Abstract:

Poetry is one of the most ancient literary forms in the world, and belongs to one of the literary genres by conveying their internal feelings. Poetry is characterized by refined languages and the perfect artistic skills to depict the poet’s inner world. The paper explores the theme of poetry, as well as the content of the human thinking and practice. This paper is mainly made of several aspects. In it, readers can know the introduction to William Cullen Bryant and can understand the analysis of his poems — To a Waterfowl and Thanatopsis. In exploring the common things between the two poems (man and nature), the paper can express the thoughts by integrating with the present situations. Besides, readers can deeply be impressed by his thoughts and writing styles, and can better grasp the poet’s feeling. Meanwhile, readers can learn the harmonious unity of man and nature significantly.

Keywords: William Cullen Bryant; analysis of his poems; man and nature

摘  要：

诗歌是世界上最古老的文学形式之一，是一种阐述心灵的文学体裁。诗歌用精炼的语言，完美的艺术技巧描绘了诗人的内心世界。诗歌探索的主题，亦是人类不断思考与实践的内容。本文通过对诗人的介绍，两首诗歌的解析——《致水鸟》和《死亡狂想曲》，通过探索两者的共同点（人与自然），结合当下实际情况，阐述感想。让读者了解到了诗人的思想与写作风格，更好的把握诗人的感情，以及明白人与自然和谐统一的重要。

关键词： 威廉•柯伦•布莱恩特;解析;人与自然

1  Introduction to William Cullen Bryant
1.1  Life experiences
William Cullen Bryant (1794-1878), one of the representative masters of romantic American poets, was born into a doctor family in Cummington Massachusetts, a small village in the Berkshire Hills. His well-established New England family was staunchly Federalist in politics and Calvinist in religion, and his family's political and religious attitudes where reflected in his earliest poems. He was not healthy in his childhood, so his father, a physician and surgeon, asked him to walk in the forest in the long time. Under this circumstance, he developed an interest in the nature and began to write the poem in his early years. Under his father's tutelage, he emulated Alexander Pope and other Neo-Classic British poets.
In 1808, The Embargo was his first published verse, an anti-Jefferson poem. His greatest poem, Thanatopsis, was written when he was sixteen and was first published in the North American Review in 1817. Bryant hoped to enter Harvard University and Yale University when he was young, but he couldn’t realize his dream. Then he studied the law, and he obtained lawyer qualification at the age of 21. However, he did not like his job, so he agreed to be invited to edit in one newspaper after his five years of marriage, because he decided to change his job. This period was the most prolific period in the literary career, and he created many excellent works about the nature.