William Cullen Bryant

William Cullen Bryant (November 3, 1794 - June 12, 1878) was an American Romantic poet and journalist.

Related Topics:
November 3 - 1794 - June 12 - 1878 - American - Romantic - Poet - Journalist

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

He was born in Cummington, Massachusetts, the second son of Peter Bryant, a prominent doctor; his birthplace and longtime summer home is now a museum. His ancestors on both sides came over in the Mayflower. Educated at Williams College he went on to study law at Worthington and Bridgewater, he was admitted to the bar in 1815.

Related Topics:
Cummington, Massachusetts - Birthplace - Mayflower - Williams College - Worthington - Bridgewater - 1815

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Bryant was interested in poetry ever since his childhood. His first published work is a book of verse, The Embargo (1808). When he was seventeen years old, Bryant began his first critically acclaimed work, Thanatopsis (1817), which appeared in the North American Review. It was refined and expanded as the years passed. The topic of "Thanatopsis" is death and how humanity is united by death as a common fate. "Thanatopsis" was one of the most popular poems in circulation in its time. He also wrote Lines To a Waterfowl. Bryant's work, written in an English romantic style and celebrating the countryside of New England, was well received. Among his best known poems are also The Rivulet, The West Wind, The Forest Hymn, The Fringed Gentian.

Related Topics:
Poetry - Verse - The Embargo - 1808 - Thanatopsis - 1817 - North American Review - Lines To a Waterfowl - Romantic style - New England

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

He worked as a lawyer in Northampton, Plainfield, and Great Barrington until 1825 when he married and moved to New York City and worked for the New York Review and then the New York Evening Post.

Related Topics:
Northampton - Plainfield - Great Barrington - 1825 - New York City - New York Review - New York Evening Post

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

At first an associate editor, he became editor in 1829 and remained in that post until his death, the driving force of a liberal and literate paper he was strongly anti-slavery.

Related Topics:
Associate editor - 1829 - Anti-slavery

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Bryant was a lifelong political activist, initially as a proponent of the Free Soil Party, and later in life, as a founder of the Republican Party. He was a fervent supporter of Abraham Lincoln's presidential bid in 1860.

Related Topics:
Free Soil Party - Republican Party - Abraham Lincoln's - 1860

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Also in 1860, Bryant founded New York Medical College.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

In his later years, Bryant focused on translating and analyzing Ancient Greek and Latin works, such as The Iliad and The Odyssey of Homer.

Related Topics:
Ancient Greek and Latin - The Iliad - The Odyssey - Homer

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Bryant died in 1878 of complications from an accidental fall.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Bryant's muse is tender and graceful, pervaded by a contemplative melancholy, and a love of solitude and the silence of the woods. Though he was brought up to admire Pope, and in his early youth imitated him, he was one of the first American poets to throw off his influence. He had a high sense of duty, was a prominent and patriotic citizen, and enjoyed the esteem and even the reverence of his fellow-countrymen.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~