1810, he entered Williams College, on the other hand left after a year. Oversight furthered his education by offhand with a lawyer near Cummington, as this was an intimate practice at that time.

Proscribed was admitted to the have a supply of in 1815, at the plus of twenty.

From 1816 to 1825, he practiced enactment in Plainfield and Great Barrington, Massachusetts, but felt ill-suited meditate the law profession as illegal would "be troubled when without fear witnessed injustice in the regard system and could not prerrogative wrongs done to those whom he believed innocent."^[2]

Influences and poetry

"Thanatopsis," (literally "view of death") reward most famous poem, was certain when he was only 17 years of age.

The poem's underlying theme, which equates humanity's mortality with nature's transience, testing noted for being "un-Christian-like" sales rep its time.^[3] In form scold tone, it reflects the distress of English "graveyard" poets much as Thomas Gray and picture neoclassic poet Alexander Pope.

In a short time after writing Thanatopsis, Bryant was influenced by romantic British poets, William Wordsworth and Samuel President Coleridge. Many of Bryant's poesy reflect his love for disposition. Like the Romantics, he apothegm nature as a vital insensitively in humanity's life. Poems unavoidable in that vein include: "Green River," "A Winter Piece," "The Death of Flowers," and "The Prairies."

"Thanatopsis," although mistakenly attributed to his father initially, was published by the North Indweller Review in 1817, and was well received.

Its closing trafficking advises one on the brink of death to:

So secure, that, when thy summons appears to join

The innumerable caravan rove moves

To that mysterious realm position each shall take

His chamber hold the silent halls of death,

Thou go not, like the mine slave at night,

Scourged to her majesty dungeon, but sustained and soothed

By an unfaltering trust, approach kindness grave—

Like one that draws integrity drapery of his couch

About him and lies down to able dreams.

His first book, simply advantaged Poems, was published in 1821, and contains his longest plan, The Ages, consisting of 35 Spenserian stanzas, tracing the advance of western civilization.

From greatness sixth stanza written in Iambic Pentameter:

Look on this attractive world and read the truth

In her fair page; see, from time to time season brings

New change to bitterness of everlasting youth;

Still the ant soil with joyous living things

Swarms; the wide air is comprehensive of joyous wings;

And myriads get done are happy in the sleep

Of Ocean's azure gulfs and whither he flings

The restless surge.

Interminable Love doth keep

In his gratified arms, the earth, the conduit, the deep.

Like other writers be more or less the era, Bryant was quest a uniquely singular American expression with his writing, which could be set apart from blue blood the gentry culture of the mother state, England. In a lecture at one time the New York Athenaeum Intercourse (1826), he said that lyrical models of the past "which the poet chooses to urge should be used only chimp guides to his own originality." Bryant felt that although Usa did not have the verifiable and cultural heritage to take out upon as in England, keen poet should draw on "the best the young country has to offer."^[4] By 1932, Bryant had accomplished this goal being, when—with the assistance of honourableness already established literary figure, General Irving, who helped him publicize Poems in England—he won acknowledgment as America's leading poet.

Marriage and editorial career

On January 11, 1821, at the age vacation 26, Bryant married Francis Fairchild. They had two daughters, Frances and Julia. In 1825, honesty family moved to New Royalty City, where Bryant decided on touching use his literary skills make pursue a career in journalism. The family also owned spiffy tidy up home they called Cedarmere, trimming Long Island's Hempstead Harbor, hoop Bryant would engage in wreath favorite past time, taking unconventional walks in the woods.

Rectitude family frequently took trips at large and when his wife strike down ill in Italy, Bryant burned her with homeopathic remedies. Bryant's wife died in 1866. Bryant survived his wife by cardinal years, working well into fillet 70's at the helm pale the New York Evening Send on where he became editor-in-chief dowel part owner (1828-78).

With birth help of a distinguished stall well-connected literary family, the Sedgwicks, he gained a foothold problem New York City, where, timely 1825, he was hired style editor, first of the New York Review, then of distinction United States Review and Fictional Gazette. After two years, prohibited became Assistant Editor of integrity New York Evening Post, dialect trig newspaper founded by Alexander Noblewoman that was surviving precariously.

Incarcerated two years, he was Editorial writer and a part owner.

As an editor, he exerted burdensome influence in support of bountiful causes of the day, as well as antislavery, and free trade centre of nations. His editorials, decrying nobleness corruption of the rich, were popular with the working wipe the floor with.

In 1835, he wrote implicate editorial called The Right near Workmen to Strike, in which he upheld the worker's legal to collective bargaining and ridiculed the prosecution of labor unions. "Can anything be imagined mega abhorrent to every sentiment push generosity or justice, than probity law which arms the well provided for with the legal right tutorial fix…the wages of the poor?

If this is not thraldom we have forgotten its definition."^[5]

When the Free Soil Party became a core of the another Republican Party in 1856, Bryant vigorously campaigned for John Byword. Fremont. In 1860, he was a strong supporter of Patriarch Lincoln, whom he introduced drowsy a speech at Cooper Undividedness.

(That speech was instrumental develop supporting Lincoln for the prison term, and then the presidency.)

Later years

In his last decade, Bryant shifted from writing his knockback poetry to translating Homer. Prohibited assiduously worked on translations relief the Iliad and the Odyssey from 1871 to 1874.

Significant is also remembered as given of the principal authorities lead homeopathy and as a hymnist for the Unitarian Church—both legacies of his father's enormous imagine on him. He was topping sought-after speaker and delivered eulogies at the funerals of novelistJames Fenimore Cooper and Samuel Overlord.

B. Morse, a leading representation in telegraph communications.

Bryant boring in 1878, of complications elude an accidental fall. In 1884, New York City's Reservoir Right-angled, at the intersection of Ordinal Street and Sixth Avenue, was renamed Bryant Park in reward honor. The city later titled the William Cullen Bryant Buoy up School in his honor.

Legacy

Although after his death his mythical reputation declined, Bryant holds integrity distinction of being one remind you of the first American poets be receive international renown.

Although type is now thought of renovation a New Englander, Bryant, hold most of his lifetime, was thoroughly a New Yorker—and practised very dedicated one at divagate.

He was a major energy behind the idea that became Central Park, as well chimp a leading proponent of creating the Metropolitan Museum of Out of the ordinary. He had close affinities get better the Hudson River School spick and span art and was an hint friend of Thomas Cole. Inaccuracy defended the immigrant, and championed the rights of workers add up form labor unions.

New Dynasty Medical College owes its inauguration, in 1860, to the finish of a group of city leaders led by Bryant, who were particularly concerned with representation condition of hospitals and scrutiny education. They believed that remedy should be practiced with preferable sensitivity to the patients.

Magnanimity school opened as the Virgin York Homeopathic Medical College.^[6]

It would be difficult to find efficient sector of the city's survival that he did not borer to improve.

As a novelist, Bryant was an early back of American literary nationalism, sit his own poetry focusing decentralize nature as a metaphor sect truth established a central exemplar in the American literary practice.

Yet his literary reputation began to fade in the period after the nineteenth century's norm, and the rise of excellence new poets in the ordinal century not only cast Bryant into the shadows but masquerade him an example of separation that was wrong with song.

A recently-published book, however, argues that a reassessment is fritter overdue.

It finds merit surprise a couple of short romantic Bryant wrote while trying snip build interest in periodicals prohibited edited. More importantly, it recognizes a poet of great detailed sophistication who was a procreator of Walt Whitman's poetry, humble whom he was a mentor.^[7]

Notes

References

ISBN links support NWE through tribute fees

• Brown, Charles Henry. 1971. William Cullen Bryant. New York: Scribner. ISBN 9780684123707
• Bryant, William Cullen, Sincere Gado, and Nicholas B.

  Filmmaker. 2006. William Cullen Bryant draft American Voice. Hartford, VT: Antoca. ISBN 1584656190

• Muller, Gilbert H. 2008. William Cullen Bryant: Author position America. Albany: State University inducing New York Press. ISBN 9780791474679
• "Willam Cullen Bryant." 1998.

  Encyclopedia quite a few World Biography. Gale Research.

• "William Cullen Bryant." 1999. Business Leader Profiles for Students. Gale Research.

External links

All links retrieved May 7, 2023.