Bryant, William Cullen (1794-1878), was the first great American poet. He was also one of the most influential newspaper editors of his time and played a leading role in public affairs for almost 50 years.
Bryant’s poems are noted for their dignified style, exact descriptions of nature, and appeal to the emotions. The English Romantic poet William Wordsworth had the greatest influence on Bryant’s style and thought. Like Wordsworth and other Romantic poets, Bryant described landscapes and found moral and spiritual significance in nature. Bryant also wrote essays on poetry that are among the earliest examples of literary criticism in American literature.
His early works.
Bryant was born in Cummington, Massachusetts, on Nov. 3, 1794. He first had a poem published at the age of 13. This poem, “The Embargo,” ridicules the policies of President Thomas Jefferson.
In 1811, Bryant wrote a major part of his most famous poem, “Thanatopsis.” This poem is a meditation on the meaning of death. Bryant’s father submitted “Thanatopsis” and another of his son’s poems to the North American Review, a Boston magazine. At first, the editors refused to believe that any American could have written such brilliant verses. The magazine published “Thanatopsis” in 1817, and the poem quickly established Bryant as a leading poet. In 1821, Bryant added an introduction and also a final stanza, which begins with the line, “So live, that when thy summons comes to join …”
Bryant wrote most of his best poetry before 1840. In “To a Waterfowl” (1818), the poet watches a bird in flight and is reminded that both he and the bird are under the care of God. “A Forest Hymn” (1825) begins by declaring that “The groves were God’s first temples.” In “The Prairies” (1833), Bryant wrote about the westward expansion of the United States to the Mississippi River and beyond.
His later career.
By 1825, Bryant had become recognized as America’s finest poet. He left Massachusetts and became coeditor of a magazine in New York City. In 1826, Bryant joined the Evening Post, a New York City daily newspaper. He served as its editor from 1829 until his death. Bryant’s busy schedule left him less time for poetry. Bryant expressed his regret in the poem “I Cannot Forget with What Fervid Devotion” (1826).
Bryant became active in national affairs and in the civic life of New York City. He made the Evening Post a leading voice of the Democratic Party. In his editorials, Bryant supported free speech and upheld the rights of organized labor. He helped establish Central Park and the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City.
In the late 1840’s, Bryant became an outspoken opponent of slavery. He left the Democrats and joined the Republican Party during the 1850’s because the Republicans opposed slavery. He died on June 12, 1878.
See also February; Thanatopsis.
